Category: Baller of the Month

September 2025 Baller of the Month

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. September’s winner is Ian Westrick! Here are his responses to some brief interview questions.

Q: What are your thoughts on winning this award?

A: It feels good to pick up where I left off last year. Trying to be the best I can on and off the court as a member of the team. 

Q: How do you think our first tournament went?

A: I feel like it went pretty well. It was good to see the rookies playing as well as they were.

Q: What team skills does the team need more work on?

A: We need to work on our court communication a lot more. While we played well, it could have been even better. It will come as the year progresses, but it would be nice to see a lot of it at UNL.

Q: What is a personal dodgeball goal you want to focus on?

A: I want to focus on my growth as a player. I want to try and improve every part of my game and grow more as a leader on the court.

Q: Do you have any advice for the rookies?

A: To just keep pushing themselves. They all got good potential.

Congrats again to Ian Westrick! Your hard work and dedication shows and is paying off!

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!

April 2025 Baller of the Month

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. April’s winner is Jalen Sims! Here are his responses to some brief interview questions.

What are your thoughts on how the season ended?

I thought the season ended on a high note and I’m proud of our team.

How do you think Nationals went this year?

I thought nationals went great even though we fell short during Saturday to get to the championship bracket, I’m happy we managed to win the consolation bracket.

What growth have you seen in the team over the last year?

I’ve seen are team grow in every aspect from throwing to blocking and I hope our team continues to keep growing next season.

What do you hope to accomplish next year if you choose to continue with dodgeball?

If I return to Dodgeball next year, I hope to improve my throwing.

Jalen’s skill and knowledge has really helped move our team in the right direction. He is extremely competitive which helps keep the team moving, and his fun attitude during practice reminds us to have fun. Whether or not if he decides to continue his last year of college as an active player, we are proud of how far he has come and can’t wait to see where he’ll go.

April 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. April’s winner is Ian Westrick! He is a currently pursing a degree in Marketing and expects to graduate in 2028. Here are his responses to some brief interview questions.

What improvements have you made over the course of the season?  Did you achieve any of your personal goals?

I was able to massively improve my knowledge of the game, along with other things such as throwing velocity and catching ability. I achieved most of, if not all, of the goal that I set of myself. 

What was your most memorable moment from the CSU national tournament?  Favorite moment of the season?

My favorite moment from nationals was either winning the consolation bracket or finally starting to put all of my ability together during the first GSU game. My favorite moment of the full season was probably one of my catches against UC.

What impact do you want to have in the NDA this summer?

I want to show what I can truly do while (hopefully) healthy against the highest levels of opponents. I also want to be someone that can be relied on to constantly be an important contributor to the team.

How do you hope to further develop your skills for next season? 

I want to improve my court awareness, throwing form, and stamina on the court to become my best self during games. 

Ian has shown insurmountable support for both our co-ed team and women’s team, and he has an incredible ability to connect with his fellow players. He has made great strides over the season while battling a previous elbow injury and developing his current throw. We are looking forward to the impact he will have on the new members we hope to recruit next season!

March 2025 Baller of the Month

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. March’s winner is Griffin Johnson! Here are his responses to some brief interview questions.

What aspects of the game have you improved most on since last season?

Overall, my throw has improved the most. There has been improvement in every facet of my skill as a Dodgeball player but I am definitely showing the most growth there. 

What are you most excited about for nationals this season? 

This will be my last nationals, so I am yearning to prove to the other teams that Platteville is a force to be reckoned with no matter our opponent.

What is one goal you hope to achieve by the end to this season?

I want to get a fully accurate throw that i can place anywhere; a bonus would be having it at 70 mph. I’d also like to get a catch in every game at nationals, but that’s more of a side goal.

How do you hope to impact the team for your shortened season next year?

Even though I’ll only be here in the Fall, I’m going to make it my goal to help with recruitment and helping the newer players, who will become our top players eventually, grow. 

We are incredibly proud of the improvements and leadership Griffin has displayed this year! He has shown great dedication and effort in the growth of our club and women’s team.

March 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. March’s winner is Alison Draxler! She is a currently pursing a Mechanical Engineering degree and expects to graduate in 2028. Here are her responses to some brief interview questions.

What aspect of the game do you think you’ve improved most on since the beginning of the season? 

I have significantly improved on providing pressure for the rest of the team. I’ve learned that playing the center of the court and staying ahead of the rest of the team is a necessary part of our strategy. My biggest issue from my first tournament was my lack of confidence. I stayed back most of the time and was unable to pump fake at the opposing team. Now, my confidence has improved greatly, I am able to help the rest of the team, and I feel like I belong on the court. 

What is your proudest accomplishment of the season thus far?

My proudest moment this far is getting on the starting 12 for Pinch nationals. I still can’t believe how far I have come and how much I have learned in one season.

What is one goal you have for Pinch nationals?  No-sting nationals? 

A goal I have for Pinch nationals is to get at least one catch per game, even though I would be happy with any catches. And a goal I have for No-sting nationals is to increase my number of thrown outs per game. 

How do you hope to impact women interested in the no-sting team next year?

I hope to inspire the women interested in our no-sting team next year and show them how much fun dodgeball can be. 

We are immensely proud of the growth Alison has displayed both in technique and confidence. We can’t wait to see what she does next year after both national tournaments and as an RA!

February 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. February’s winner is David Laux! He is a currently pursing a Mechanical Engineering degree and expects to graduate in 2028. Here are his responses to some brief interview questions.

What are you most looking forward to at nationals this year?

The experience. This is my first two day tournament, so I’m excited to be able to play twice as much.

What has been your proudest moment of this season? 

My proudest moment is when we faced Illinois (UIUC) in December because they are a good team but we were still able to go to overtime.

What do you wish you’d worked on more?

I wish I did more work with my accuracy. A lot of the time I throw without getting outs.

What impact do you hope you’ll have on incoming players next year?

I hope to lead by making an example of what real effort looks like.

David has shown some real talent this year, and we are excited to see what roles he’ll fill down the road in his dodgeball career and what goals he’ll accomplish!

February 2025 Baller of the Month

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. February’s winner is Hollie Wheeler! Here are her responses to some brief interview questions.

How does it feel to be recognized by your teammates in this way?

I feel very proud of my accomplishments that led to my teammates voting for me. I know they are always encouraging me to strive to be better and there’s no other team I’d want to be on going into nationals.

How do you hope to perform at Pinch Nationals this year?

Honestly, anything better than my first nationals will be enough for me. Last year, I joined the club in late February. I attended a home tournament and one other game before nationals. I was just beginning to pinch throw and barely knew what I was doing. I’ve seen a lot of improvement since then, and I am hoping to reach 20 catches for the season. I’m also hoping I can avoid getting headshot. 

How do you hope the women’s team performs at no-sting nationals?

I have high hopes for women’s nationals because I know my team has what it takes to compete. They have all grown so much and they are some of the best rookies I’ve seen across many tournaments. I’m hoping we can make it to the championship game and go all the way to bring the trophy home.

What are your hopes for the women’s team next season? 

I believe if we don’t win nationals this year, we will have an even better chance at winning it next season. I’m hoping we can recruit a B team next year and have them be the best of the B teams in the league. I want to continue to have all of our female players play both no-sting and pinch because I think it’s very important for the NCDA to have strong female players that can dominate in both styles. I want to show the other teams in the league that if UW-Platteville, a school with a student body that’s around 70% male can recruit a women’s team, then they can too.

We are extremely lucky to have such a dedicated player like Hollie on the team to help build the women’s team and keep pushing the co-ed team to its highest potential. We are excited to see where she goes with this team!

January 2025 Baller of the Month

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!

January 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. 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!