Category: Rookie of the Month

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!