The UW-Platteville Dodgeball Club is proud to have formed its first Women’s Dodgeball Team for the 2024-2025 season where they competed at Women’s Nationals in Miami, Ohio. For the 2025-2026 season, we have 5 returning members and we are looking to recruit at least 7 new members in order to have a B team.
Teams need a minimum of 4 team members in order to compete at women’s nationals, but they are allowed 6 players on the court. The maximum roster size for Women’s No-Sting is 9 players. The women’s league is still growing, and it is expected that 4-6 teams will be competing at Nationals, meaning UWP has a good shot at winning. Women’s dodgeball uses smaller balls that are called “no-stings” that don’t hurt and are easier to work with. Teams also play on a smaller court, roughly the size of a volleyball court.
The UWP team brought 2 veterans and 5 rookies to Women’s Nationals, and their first match was the first time they had ever played an official women’s team. Despite this, many players and coaches were impressed by the UWP Women’s team. At the end of the season, 4 of the 7 UWP players earned awards from the league. Veteran Hollie Wheeler made the 2nd Women’s All American Team, Rookies Alison Draxler and Tori Sanborn made the 1st Women’s All American Rookie Team, and Rookie Reagan Bucholtz made the 2nd Women’s All American Rookie Team.
The way UWP plays dodgeball is all about brains over brawn. We use strategies and techniques so that every player can be successful and important on the court. You don’t need to have any background in any sports to do well on our team. We will teach you everything you need to know. We help give feedback to perfect your throwing, catching, and blocking. This isn’t like middle school or high school gym class dodgeball. We make sure everyone gets to play and has fun doing it. Our current stats and throw speeds show that our women’s team is well rounded, and every individual has the ability to make game-changing plays.
Here is a link to our TikTok page where we post our highlights from games and tournaments for both Co-Ed and Women’s No-Sting: TikTok
Learn a little more about our female members who currently play for both the Co-Ed team and the Women’s team:
Hollie Wheeler, Club President, Women’s Team Captain
Junior, Started in February 2024
I joined after I saw the club at the spring involvement fair. I went to my first practice the same night as the involvement fair and I had a lot of fun. I decided to keep coming back to practice, and I actually started looking forward to going to practice. The guys are all super nice and several of them would often walk me home to my dorm at night. When I joined, there was only 1 other female on the team. After a few weeks, I felt comfortable around the guys, and I was perfectly fine if the other girl couldn’t make it to practice. Now, I can’t imagine not being on the team.
When I first started, I threw around 20 mph (our coach has a speed clock). By the time nationals came around in April, I hit 40 mph. Now, I’m working to get above 50 mph with both types of dodgeballs. I attended my first nationals with the team at Ohio State University, and it was so much fun. I love being in the club because it helps keep me active without having to find time to go to the gym, and 2-3 nights a week of practice is the perfect amount of commitment for me, and its no big deal if I have to miss a practice.
I am so proud of the club and the women’s team, and I’m very grateful that my female teammates stuck around. I have grown very close with my teammates, and they are now my best friends. Before joining the team, I was shy and had no confidence. I’ve seen myself grow both on and off the court, and now I feel more comfortable as a leader. I’ve also seen how much the female rookies have grown, and I want to help more new players find that confidence they never knew they had.
Sometimes it sounds a little silly to say I play dodgeball in college, but I’ve never had so much fun. My only regret is that I didn’t join sooner.
Alison Draxler, Content Writer, Women’s Team Co-Captain
Sophomore, Started in September 2024
I went to my first practice after being asked by my RA Hollie if I wanted to join her. I was very hesitant at first but wanted to get involved and told myself I had nothing to lose. After having fun at the first practice, I decided to keep going, and I am so grateful that I did. I had absolutely no idea how much fun I was getting myself into. Not only is playing dodgeball a lot of fun, but I am so proud of the community and environment that our team has created. Our club is so much fun and very inviting. So much so that we created UWP’s first women’s dodgeball team last year against all odds. I can’t wait to watch our team continue growing in numbers and in skill. We are only going up from here and I am so honored to be our women’s team co-captain. Lastly, I want to add that joining dodgeball has given me leadership opportunities that I would not have expected. Over the past year I have watched my confidence grow, not just on the court, but also in my everyday life in school and in my role as an RA.
Reagan Bucholtz, Secretary
Sophomore, Started September 2024
I joined the dodgeball club after seeing it a Bridgefest and my RA, Hollie, encouraged people in our wing to go with her to a practice. After having a lot of fun with the first practice I decided to keep going since I was having a lot of fun. Joining the club helped me with creating friendships quickly, which helped a lot with adapting to college life. The genuine friendships are the one of the biggest reasons I stayed with the club. Another reason I stayed is because it was great to be able to take a break from schoolwork, go get some exercise with a team, and see continuous improvement. After a week I was able to block and throw with much better form. By the end of the year, I was able to throw the dodgeball 50mph, compared to my throw at the beginning being around 30mph. Being able to see the improvement helps me feel even more motivated to do better and make goals to do so. Overall, dodgeball was one of my best college experiences so far, and I can’t wait to keep seeing our program grow, both our co-ed team and our women’s team!
Tori Sanborn, Treasurer
Sophomore, Started October 2024
Hello! My name is Tori Sanborn and I am sophomore here at UWP. I joined the dodgeball team in October of 2024, and I am now the treasurer of the club. I ended up joining the dodgeball club due to my ra at the time, and thought why not give it a shot. After joining, I realized the club is very welcoming and I was able to make so many friends. At the same time, it’s a perfect way to stay in shape and get out of your comfort zone. When I first started, I was nervous because I never really played dodgeball in school before. But over time, I improved a great amount. I learned how to catch, proper throwing form, as well as seeing the whole court and now I play call for the team. You do not need any prior knowledge or skill to join, and the club is very friendly. Giving it a try, was one of the best decisions I made. If you’d like to try something new, then the dodgeball team is a perfect way.
Victoria Bonilla
Sophomore, Started February 2025
I joined because I thought it would be a fun way to stay active. I’ve continued with the club ever since because it was a great atmosphere and the other members were really welcoming. It didn’t matter whether I knew how to play the sport or not, everyone took the time to show me how to play. From just a couple of months of joining I’ve learned the skills needed to be successful during a game. I think more people should give this sport a try, as long as you have a great attitude and the eagerness to learn you’ll have a lot of fun. As a female player it can be intimidating at first, but you’ll impress yourself as you learn the ropes. I really do enjoy playing with the other women on the team, it’s a great bonding experience and team building. You’ll leave each practice with a smile and some new friends.
Hannah Spencer
Sophomore, Started February 2025
I joined because Hollie was my RA and mentioned there was a girl’s team, I stayed despite my injury because I love the community the team provides. I think anyone reading this should join the team because you don’t need to be the most athletic or have every bit of dodgeball knowledge coming in, it is a very supportive and fun community that I think every personality can mesh with to some degree.
Please join us at practice! Our schedule is as follows:
August 31 – September 30
5:00 pm to 7:00 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Memorial Park courts by Pickard Hall
October 2 – April 21
10:00 pm to 11:55 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the PAC wooden courts
If this time does not work for you, send an email telling us what might work for you, and we will try to accommodate! We have optional earlier practices starting in October on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8-10 pm. Having more people at practice is beneficial in simulating real game scenarios, no matter your skill level.
We get to choose how we practice, what we practice, and how we hang out outside of practice. We schedule both Co-Ed and Women’s only team bonding events throughout the season including, but not limited to, lunch/dinner on campus, bowling, billiards, disc golf, mini golf, movie night, game night, hockey game, study sessions, and more.
We could not ask for a more supportive team. The male players are always willing to help, be silly at practice, and make everyone feel welcome. The female veteran players are very supportive in helping new female members adjust to a Co-Ed setting and we will not push you to do anything you aren’t ready for yet.
We look forward to dominating this season and we can’t wait for you to join us!
