Welcome back dodgeball fans! We started this semester off by visiting UW-Stout for their very own Rosen Bowl! UW-Platteville was the only school to attend, and they brought fifteen players. Poor weather contributed to the small turnout, however it allowed for a chill day full of fun.
Photo taken by Richard Laux
The first game was UWP vs UW-Stout in a twelve versus eight match. There were a few newer faces on Stout’s side, and it’s great to see their club growing. The game ended UWP 11-0 UW-Stout. After the NCDA match, we set up a mixed game which included a few alumni players. Again, this game was more fun than serious, and it gave the Stout players a chance to play with more support and players. The two Eau Claire players that showed up hopped in too at times which made the game all the more fun.
Photo taken by Richard Laux
After the pinch games, the captains set up the court for a no-sting game. Unfortunately due to the few number of woman in attendance, some of the guys stepped in to fill the court out. We are extremely lucky to have such supportive players who are willing to play the no-sting style so we can improve in our game. We regularly play each other in practice when no-sting is the focus of the evening, and their competitiveness helps us improve as a team.
Photo taken by Richard Laux
The day didn’t go exactly as planned, but it was a nice way to ease back into the season after such a long break. The drive was easy which made the rest of the day flow easily. We are thankful to UW-Stout for hosting this tournament and their flexibility around the weather. We are looking forward to playing them again at our home tournament!
The Baller of the Month award is an award given monthly to a player voted on by their teammates to recognize all the hard work they have put into the team throughout the month. January’s winner is Ben Breidenbach! Here are his responses to some brief interview questions.
Q. How does it feel to be receiving this award?
It feels great to receive baller of the month for January. It was a long and grueling week, but the team put the work in that allowed me to play at a high level resulting in this award.
Q. How has this season been different from last season? What improvements have you made?
Last season I had to leave after the first semester thanks to injuries. This season I’ve developed recovery techniques that allow me to stay healthy (for the most part).
Q. Where do you see yourself on the team next year?
I hope to gain more leadership and/or responsibility within the team. Further, I’d like to achieve more balance in my offense and defensive abilities.
Q. What do you hope the team accomplishes at nationals this year?
Ideally, I’d like to see my team score some wins, but I’d also like to put our talent and on-court communication to the test against some of the best teams in the league.
We are extremely grateful that he came back after his extended break, and he is a joy to be around. Ben also wholeheartedly supports our emerging women’s team, and his contribution to our growth means the world. We can’t wait to see what else he has to offer for the rest of the season!
The Rookie of the Month award is an award given monthly to a player voted on by their teammates to recognize all the hard work they have put into the team throughout the month. January’s winner is Tori Sanborn! She is a currently pursing a environmental engineering degree and expects to graduate in 2028. Here are her responses to some brief interview questions.
Q. How does it feel to have earned this award?
Winning this award has been a great feeling. It helps me know how much I have improved over the past few months and know others think I deserve it.
Q. What do you hope to achieve before co-ed nationals and no-sting national?
Before co-ed nationals as well as no sting nationals, I hope to achieve better skills in play calling and get my throw more accurate.
Q. What role do you hope to fill on the court in future tournaments?
A role I would like to fill in the court in the future would be captain next year, or at least a position on the board to show my commitment and leadership.
Q. How does it feel to be a member of the first women’s team at UW-Platteville?
It feels like an honor to be a member of the first women’s team here at Platteville. I hope the group continues to grow and we can continue with a team.
As a member of the women’s team, I can say that we are profoundly thankful for Tori and the other women team members for sticking it out and allowing us to achieve this goal. We are looking forward to watch Tori grow into the player she wants to become!
Welcome back dodgeball fans! Before the second half of the season gets up and running, let’s have a look back at what the Pioneers have achieved so far.
Credit: Richard Laux
Goals
To start, for those who were unable to attend our home tournament banquet, the team has curated a list of goals we hope to achieve for each tournament, for ourselves, and for the season overall. We were finally able to create a list for our women’s team after recruiting enough members to finally compete. Some important goals we are working toward are:
Play in at least 8 tournaments
Earn at least one win at each away tournament.
Score at least one point on each opponent.
Start a women’s team.
We have five tournaments under our belt, and three more for our co-ed team and four more for our women’s team.
We haven’t had a win at every tournament, but each point earned was fought hard for.
We were able to earn at least one point on each of our opponents except one.
We have started UWP’s first women’s dodgeball team!
Credit: Andy McNeil
Growing As A Team
Something you might not know about the team is what time we practice or what we do at practice. We practice twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10pm to 12am, but don’t panic! The time is late, but it allows us to practice without distractions or scheduling conflicts. Additionally, we have two skills lessons a week where Coach can work more one-on-one with each player to focus on specific aspects of their gameplay. Generally, the first half of practice is structured where we run important drills. This is also a great time for teammates to get chatting about anything and everything which adds to the strength of our team dynamic! The second half is used for mock games. This year, after recruiting enough women to form a team, we have been incorporating the no-sting play style to help the women learn the game and build trust in themselves. As a member of the women’s team, I am extremely grateful to the guys and their enthusiasm for us as we learn and their excitement when they get to play us in practice.
But we don’t only play dodgeball together. We regularly have “team dinners” at Bridgeway with Coach (and sometimes alumni who are in town), hang out at Coach’s house, go bowling, and much more! The women recently went to a bingo event on campus and got quite a few wins between the six of us. A few of the players are involved in band or choir, and Coach is always eager to show his support for them during their performances. We are incredibly lucky to have a coach that is as invested in our other hobbies and is as proud of us outside of dodgeball as ours is.
Dubuque Fighting Saints Hockey Game
Upcoming Opportunities
The Central Region of the NCDA has grown in several ways over the last few years and has an opportunity to grow even more with the help of a former player. Tomas Zander, a former team captain, is finishing up his masters degree and for his capstone class, he is taking everything that he has learned from his classes and applying it to dodgeball. Tomas is using his love of dodgeball to put together an ambassador team to hopefully grow and expand the Central Region at even a faster rate. The hope is that it will give our club and the other clubs in the region more opportunities to play more games and be more competitive.
To wrap things up, I want to mention the Women’s team. We are extremely grateful to our teammates and families for supporting and pushing us to be the best players we can be. We hope to play in at least one more official no-sting match before Nationals this spring. Coach has incorporated no-sting drills and mock games into regular practices which helps the entire team, pinch and no-sting, learn the game and help referee. Each of us have our spots on the court, but we are all responsible for what success we will have as a team especially when we are so new to the game. It is truly amazing that just three semesters ago we only had one woman on the team, and now we have the opportunity to fulfill a long-time dream of our coach. We are eager to see what the rest of the season has in store for us.
On Saturday December 7th, Northern Illinois University (NIU) hosted a meet-up tournament between UWP and UIUC. After an official NCDA match, NIU’s Women’s Rugby club and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu club participated in a 6v6 Round Robin play. To end the tournament, the Women’s Rugby club and a member of the Jiu Jitsu club played a Women’s no-sting game against UWP featuring UIUC’s Naila Kudla. Here’s how the tournament went.
Credit: Richard Laux
UWP vs UIUC
UWP was determined to redeem themselves from the loss at the Pioneer Classic V against UIUC. While they didn’t win this time either, the number of points played were fewer, and the game went into overtime. UWP brought a roster of seventeen while UIUC came with only eleven players. We were able to get our rookies in on some points which provided them with some practice against UIUC’s play style. Even though we didn’t win this game, we got to show off how our on-court communication and awareness has improved since our last match.
Credit: Richard Laux
Round Robin
Two courts were set up in our six versus six style of play, and those participating gathered in their predetermined teams. The seven teams made included UWP A, UWP B, UIUC A, UIUC B, Rugby A, Rugby B, and BJJ. While this part of the tournament was just for fun, it gave our rookies the chance to learn how to play call, to keep track of how many balls their team had, and how to communicate better with their teammates. I can only speak for my team (UWP B), but we played UWP A as intense as we could (everyone but the women were not allowed to pinch throw), but we ended up abandoning that play style for a more lax and fun style.
Something that surprised me as we progressed in the round robin play was just how much the non-dodgeball clubs were learning from watching and playing the dodgeball clubs. Blocking became more confident, players learned how to pinch, and they started to play call when attacking. All in all, it was very fun.
Credit: Richard Laux
Women’s No-Sting
This match was UWP’s second official women’s match ever. We came in much more prepared compared to our first match (see Pioneer Classic V recap), and our women had much more confidence in their skills and roles. It was cool to see the rugby and Jiu Jitsu women take what they learned in the round robin and incorporate it into the no-sting game.
There are still things that are frustrating due to a lack of experience and inability to play other women’s teams, but I can’t wait to see how our women’s team grows over the upcoming semester. I hope we can play more women at our next home tournament in March.
Credit: Richard Laux
Final Thoughts
We are extremely grateful to NIU for hosting this tournament; it was nice to have a short drive for a change. It was nice to see the support from our families and friends who made the drive down to see us, and it was great to see how much fun everyone had (even if an ice coffee was lost). We hope we can set up something like this again to gain more attraction from other schools and hopefully expand the central region of the NCDA.
The Rookie of the Month award is an award given monthly to a player voted on by their teammates to recognize all the hard work they have put into the team throughout the month. December’s winner is Alison Drexler! She is a currently pursing a mechanical engineering degree and expects to graduate in 2028. Here are her responses to some brief interview questions.
Q. How has your first semester on the Dodgeball team been? How has your confidence grown since you started?
My first semester on the Dodgeball team was so much fun! At the start I was very skeptical about my abilities and how joining the team would go. Since then, my confidence has increased, and I truly feel like a part of the team.
Q. What role on the court have you found yourself good at? What other roles do you hope to improve at?
So far, my best role on the court has been play calling for the women’s team. It has really increased my understanding of the game and is teaching me to be more confident on the court. I really hope to improve on playing center and being a leader during games.
Q. How does it feel to be a founding member of UW-Platteville’s Women’s Dodgeball team?
It feels amazing to be a founding member of our women’s team. The hopes of forming a women’s team was the main reason that I joined in the first place, so I am very proud that we made it a reality. I am so excited to keep recruiting more women and continue improving all of our skills.
Q. What skills do you hope to improve on before both national tournaments this spring?
Next semester I hope to improve all my skills but if I have to choose, I think it’s most important that I focus on blocking, catching and play calling. I know I can make the necessary changes and improve before nationals this year.
We are extremely proud of the leaps and bounds Alison has made in just a few short months! She is truly a role model for our future Women’s team and Women’s League!
The Baller of the Month award is an award given monthly to a player voted on by their teammates to recognize all the hard work they have put into the team throughout the month. December’s winner is Dylan Fabry! Here are his responses to some brief interview questions.
Q. How has being Co-Captain changed your perspective about dodgeball?
The leadership position made me play with the team and communicate more instead of just focusing on myself.
Q. What changes have you made from last season that you are proud of?
I am proud of myself for improving my throw a lot from last season to where I am now.
Q. What teams do you hope to play this coming semester?
I hope to play some of the best teams in the league as that is where I feel where we improve the most.
Q. What do you hope the team will achieve before Nationals?
I want our team to be more confident in themselves as our team is mostly new and have been improving a lot.
We are very excited to see Dylan’s improved skills at this year’s National Tournament! We are also looking forward to the rest of the year with him as our Co-Captain!
The Dr. Peter Broe Classic tournament is the only tournament we play in besides nationals where we can play teams from the Ohio and Michigan regions of the NCDA. It is also the time we play our most challenging opponents. We brought a team of seventeen players, and we played three matches.
UWP vs WMU
We started the day off strong against WMU with a long first point. The next point started with a few balls thrown off the start as both teams pushed hard for the center. Shortly after a cross was thrown by WMU. While it didn’t connect, UWP was not fast enough to prevent the connection. WMU took the second point after another long back and forth.
The third point of the first half was not completed, and by the time the second half started, UWP seemed to wake up and start calling and communicating more on court. Calls were being relayed as well as potential crosses were being announced. The first point of half two went to WMU. The next point was quite the disaster as our top players sequentially got out. We were able to pick up the last point of the game for ourselves, resulting in a score of WMU 4-1 UWP.
Many of our players have been working very hard during our scheduled practices and skills practices to hone their skills. It is really exciting to see those hours of hard work pay off during intense games like these.
UWP vs BGSU
We last played BGSU at Nationals 2024 and they were our first game of the tournament. They are a formidable opponent because they are all very athletic and talented at the game. They play with a sort of confidence that lets everyone know that they rule the court, and their court awareness is something to be envious of. BGSU is a very fun team to watch.
The first point was very quick, and BGSU never left their attack line keeping UWP stuck and without balls. There were moments where the tempo picked up which resulted in UWP’s top players getting out one after the other, and this left our less experienced players responsible for filling their roles. We have made improvements when it comes to moving as a unit and throwing behind our blockers, but fast paced and intense moments like these have us falling back on old habits. BGSU players obviously have an immense amount of trust in each other, and this allows them to act a little carelessly while in the line of fire, but their defense is so tight that we struggled to make connections when they pushed up. Point number two also went to BGSU followed by point 3 not long after.
Point four made UWP look like a different animal. We moved as a unit, made connection after connection, and was able to secure the point with a majority, if not all, of the team still on the court. BGSU ended up earning two more points by the end of the game, but UWP made those two points hard ones to get. The final score was BGSU 4-1 UWP.
UWP vs GVSU
When we started our match against GVSU, it was obvious that we were tired. Both of our previous games had teams that are more athletic than us and are really good at the game. Not to spoil the ending, but we were unable to secure any points during this game. While it is one of our goals to score at least one point against every team we play, we also want to beat a Ohio and Michigan school, and this was our tournament to do so.
GVSU likes to throw crosses, and we don’t practice them enough in practice so we frequently get hit by them. This reinforces our need to always be watching the entire court no matter where we are standing.
Even though we didn’t score any points, Platteville still had moments of great defense and offense that showcased our play style. We don’t play like most other teams, and when we can get our opponents into our flow, we can play to our fullest potential. I can see our confidence as a team starting to really grow after this tournament, and we are excited to see these teams at Nationals this spring.
Final Thoughts
Our previous few tournaments at Kalamazoo have not been our greatest performances. This year was a hard battle as well, but we were able to compete better as a team while also identifying areas where we can improve. One of our goals is to earn a point on each team we play, and we were able to achieve that for two of our three games. We didn’t win this time, but we are excited to work hard next semester.
November 9th, 2024 the UW-Platteville Dodgeball Club hosted its fifth Pioneer Classic tournament. The turnout was the best we’ve had for a while with UNL and UIUC making the trip to see us, and Stout teamed up with Eau Claire to form a mixed team. UWP also hosted our first no-sting match with the women who showed up for a 5 vs 4 match.
credit: Richard Laux
UWP vs UNL
Our first game of the day was against UNL, a team we haven’t beaten since 2020. UNL came with a team of thirteen.
The first game started with a strong attack from UWP. We used to struggle with the first point or even the first game of the day, but we were able to get quick counters off which allowed us to stay on our back line. This is a very impactful strategy to use against teams like UNL and UIUC because they are teams that thrive on their back line. It also helps us conserve energy by not having to run up for an attack and then back-peddle all the way back to the baseline.
This game was a great way to start off the day. UWP took one point in the first half and the other two in the second half. Each point was long, most notably by how only three points were completed during this game. UWP worked really hard for this victory, and were are really grateful for our team’s dedication to achieve this goal.
Final score was UWP 3-0 UNL
credit: Richard Laux
UWP vs UIUC
UIUC has a unique strategy. They are more chaotic than most teams we’ve played, but they are able to use it to their advantage. That unpredictability causes us to stumble and fall into their fast play style. Additionally, they are a team that frequently throws off the opening rush, which causes our fastest players to get out immediately. They also throw resets to the point where it seems like they don’t have a shot clock; these throws are solely meant to reset the clock instead of getting an out.
It takes great team chemistry to pull off the strategy that UIUC utilizes, and it is a tough monster to play. Although we were unable to beat them this time, we are looking forward to future tournaments where we can showcase our strong on-court communication and hard counters.
Final score was UWP 2-4 UIUC
credit: Richard Laux
UWP vs Eau Claire/Stout
It’s always exciting to see how the Stout and Eau Claire teams improve since the last time we played them. This time they played as a united team I have executively decided to call Eau Stout.
We pride ourselves on never playing down to a team if we believe they are less skilled or experienced. Both UW-Stout and UW-Eau Claire are brand new teams, but when they combine, they fill in the spots that were lacking and become a stronger team. It is always fun to play them and witness their growth from the beginning.
Final score was UWP 5-1 Eau Claire/Stout
credit: Richard Laux
UWP Women’s Match
We were able to successfully host our first women’s no-sting match ever at UWP! The rules for no-sting are very different than the co-ed format, most significantly is the court size and number of players. Each team can have up to six players on the court at one time, and the court is the same size as a volleyball court. Additionally, there are only six balls in play at one time compared to the ten balls in co-ed dodgeball, and the shot clock drops from fifteen seconds to twelve seconds.
To say it was a learning curve is an understatement. Our two women vets had only played co-ed until this point, and our rookie women haven’t had much tournament experience.
The game had five UWP women against a mixed team of one player from UIUC, one from UW-Stout, and two from UW-Eau Claire. Due to this match being the first time we played on such a small court with a smaller neutral zone, we stepped over the attack line once, and I personally stepped out of bounds twice. Hopefully, with more practice, we can commit the court size to memory so we can play dodgeball even in our sleep!
Final score was UWP 4-6 Mixed
credit: Richard Laux
Afterthoughts
This was an extremely fun and exhausting tournament to partake in. We are also very grateful to the WSUP Radio Club for commentating on the tournament and for the time they took to learn the game. We are also very excited to kick off our Women’s team journey with our friends, families, and former players by our side. Keep your eye out for our future tournaments and women’s matches we hope to play!
The Rookie of the Month award is an award given monthly to a player voted on by their teammates to recognize all the hard work they have put into the team throughout the month. This month’s winner was Reagan Bucholtz! She is a currently pursing a mechanical engineering degree and expects to graduate in 2028. Here are her responses to some brief interview questions.
How has your opinion of dodgeball changed since you started playing?
Before joining the team, the last time I had played dodgeball was in middle school, and honestly, I hated middle school dodgeball. So, after being convinced to just go to a practice just to see what the dodgeball team was, I was very surprised by how much fun I had. It felt very different than middle school dodgeball, where, at least at my school, the boys were just chucking the balls at each other the second they got one, while the girls just stood at the back of the court doing nothing. This team is nothing like the middle school dodgeball I knew; it is better in every way. There is strategy, teamwork, and communication. The guys are always making sure all the girls are getting involved with the game, and work with us as a team. So, overall, my opinion of dodgeball has change from the day I hated most in gym class, to what I look forward to doing each week.
What role on the court do you hope to play in the future? What skills do you want to continue to work on?
On the court, the role I usually enjoy being the most is the blocker. Since I know I don’t have one of the strongest throws on the team, I feel like being able to block and cover for my teammates is how I can benefit the team the most. One role that I would like to maybe try doing, probably not for a year or two still, is play calling. The first time I did it was at a practice, and I got really overwhelmed and did not like it whatsoever. However, if I continue to work at it and understand what to do in different situations, feels like if I might eventually warm up to it. Being able to play call would be a good asset for me to have, especially since I have a tendency to get hurt or for previous injuries to act up, and I have a louder voice so my teammates can hear me. So, then I could still benefit the team, even if I am a little injured.
What has been your favorite moment of the season so far?
My favorite moment as a team is probably after we beat UNL for the first time in years. Although I didn’t play in the game, the huddle afterwards, when everyone, especially people who had been on the team for a few years, was so happy. Just the excitement that everyone shared made me realize just how amazing the community of the team is.
How does it feel to be a member of the first ever UWP Women’s Dodgeball Team?
I am so excited that there is a women’s team this year! I know that this is something that the team has been working on for a while now, so I am very honored to be a part of it. Even though most of the women’s team is rookies, we are constantly improving and growing, not only as individual players, but also as a team. It is also amazing how much support our coach and all the guys show us. They are always offering to work with us with the no-sting balls to help the women’s team to get more experience, which I really appreciate. I can’t wait to go compete at nationals next semester as a the first ever UWP Women’s Dodgeball Team!
We are extremely proud and excited to have a player such as Reagan on our co-ed team and the growing women’s team. We can’t way to see the strides she makes as a player!
