Rule Proposal – # of Captains

Cross Post: Captain’s Club

Written by Wesley Peters:

Teams are allowed a combination of 4 captains & assistant captains (any combination you’d like). Ex – 1C, 3A. Or 2C, 2A

Rationale: We’ve had 2C & 2A for a while at CMU, starting my 2nd to last year there, and at MSU we’ve had 1C, 3A this year and 4A last year (lol). And I know many teams also have more than 3 captains though 7 is too many (shout out to SVSU 😄).

I believe having 4 captains allows for promotion of more younger players to prominent roles within the “on-court” portion of teams and furthers their development as leaders greatly. This also encourages more active involvement and makes more players feel like they have an active voice within their organization on and off the court.

Rule Proposal – Captain Markings

Cross Post – Captains’ Club

Written by Caleb Arnold:

Teams shouldn’t have to have any markings for captains on their jerseys if they don’t want too.

Reasoning: I don’t see the point except to allow the referees to know who can have a voice on the team when it comes to disagreements and such. Continue reading “Rule Proposal – Captain Markings”

Policy Proposal – Nationals Scheduling

Cross Post – Captains’ Club

Nationals is two things: the National Tournament (Section 4.3.4.6) and the extra-strength Non-Bracket Matches (Section 4.3.4.5). Rule 4.3.4.5 is purposely written broadly, but for the time being we’ll refer to it as Saturday and Sunday. Currently, it defines that each team gets three unique opponents to play on Saturday.

I propose a less stringent definition of Saturday’s required games, a minimum of two. This will guarantee that each team receives at least three matches over the Nationals Event weekend. 

This is not an explicit drop to two games, we Need to be broader with our written policy. For smaller events (teams number 16 and smaller) we can fit three games in. The point is, requiring 3 matches is too stringent. Adding more teams to Nationals but keeping 3 matches going in will likely require that Friday matches are mandatory.  Continue reading “Policy Proposal – Nationals Scheduling”

Rule Proposal – Revisit Roster Size

Reducing Roster Sizes

For the 5th year in a row, I am proposing reducing the active player count on the court from 15v15 to 12v12. Before you blow this off, and have the mentality of “change isn’t good”, I urge you to just take a few minutes to read my rationale below:

Currently, we play a VERY large scale game with roster sizes ranging from 10-20 players with 10-15 active players on the court at the beginning of each point.

Continue reading “Rule Proposal – Revisit Roster Size”

Proposed Rule Change: Change Throw Line Distance to 27 ft

The following rule proposal was co-authored by Kevin Bailey and Colin O’Brien

Cross post – Captains’ Club

Kevin Bailey:

Alright everyone, pay attention.  This is important:

What is the biggest issue with the NCDA’s current gameplay format?  Simple.  It’s too slow-paced.  Not enough points are scored, and teams often decide to play “stall-ball” because it is strategically their best option in certain situations.  So, as we go through all of the rule proposals for the upcoming year, we need to keep in mind that this aspect of the game needs to be fixed.

We need to put rules in place that will make our game more fast-paced and exciting.  Sure, there are countless ways to go about fixing the slow-paced style that plagues our league right now, but in my opinion, no rule change will be as beneficial as this one:  The throw line (attack line) needs to decrease from 30 ft. to 27 ft. in the rulebook.

*Note: I’d prefer it go all the way down to 25 ft., but 27 is a less drastic change that more people will be on board with.  If it works well, we can consider moving it to 25 the following season!

Anyway, in the current NCDA ruleset, the throw line is designated as 30 ft. from the back line:

(2.2.2.2 Attack Line – A line clearly marked 30′ from each baseline. Players may cross Halfcourt and move up to the opposite Attack Line. Blue painters tape may be used to mark as it is least likely to ruin the finish on the court.)

court_d-2-2-2-5

We propose that this “Attack Line” be changed from 30 ft. to 27 ft. and there is quite a bit of rationale behind this proposition: Continue reading “Proposed Rule Change: Change Throw Line Distance to 27 ft”

Review for Kent State’s Matthew Kelsey Fundraiser Tournament

I hope that you all are recovered from a hopefully fun Saint Patrick’s day! While this past weekend did not hold any sanctioned NCDA bouts, I was privileged enough to be able to participate in the Matthew Kelsey Fundraiser 6v6 Tournament held by Kent State on Saturday March 18th. Matt “Kelso” Kelsey was one of Kent State’s original club members and has been recently  diagnosed with Leukemia and the proceeds of the tournament went to help Matt with any costs he might have. The tournament was a great success and raised 776 dollars for Matthew with the 10 teams that showed up and the other donations that were made in his honor. Continue reading “Review for Kent State’s Matthew Kelsey Fundraiser Tournament”

Opinion: NCDA Bracketology & Potential Nationals Matches

We already infused the March Madness style into our Baller of The Month voting, so why not for an actual bracket as well?  Now, keep in mind there are still a couple events that are on the way, which are sure to impact the current standings, along with…well you know, day 1 of Nationals.  But I have to work with what I have darn it!!  So given those limitations, let’s take a look at some intriguing matches to watch that could happen on a round-by-round basis when we get to the Sunday bracket play.

As a disclaimer, included are my personal predictions on a round by round basis, ultimately leading to a final champion.  These seeds are subject to change up until April 9th.

Current NCDA Bracket*

*This is subject to the teams that scheduled to attend Nationals, and is not a complete reflection of the current league standings

Continue reading “Opinion: NCDA Bracketology & Potential Nationals Matches”

Nationals Preview, Best Case Scenarios: East Coast

Nationals is only a few weeks away people! Not that anyone needed me to tell them that, but as many would expect that means it’s time to start previewing all potential facets of the crazy weekend to come. As a warning, these will be filled with a lot of optimistic thinking but, based on current standings, here are what I think the best case scenarios are for each team on the East Coast heading into Lexington: Continue reading “Nationals Preview, Best Case Scenarios: East Coast”

A Day With Leski

Jacob Leski during his glory days.

I decided to interview Jacob Leski for this article. He is the former President of Central Michigan’s Dodgeball Club and current Director of League Expansion and Retention for the NCDA. He is well known in the league for his loud play and great catching ability, but off the court he is a great guy and genuinely loves the league and the sport of dodgeball, and works very hard to see it flourish.

Continue reading “A Day With Leski”

BOTM: 2017 March

March Baller of the Month: Ben Tubergen – GVSU

After leading Grand Valley State University to yet another Michigan Dodgeball Cup title, along with a strong showing at GVSU’s Blast from the Past tournament, Ben Tubergen earned himself “Baller of the Month”.  Ben has emerged this year as one of the most dangerous players in the league with a strong and accurate throw, to go along with good catching skills.  He has been a catalyst for GVSU’s offense so far this season, and will be a key to their success in a few weeks when they compete at Nationals 2017 in Lexington, KY.

I had the chance to chat with Ben after he won Baller of the Month.  Our conversation touches on a number of topics, from his mindset heading into Nationals, to his dodgeball career outside of the NCDA, to the controversy over what grade he is actually in.  I even ask him the ever-important question: “Chipotle or Qdoba?”.  Here is my interview with GVSU’s Ben Tubergen. Continue reading “BOTM: 2017 March”

Standings as of 2017-03-14

UWP/DePaul have played 7 games with each other in this Season, with the record being UWP 5-2 DePaul. The players of these two teams were curious if this made a League record. Turns out, it ties for second. The League record for games played against a single opponent in a single season is 9 games played.

In their overall 14 matches over their history, the record stands UWP 12-2 DePaul. Prehistory records include a couple more, here and there, but to take this into consideration: before 2017, DePaul/UWP have only played once a season, on average.

Existing Record:
2015, 9 games: GVSU 9-0 MSU (inc 2 “doubleheaders”)
2015, 7 games: GVSU 6-1 CMU (inc 0 doubles)
2016, 7 games: GVSU 5-2 MSU (inc 1 doubleheader)
2017, 7 games: GVSU 5-2 MSU (inc 2 doubleheaders)
2017, 7 games: UWP 5-2 DePaul (inc 1 doubleheader)

Continue reading “Standings as of 2017-03-14”

Kent Hosting Fundraiser Tournament for Former Member

For those of you who don’t know, Matthew “Kelso” Kelsey (who was one of the original Kent State dodgeball players) was recently diagnosed with leukemia. This tournament is to raise money to help him with his medical bills. Kent is looking for participants in the area interested in playing or helping raise money for Kelso’s medical expenses. If you can’t make it but would like to make a donation please donate to his gofundme.  There is also a Facebook group for the event if you are interested in signing up.

You can sign up to participate in the event on eventbrite.  More information is provided there but here are the basics:

  • 6v6 Rubber tournament
  • $50 entry fee per team
  • Must be 18+ to participate

The event is scheduled for March 18th from 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM at Kent State’s Recreational Center: 1550 Ted Boyd Drive, Kent, OH 44240

We are a competitive dodgeball league, however we also view all of our members both current and former as part of our family.  Whether you are able to donate or can just simply share this with your friends, we want to help come together to support everyone in our dodgeball family.

Early Look: Nationals 2017

It’s almost that time of year again. The transition from winter to spring means more than just warm weather. It means College Dodgeball Nationals is just around the corner. Dodgeball teams across the nation transition from the regular season grind to a post-season mindset. In a matter of weeks, the entire National Collegiate Dodgeball Association will convene for the annual national tournament that decides which club team is crowned NCDA National Champions.

The atmosphere inside of the Seaton Center on the campus of University of Kentucky will be electric, as it always is when UK hosts the season’s final tourney. 24 teams will make their way to Lexington, KY for what promises to be a tournament to remember.

Below, I will kick off the Nationals Preview articles (you will see a lot of these in the coming weeks) with a brief early look at the big tourney. The second weekend of April is quickly approaching, and while there are still a few dodgeball events yet to be played, I will take this opportunity to give my thoughts on what I expect from Nationals 2017:

Continue reading “Early Look: Nationals 2017”