Baller Of The Week: Andrew Koczara

Andrew was a captain for the 2011-2012 season, and had a great National Tournament. He has the strongest arm on the team, and is also a good catcher. Andrew was named a 2012 All-Star. He helped the Spartans advance to the National Quarterfinals for the 4th straight season with his strong play at Nationals 2012.

Q: What do you feel is your strongest attribute?

Andrew: I feel that my strongest attribute is my throwing (at least when my arm isn’t too sore.)

Q: What has been your favorite part of playing with the dodgeball team?

Andrew: My favorite part of playing with the team is all of the great people I have met. I always look forward to Tuesday and Thursday night practices where I am able to have fun and relieve some stress.

Q: How do you feel the Spartans will do next season?

Andrew: I think our team will be a very strong contender come next year. We have a solid core of veteran players coming back along with a good group of young players who were able to gain valuable experience in some of the tournaments this past year.

Baller Of The Week: Andy Lieblich

Andy is in his first year with the Michigan State Club Dodgeball Team, and he’s turning into one of the better first year players. Nicknamed “Eggs” by his teammates, Andy is a great catcher and has a nasty grip throw.

Q: How did you get the nickname of “Eggs”?

Andy: For Halloween John Luszenski, aka Bacon, and I decided to dress up like like bacon and eggs for practice and ever since then I’ve been referred to as Eggs.

Q: What do you expect from your first Nationals tournament?

Andy: For my first year, I’m not all too sure what to expect at Nationals. But I definitely expect us to do a lot better than how we did at the Michigan Dodgeball Cup. And with some confidence, and a little bit of luck, i can see us making a run on Sunday.

Q: How have you enjoyed your first season with the MSU Club Dodgeball Team?

Andy: I can’t believe how much I’ve enjoyed playing dodgeball this season. Who would have known that a game of dodgeball could be so intense. I’ve made a lot of new friends and can’t wait to play again next year!

 

Baller Of The Week: Kevin Miller

The current President of the club, Kevin Miller is in his third year with the club. He was named an All-Star last season in the first ever All-Star game, and is a great catcher and has a multitude of different throws in his arsenal. Kevin had a great week of practice and is turning into one of the leaders of the program.

Q: What has been the best part of being on the dodgeball club here at Michigan State?

Kevin: The best part of playing club dodgeball at MSU is just having fun with my friends every Tuesday and Thursday night. It’s a great stress reliever and a fun way to stay in shape.

Q: What is your favorite team to play in the NCDA?

Kevin: My favorite team to play in the NCDA has to be Depaul. They are always up to something crazy whether it be their chants or unique style of play. You never know what you’re going to get when you play Depaul.

Q: How do you think you can improve your game going into your Senior season?

Kevin: I feel that I could always improve my accuracy, but I also think that I could do a better job of catching team throws. If I could regularly catch one ball while dodging others at the same time, that becomes an extremely valuable skill at the end of games.

Baller of the Week: Mike Van Ermen

Mike is a sophomore at Michigan State, and is in his second year of being on the varsity dodgeball team. He is improving every day, and can catch, throw, and block with the best of them. He’s an excellent mid-range player and has a powerful throw.

Q: What’s your favorite dodgeball memory been?

Mike: I would say beating Saginaw Valley at the Michigan Dodgeball Cup last year. I was left off the roster that traveled to SVSU earlier in the year, so this was the first time I had ever played them. I knew they were a good team so I was pretty excited we were able to pull of the win.

Q: How do you like the team’s chances for Nationals 2012?

Mike: I really like our chances for Nationals. I honestly believe that from spot one to spot fifteen, we are the deepest team in the league. If we play our game and don’t make unforced errors we should have too many problems. I feel if we cut down on the number of catches we throw we’d be unbeatable too.

Q: What do you think you can do to improve your game?

Mike: Get better at catching. Since the beginning of the year I’ve improved a lot, but I need to be more selective with what throws I try to catch. Too many times I go for a ball at my ankles and it bounces off my hands, but it will get better.