NCDA – Page 30 – National Collegiate Dodgeball Association

Brutally Honest Nationals Preview

The following was written by Towson Alum – Jonathan Shaw

For a lot of people in this world, reflecting on their lives can be a difficult thing, and can lead to conclusions that are against their own personal opinions. Growing up in the sticks in Carroll County, Maryland taught me how to become an adult at a very young age. I’ll never forget a conversation I had with my dad when I was about 12 years old. We had just gotten done around five to six hours of mulching our front yard. He looked at me and said “Son, make sure in life you always tell it like it is. Don’t add fluff to make people feel better. Always shoot it straight to someone.” That’s pretty much how I’ve tried to live my life up to this point. That’s how I tell it to my middle school students while I’m teaching them about Health, how I tell it to the J.V. baseball team I help coach, and how I’m going to tell it in this article. These are my 7 Brutal Truth’s heading into NCDA Nationals 2019.

Matchups That Deserve Your Attention

With pool play of nationals right around the corner, everybody’s looking forward to the matchups of the high seeds, the rematch, or the potential upset. Instead, I’d like to focus on matchups that may fly under the radar, may not get the most attention, but have the potential to be close and exciting games. This has nothing to do with Gonzalez Rankings, it’s just my personal opinion. I’ll go in order of queue, so without further explanation, here are some games that have potential for excitement.

Saturday Nationals Schedule

ICYMI: Our Saturday schedule has been released on our Facebook Page and is now available here on the website! We will also have a live scoring sheet available on Google Sheets which will include scores throughout the day, current win-loss records, and even up to date seeding for Sunday’s bracket play. There will be livestreaming for matches also available through Facebook Live through the NCDA’s Facebook Page if you’re able to watch.

Mad City and NCDA Reach Partnership for Nationals 2019 Streaming

The NCDA will be partnering with Mad City Events and Mainstream Media, LLC for this weekend’s College Dodgeball National Championship Tournament held at Grand Valley State University!

Games will be broadcast live on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch from 8AM-4PM EDT on Sunday, April 14, 2019.

We are confident that this weekend’s top-notch production will have an extremely positive impact on our league, and the sport of dodgeball as a whole!

Pre-Nationals Standings

Standings are aimed to be released by the end of every Tuesday.

In the 2019 Season, we have 40 technical upsets in 216 ranked matches (81.48% success rate) across 31 events. Additionally, there have been four JV matches entered into the Records.

The Gonzalez System is a computer ranking model similar to Elo and is a rating exchange system based on research performed by World Rugby. It has been adapted by the NCDA to the demands of College Dodgeball, but can be tuned and customized endlessly to incorporate accurate data. It has been used to help determine seeds for the Nationals bracket since Nationals 2014, and was used exclusively for the Nationals 2017 and 2018 bracket.

Power Rankings: April 2019

What a fantastic regular season! With Nationals right around the corner, it is time to take a look at where each team stands heading into the season’s final tournament. Grand Valley State University will host Nationals 2019 on April 13-14 in Allendale, Michigan. Keep an eye out this week for more previews of this event!

Below is the official April 2019 Power Rankings list produced by NCDA Executive Board members Jacob Leski (Director of Recruitment and Retention) and Kevin Bailey (Chief of Content). Please keep in mind: these power rankings have no impact on the actual NCDA Standings.

Rule Proposal: 28 ft Attack Line

The following was proposed by Hunter Ford and Colby Briceland for the 2020 season.

Proposed Rule Change: Move the throw line to 28 feet

Rationale: Create a more competitive NCDA format by speeding up pace of play, create a better visual product for new members/spectators, increasing scoring, and more opportunities for all players to succeed

Our gameplay has dramatically improved over the past few seasons due to multiple rule changes including the switch to 12v12 and the implementation of clean blocking. The throw line is another area where I believe the NCDA can further improve to once again solidify us as the most competitive and exciting rule set amongst all dodgeball leagues in the world.

Advantages:
Shorter throwing distance reduces accuracy errors, leading to a higher percentage of balls on target
Closer distance to baseline provides more opportunity for quick counter throws from baseline
Closer distance to baseline increases neutral zone space, with more opportunity to run down opponents on counter strategies
Balls become closer to each team on the opening rush, which can provide more opportunities for kills at early stages of the match
The more available opportunities for kills can lead to a decrease in stalling tactics due to kills becoming a higher probability than previously
Easier set up, for those unaware, on a full size basketball court there is a line marked 28 feet from the baseline already representing the coaches box, this would reduce errors in setting up throw lines in favor of an easy accurate measurement
A closer throw line can improve player catching ability, and develop more skilled dodgeball players for the long term
Faster pace of play leads to more scoring, also less waiting time on the sideline for players already out

Disadvantages:
A closer throw line favors teams with strong throwers, which can reduce catch rates, leading to more dodging and less results from each throw
A closer throw line for gyms with close walls provides more bounce back opportunities

→ That being said, the closer throw line encourages more kills/counters which could reduce teams utilizing bounce back strategies
A closer throw line slightly boosts the potential for injuries including but not limited to face shots and damaged fingers

In the event that this rule passes and gameplay legitimately suffers, we will always have the ability to change this back. For the sake of developing our players and improving the product on the court, I feel this is a rule that we need to implement at the start of the 2019-20 season.

Nationals Send-Off Tournament Recap

The following was written by Jeremy Brown:

GVSU Still the Best, Towson Not Far Off

This past Saturday, #2 Towson played host to #1 Grand Valley State and #3 James Madison in what was sure to be an intense final tournament before Nationals. This tournament did not disappoint, with each team providing a clearer image of what to expect at Grand Valley in just a few short weeks. For the purposes of this article, I want to first do a brief breakdown of each game before taking time to look at what this tournament means for Nationals. Let’s get started.

Standings as of 2019-04-02

Standings are aimed to be released by the end of every Tuesday.

In the 2019 Season, we have 43 technical upsets in 226 ranked matches (80.97% success rate) across 31 events. Additionally, there have been four JV matches entered into the Records.

BOTM: 2019 March

Baller of the Month for March goes to a player more than deserving of the recognition. Miami Captain Tom Morand has been in the running many times for BOTM, and this month we decided to finally give him the honor. Tom has led Miami University through a remarkable resurgence over the past few years, as the RedHawks have climbed up the rankings rapidly, and are now considered a Final Four contender. As an individual, he has made some noise this season, with several fantastic individual performances (including a wild comeback against #2 Towson to push the Tigers to overtime at WAR III). Tom is one of only a few players on the 2019 MVP shortlist this late in the year, and has his team positioned for their best Nationals finish in program history. Kevin Bailey and Hunter Ford took some time to chat with this star player from Miami. Take a look at the interview below:

Kevin Bailey: First off congratulations on winning Baller of the Month. You and your team have made immense improvements over the past few years and now Miami looks like a legitimate Final Four contender. Can you talk a little bit about what went into developing this team into what it is today?

A Last Minute Highlight: One More Showdown in the South

There are several big matches taking place in the league this weekend as teams make their final show of strength (and overall adjustments) in preparation for Nationals 2019. As exciting as it will be to see who comes out on top as “The Big Three” (GVSU, JMU, and Towson) clash one more time, my eyes are focused on the matchup in the Southern Region happening this morning.

Once again, the University of North Georgia will host Georgia Southern University in a double header matchup that will give us a lot of insight on where these two programs are as they both get ready to wrap up their third season in the NCDA. These two teams joined the NCDA together, playing their induction match against one another back in the Fall of 2016, and have a strong history of matchups. Unfortunately, in all of those matchups so far UNG has continued to come out as the stronger team. It has taken some time, but the ability gap between the two teams seems to have started to close. The question is, has it closed enough for us to see some different results from their clash this time around? The captains of both teams weighed in and let us know their thoughts.

University of North Georgia (UNG)

The UNG Nighthawks are currently being hailed as the kings of the Southern Region thanks to their big win over the University of Kentucky during their home tournament back in the fall of this season. Since then however, they’ve been fairly quiet, even though the rest of league has been wanting to see how they fair against even bigger opponents from other regions. Hopefully sitting idle has not made them soft. We shall see after today and during their performance at Nationals.

Captain, Royce Hogg, along with assistant captains Bailey Hankins, Luke Cheney, and Thomas Clements feel as though the core strength of their team is still there. They are also excited to see how some of their young arms, such as Tanner Fields and Vince Bartolomei, play today. Confident as always, the Nighthawks believe they will come out with two more wins under their belt and have the knowledge on what they need to work on before Nationals.

Score Prediction: 5-0 over GSU in both matches.

Georgia Southern University (GSU)

The GSU Eagles have made some big and much needed improvements to their game since their first season, but have still struggled a bit to really take their game to the next level in order to compete with stronger programs. However, they have made big moves this season to travel and play other teams in the league in order to gain more experience. Although a bit more quiet in the second half of the season, GSU has worked extremely hard to build up their ranks and train hard in preparation for Nationals. Today’s matches will show us whether or not that hard work has made a difference.

Captain, Brett Storie, along with assistant captains Pastula Travis and Sam Copland, believe that we will see a new force on the court today if they are able to keep their composure, formation, and overall teamwork together. Veterans, like Andrew Clough, have helped to picked up the pace for the team, while rookies, like Matt Faulkinberry, have really grown since their first matches back in the Fall. They are looking foward to showing UNG, and the league, that they are a team worth talking about.

Score Predictions: UNG 2-1 GSU in OT (1st Match); 2-1 over UNG (2nd Match)

The Big Three Collide at Towson

This is perhaps the most loaded tournament field to date not named the Michigan Dodgeball Cup (MDC). #2 Towson will play host to #1 Grand Valley State and #3 James Madison in one of the last regular season events of the year, appropriately titled the ‘Nationals Send-Off’ tournament.

All three teams rank in the top three of the current Gonzalez Standings, and have consistently been at the top of the charts of the content team’s Power Rankings as well. The three schools have a combined 52-6 record this season, with five of those wins/losses coming against each other. Additionally, all of them rank within the top 10 for strength of schedule this year.

While it would be easy to go on and on about the eye popping numbers each team brings to the table, let’s focus on what has gotten each of these teams to the pinnacle of college dodgeball thus far.

10 Ways To Become An NCDA All-Star

It has been another exciting season of dodgeball within the NCDA, with a lot of close matches, crazy upsets, amazing plays, and standout players. But what truly makes a player stand out in the league enough to be considered one of the best? Every sports league has its “all-star” players, and the NCDA is no different. After Nationals, every serious player in the league will be looking for their name on the “All-Region” or “All-American” rosters. Whether you’re a rookie or a multi-year veteran, there is always a new way to take your game and notoriety to another level. I spoke to just a few of the league’s most memorable players from over the years to get their thoughts on what it took to take their dodgeball career to the next level, and this is what I learned. Here are 10 ways to become one of collegiate dodgeball’s top players:

1. PRACTICE LIKE A PRO

Rule Proposal: Ball Re-Entry

The following was proposed by Kevin Bailey.

If a ball exits the court on one team’s side of the neutral zone (and does not re-enter the court on its own), it must be returned in-bounds at that team’s baseline. If a ball exits the court through the neutral zone (and does not re-enter the court on its own), it must be placed on the spot in which it went out of bounds. No exception is made for a ball out of bounds but within reach for a player.

*If a live player possesses a ball at the same time as a designated ball retriever, the ball is awarded to the player.

Rationale:

Too many times (on courts with a close wall especially), a ball thrown by an opponent exits the court on a team’s side but not within reach. When this ball is the only one on that side, it becomes a major stall ball game, and almost always results in 10-15 seconds of standing still, then a shotclock violation call. Oftentimes this will repeat itself after the opponent comes up to make a solo throw after the balls over. At WAR, there were a few games with double digit stoppages due to this exact thing.

This rule will help speed up the game, by taking away some unnecessary stoppages. It will also help decrease bounceback stall ball in the scenario mentioned above. Also, taking away the ambiguity of what is/isn’t reachable helps simplify the out of play rule and will cause for less disputes.

Overall, this isn’t a major rule change that will have a massive impact on the game, but it will help in some cases to make the game much more watchable. Not to mention, more enjoyable to play.

Take a look at the image included in this post for a basic description of different scenarios.

Standings as of 2019-03-26

Standings are aimed to be released by the end of every Tuesday.

In the 2019 Season, we have 43 technical upsets in 220 ranked matches (80.45% success rate) across 29 events. Additionally, there have been four JV matches entered into the Records.