Category: Awards

April 2026 Rookie of the Year

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 Stephen Bittner! He is a Senior currently pursuing a mechanical engineering degree and expects to graduate in 2026. Here are his responses to some brief interview questions.

Q: How do you feel about winning Rookie of the Month for the second time?

A: It feels great! I put in my best at Nationals, and this feels like recognition for the hard work I’ve put into dodgeball.

Q: What skill do you think you improved the most throughout the season?

A: I think I’ve improved the most on blocking. When I first started with dodgeball, that was the skill I had the least experience with. It felt awkward when I first started and I dirty blocked a lot. Fast forward to today, and I think it might be my best skill, and it feels great to protect teammates while they make plays.

Q: What was your favorite part of Nationals?

A: My favorite part was definitely coming back after Saturday and proving how well we could work together as a team against CMU and UIUC. It was a really good way to end the season!

Q: What was your favorite tournament this season and why?

A: It’s between the Ohio Nationals and Tyler Webb Memorial III for me. Despite getting destroyed at bowling green, it was a really enjoyable experience for me to go up against some really good teams and see how well we could stand up against them. I think I also learned a lot from that tournament in particular.

March 2026 Rookie of the Month

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 Chloe Kaderabek! She is a Freshman currently pursuing a mechanical engineering degree and expects to graduate in 2029. Here are her responses to some brief interview questions.

Q: How does it feel to be recognized by your teammates for this award?

A: It feels really good getting recognized for this award and knowing that the work I’ve been putting into practices and tournaments are paying off.

Q: What was your favorite moment of the season so far?

A: My favorite moment of the season so far was beating UNL in the no-sting match at the Zanderthon tournament. It was so cool seeing my team work together and show off their skills on the court to get that win.

Q: What did you think of your first women’s nationals?

A: My first Women’s Nationals was the best tournament I’ve been to so far. Meeting most of the other women in dodgeball and getting to know them was so cool. Seeing how other female rookies improved through the season was awesome to see too.

Q: What are you looking forward to most for nationals this year?

A: What I’m most looking forward to at Nationals this year is finishing off the season on a high note with my team. I’m excited to see how we all play, and to see everyone show off their talents.

February 2026 Rookie of the Month

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 Alex Kirchman! He is a Freshman currently pursuing an Animal Science degree with an emphasis in pre-veterinary sciences and expects to graduate in 2029. Here are his responses to some brief interview questions.

Q: How does it feel to be recognized by your teammates for this award?

A: It really surprised me, having joined the team in January, I didn’t expect the recognition, but I am super excited about it and really grateful. 

Q: What is one skill you have been focusing on improving this semester?

A: I have been working on my throwing a lot. I have never done a sport that entailed throwing, so that is my biggest focus for the rest of the season. 

Q: What was your favorite moment from playing dodgeball so far?

A: My favorite moment was getting my first catch in my first tournament at home. I was thrown at off the start, and it was the point after I had gotten out by being thrown out off start. 

Q: What are you most excited for going into nationals this year?

A: I am really excited to see what we can do in women’s and coed, and see how we compete against stronger teams. It is really cool to see how much the team has grown in the little time I have been a part of the team. It is going to be a really cool experience for me, and I am super excited for it. 

December 2025 Rookie of the Month

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 Stephen Bittner! He is a Senior currently pursuing a mechanical engineering degree and expects to graduate in 2026. Here are his responses to some brief interview questions.

Q: How do you feel about being recognized for this award by your teammates?

A: It feels really good. Sometimes you can get focused on the things you aren’t that good at. This was a good reminder that I have improved since I started.

Q: What are you looking forward to most this semester?

A: I’m really looking forward to how my new shoes impact my performance on the court. It’s going to be interesting not sliding 5 feet across the court whenever I want to stop.

Q: What is one skill you hope to focus and improve on?

A: I’m also going to focus on court awareness. This will help with teamwork, setting up team throws and defending teammates. It will also help me play better against enemy crosses.

Q: What was your favorite moment from playing dodgeball last semester?

A: I think my favorite moment was playing against Iowa. It was a really good experience playing with the B team against a fellow new team.

November 2025 Rookie of the Month

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 Shaun De Vries! He is a Junior currently pursuing a Civil Engineering degree and expects to graduate in 2027. Here are his responses to some brief interview questions.

Q: How has your opinion on dodgeball changed since you started playing?

A: I didn’t think it was as serious of a sport until I started playing. There is a lot more involved than just throwing and catching dodgeballs.

Q: What role on the court do you hope to play in the future?

A: I would like to take up more of a leadership role with pulling people together and keeping the team moving effectively while still having a good time and doing good myself.

Q: What was your favorite moment of the season so far?

A: My favorite moment was probably practicing dressed up as Deadpool.

Q: What is something you hope to improve on next semester?

A: I would like to improve on my overall court awareness and playing capabilities. Focusing more on faster throws and more consistent game-time catching. 

Congratulations again to Shaun for being recognized for this award!

October 2025 Rookie of the Month

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. October’s winner is Logan VanCamp! He is a currently pursuing a degree in general engineering and expects to graduate in 2029. Here are his responses to some brief interview questions.

Q: How do you feel about winning this award?

A: Winning this award feels pretty good. We have quite a few solid rookies, so getting the nod over some of the other guys (and gals) means quite a bit. I think it will be fun competing with the other rookies for this award throughout the year and I think it will push all of us to become better players. 

Q: What skill do you think you have improved on the most since joining the team?

A: I think what I’ve improved on the most since joining is just being comfortable out on the court. When I first joined, I was a little overwhelmed at times, but now I’m much more comfortable and confident during play. 

Q: What are your thoughts on this season and tournaments so far?

A: So far dodgeball has been a lot of fun and has made the college experience much better overall. I’ve only gone to 1 tournament so far, but I am looking forward to going to more and seeing how much we can improve as a team, and how much I can improve as an individual player throughout the year. 

Q: What are you looking forward to the most for our home tournament this weekend?

A: I’m really excited for Pioneer Sweets being at the home tournament because I love ice cream. 

Congratulations again to Logan for being recognized and receiving this award!

September 2025 Rookie of the Month

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. September’s winner is Anna Behnke! She is a currently pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering and expects to graduate in 2029. Here are his responses to some brief interview questions.

Q: How do you feel about winning this award?

A: It feels good to start out my dodgeball career strong, seeing I could have a future on this team.

Q: How has this award impacted your interest in Dodgeball?

A: I am more driven to continue learning about the sport and better my skills.

Q: What did you think of your first tournament?

A: I think the first tournament went okay, there is a lot to learn and practice. Could have gone worse.

Q: What skills do you hope to improve on for future tournaments?

A: I mainly want to work on my throwing accuracy, but continuing working on my blocking, and communication.

Q: Where do you see yourself on the team going forward?

A: I hope to be a part of the starting 12 in the future. 

Congrats again to Anna Behnke for winning this award! We can’t wait to see how much you improve throughout the season!

Women’s Rookie of the Year – Alison Draxler

This is award given to a first year player on the women’s team that has put in a lot of effort and makes an impact on the court. They provide us with throws and catches when it is needed the most. After being voted on my teammates, I was chosen for our team’s first Women’s Rookie of the Year. Here are the questions given to me for winning this award!

Q: How do you feel about winning this award?

A: I feel so proud of myself for earning this award. Although I already knew this, it proved to me that I belong on the team and that my teammates also see that. This makes me even more excited to improve and play next season.

Q: What was your proudest moment from this season?

A: It is hard to pick just one moment from the whole season, but my favorite has to be competing at women’s nationals with a full team. Even though we didn’t win in the end, I am so proud of our accomplishments and the number of catches and thrown outs we were able to get.

Q: What do you hope to improve on?

A: Next season I really want to focus and improve on my skills in pinch. My main goal is to get more comfortable with letting throws hit me in order to secure more catches. I know it is possible if I continue going to skills practices.

Q: What are you looking forward to for the next season?

A: I am looking forward to recruiting more players and winning some more games. Our team is already very talented and getting some new rookies will only help us improve.

Q: What is your greatest takeaway from this season?

A: My greatest takeaway is that we are capable of really competing with good teams as long as we work as a team and have good communication. We had lots of close points and games that we could have won if we worked together just a little more.

Rookie of the Year – David Laux

This is award given to a first year player on the team that has put in a lot of effort and makes an impact on the court. They provide us with throws and catches when it is needed the most. The winner is voted on by their teammates and this year’s rookie of the year is David Laux. Let’s take a look at the interview below and what he thinks of winning this award!

Q: How do you feel about winning this award?

A: I feel great! It is awesome to see that all the hard work this year has paid off.

Q: What was your proudest moment from this season?

A: My proudest moment this year was at the tournament in NIU where I got 4 catches in one game and got “rookie of the month for the league”.

Q: What do you hope to improve on?

A: I hope to be more consistent in everything next year especially blocking and throw accuracy.

Q: What are you looking forward to for the next season?

A: I’m looking forward to playing more and being a big part of the team.

Q: What is your greatest takeaway from this season?

A: My greatest takeaway is that I need to watch what my teammates are doing just as much as watching what my enemies are doing.

Women’s Baller of the Year – Hollie Wheeler

This is a new award this year that is given to the best woman on the court. She throws outs, makes catches, provides pressure, and allows our women’s team to compete. The winner is voted on by their teammates and this year’s winner was Hollie Wheeler. Let’s take a look at the interview below on his thoughts of winning the award.

Q: How do you feel about winning this award?

A: I’m very appreciative that both my male and female teammates felt I deserved this recognition. It’s exciting that we even get to have this award this year. I hope I can keep it up and be a contender for it again next year.

Q: What was your favorite moment playing women’s no-sting this season?

A: Although I loved getting the opportunity to play at women’s nationals, I had the most fun playing no-sting on our home courts during practice. I’m glad we decided to record a few no-sting practices against the guys, and there were a lot of great moments. One of my favorites are when Ian acted as a human shield for our club President, Daniel, and my ball was still able to get Daniel in the foot. Another good play was when I caught a ball at my hip at close range while holding two balls in my hands.

Q: What is your proudest achievement this season?

A: My proudest achievement has got to be playing on an official women’s team. I really thought it wouldn’t happen until after I graduated, but I was hoping I could help lay the foundation before I left. Turns out, it was a pretty strong foundation and now we have a team.

Q: What goals do you have for recruiting new players next season?

A: I would really like to have a B team so that we can practice playing other girls, but also so we can dominate against other B teams in the league.

Q: What personal goals are you setting for yourself for the upcoming season?

A: There is always room for improvement in every aspect of the game. I want to be a strong player on both courts. Mostly, I want to throw far fewer catches. My goal is to become a player that others look up to and want to learn from.