People have been throwing objects at each other since humanity has been around. It may have started out as rocks in Ancient Greece, then moved towards sowed leather sacks. Thankfully we are gifted in the Modern Era with light, yet firm rubber balls. It is no surprise that humans find joy in throwing balls around, there are a plethora of sports that involve this; however, there is something primitive of hurling a pin missile at your friends in the hope of knocking them on their butts that makes dodgeball such a wonderful sport.
Enough of the blabber…. UWP Dodgeball is so excited to have everybody back on campus this year. We’ve already had a huge turnout with the first couple of practices. As of right now, UWP Dodgeball has 11 new members regularly coming to practice, which puts the total number of players at 22. After such a miserable season last year, UWP Dodgeball is happy to say that we are back, stronger than ever.
However, each school is dealing with COVID differently. The exact number of tournaments we will be competing this year is still unknown, but we plan on taking every chance we can get to have a “normal” season. I asked JT Warren (President), Jacob Sebranek (Vice President) and Jared Coldman (Captain) a few questions on what their thoughts are for the upcoming season.
1) What are your expectations for the upcoming season?
JT – I have high expectations for this season on many levels. On a competition level I expect us to rise through the ranking to finish top 8 by the end of the season. On a team level I expect us to gel together better than anyone expects. I want transition play to be seamless. I want communication to be on a higher level. Most of all I want all of us to fight for every point no matter if the score is 10-0, 0-10, or 1-1.
Jacob – My expectation for the season is for this team to make the Elite 8 at Nationals. We have one of the most experienced groups in the NCDA right now and a large promising group of freshmen.
Jared – My expectations for the year are to get a good recruitment class, play well outside of the Midway Conf., and do well at Nationals. I think if we are able to get a good recruitment class and get them up to speed we should do pretty well overall this season. We have experience with our returners and I expect them to come full force and help the new guys out the best they can.
2) What are your goals for practices and tournaments this semester?
JT – My goals for the season are to reach the elite 8 in bracket play at nationals. Considering what our team is capable of I feel like that isn’t an unreasonable ask. Maybe we can even reach the top 4. I would also like to recruit at least 7 new members this year.
Jacob – This team has throwers and catchers. What I want to see out of practices and tournaments this year is a sharp increase in blockers. I also want to see people get out of their comfort zones. If someone is a bad catcher, I want to see them practice catching in practice even if it means getting out more frequently so that in a tournament they make the catch. The same goes for blocking, throwing, and so forth.
Jared – Some goals for practice are to get the intensity up and try our best to replicate tournament situations to help the new guys get used to playing at a quicker pace. As for tournaments, my goal is to do well outside of the midway. We have struggled against other teams and the goal is to turn that around.
3) In which areas does this team need to improve this semester?
JT – We need to focus on two major areas I feel like. The first one is stamina. We get tired near the end of tournaments or even at the end of games. I don’t want other teams beating us only because we are tired. The other major issue is our throwing. We need to get more arms used throughout the year, so they are more rested up near nationals time.
Jacob – I think this team needs to improve our ball control. We are often beat at the starting rush and when we do get ball control we often lose it far to quickly.
Jared – It’s been awhile since we played in a tournament so it’s kind of hard to tell what we need to improve on. One thing we struggled with was ball control. Part of that was the starting run and not getting enough balls off the bat. Communication is another part of that. It’s always an essential aspect of the game and it helps us regulate ball control.
4) How do you think COVID will impact recruitment?
JT – I don’t actually think COVID will affect recruitment because we are on campus. If anything this year I think we will get more members than the last few years. So many people have been cooped up in their house waiting to go back out and do stuff. Dodgeball club gives them that opportunity again. They get that team feeling again and are actually able to have some fun playing sports again.
Jacob – I think Covid-19 has impacted recruitment in a great way. We have 10-20 new freshmen ready to join our club already. It seems as though everyone is eager to get involved after being cooped up indoors last year.
Jared – I think it might help us out actually. I think people will be looking for something to do and want to be a part of a sport club.
