Reviews – Page 3 – Dodgeball Club-UWP

Pioneer Classic IV Review

On November 11th, 2023, we hosted the fourth annual Pioneer Classic. Teams that attended included: Nebraska, Illinois, Concordia, help from UW-Stout and an appearance by some of our alumni. We thank everyone that came and not only participated but came and supported us to make the event the spectacle that it was.

In terms of play, overall we went 2-1 on the day with our loss coming to UNL. We had moments throughout the day where we struggled to stick to how we know to play and in those moments became our biggest downfall. However, there were also times where we worked together and did what we know how to do best and showed how well we can perform as a unit. Early on we struggled to find our footing against UNL and it showed. Much like previous meetups this season, we found ourselves in a hole early on and never really recovered. We had moments where we thought we got a grip only to lose control in a matter of seconds. In our other two ranked matchups we got ourselves in a rhythm and were able to control the game the way we wanted to. We still had moments where we let the big picture get out of sight but were able to hold off the opponents and secure the win.

Here’s what some of our team had to say about the event:

Eric Sullivan (Rookie):

“I think last tournament was good in some ways but bad in others. For most of the points we worked well as a team and had great communication. The points that we lost or came close to losing we had issues communicating and we weren’t working together. We definitely learned a lot about how we need to play better and how we can more effectively communicate on the court and make smart plays.”

Zak Lathrop:

“The tournament overall went as expected, other than UNL. I knew that it was going to be challenging against UNL, but if we just would have played our game, we could have taken way more points than we did and maybe even won. CUW and UIUC, although we won both, we played sloppy and didn’t play our game. We have to play the same way all the time no matter who we are playing. But overall, the tournament went well and I’m proud of the things we accomplished.”

Nicholas Stocks (President):

“UWP’s performance at the Pioneer Classic proved we can compete with top teams such as UNL if we are able to effectively communicate on court and not fall victim to other team’s moments of chaos. This was a great tournament where our rookies were able to get valuable game experience. As a team and as individuals, we know what we need to work on to make ourselves better.”

We had a great time hosting this event and give a lot of thanks to the teams that made it possible as well as the fans that showed up to support us. If you missed the action and would love to see the games, check out the links below and make sure to subscribe to our channel to get notifications for our future games! Go ‘Neers!

Red Cedar Rumble Recap

On October 28th, 2023, we took an 11 man squad to the Red Cedar Rumble in East Lansing, Michigan. In this tournament, we had hard fought battles against some of the best in the league in Michigan State and Grand Valley. Our roster consisted of five rookies and six of our veteran members. Overall, we went 0-2 on the day and only managed to score a point in each game but got tremendous experience for our rookies that made the trip worth while. That being said it is quite clear that we have fundamental things to work on but when we work as a unit we have shown that we can have moments where we can compete with anyone. Here are thoughts that some of our members had to say about the Red Cedar Rumble:

Dylan Fabry:

“I thought that we as a team did really well against the top teams for the second tournament of the season. I thought that the rookies improved a lot compared to the first tournament and that we are headed in the right direction. The rookie that stood out the most to me was Ethan as he did a great job blocking for others on the court after they threw.”

Toryn Swartout (Rookie):

“I think the tournament went really well for our second one of the season. We did decent considering the talent of MSU and GVSU. The points we won were well earned but we have a lot we can work on.”

Caleb Laux (Captain):

“As a captain, I am really proud of how our team did. Going up against some of the best teams in the league and coming out with a point on each of them is a great sign for the young players we brought to this tournament.

It was many of our roster’s first tournament of the season, myself included. In particular, we had a few rookies get good experience. Ethan Schmeling stuck out to me as he was doing a great job. But all of our rookies have grown tremendously in the last few weeks.

With the closeness of some of the individual points despite being a player down with no subs, I believe that we made it clear that Platteville will put up a fight against any team we face and come out smiling when we give it our all.”

In the end, it was not the outcome we were hoping to have but ended up being a great experience for our newer players and we loved being able to compete with some of the best in the league. We hope to improve going forward and wish our competitors good luck with the remainder of their seasons. You can check out the games at the following links on our YouTube Channel. Make sure to subscribe to our channel to get notifications for our future games, Go ‘Neers!

Cyclone Clash Review

On October 7^th we attended the first ever Cyclone Clash. This matchup was UWP vs UNL at an agreed neutral location. This allowed both teams to have an easy drive home as well as give Iowa State a taste of what NCDA dodgeball is like in attempts to bring another club into the league. In the end, we left with an 0-2 record and a lot of work to do.

In the first match we struggled to get going, it was not until about halftime that we started to show some signs of life. Once we were able to start getting our offense going and get more ball control we started to last longer, and we did not give up any short points. We struggled with easy drops and errant throws while also running into numerous shot clock violations. After halftime, we came out in the second half showed at times where we could have gotten a point or two but ultimately took steps backwards and let things get out of hand.

After the intermission, we started game two and once again were off to a slow start. However, some of our rookies started to pick up on some aspects of the game and came out of their initial rookie nerves. UNL’s attacks still managed to get the best of us as we struggled to establish our game. We stayed in points longer than we had in the first game, but we still struggled to work as a team with the shot clock and often times let too many throws get away from us. The second game brought some additional excitement as both teams received a yellow card in the second half.

In the end, we were extremely grateful to Iowa State for allowing us to use their facilities for this tournament and hope to see a team develop in the near future. We also had a lot of fun playing our aerial rivals UNL and would like to thank them for a great tournament. An extended thank you also goes out to UW-Stout for coming down and assisting in the officiating side of things. Going forward we have plenty of room for improvement and hope to see more rust shaken off our veterans and also look forward to see more breakout performances from our rookie players.

Our next tournament will hopefully be at MSU on October 28^th followed by our home tournament on November 11th!

2022-23 End of the Year Recap

Just like that another year is in the books. Through the many miles on the road and the late night practices, many memories were made. Fighting through injuries, snow storms, and the long drives through flat never-ending states; we survived. We laughed, we fought, we had our share of sand kicked in our face, but we kept pushing forward.

UWP Dodgeball Spring Season Recap

A group of people posing for a photo

Description automatically generated

The second half of 2020 collegiate dodgeball season abruptly ended due to the COVID-19 outbreak. With that in mind, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville dodgeball team would like to thank all the first responders during these difficult circumstances. As we all know, the end of a semester brings about the graduation of our seniors. We would like to give a proper shot out to our lone senior on the team, Captain Daniel Brogli aka Dirty Dan. Dirty Dan will be missed for his leadership on and off the court and for being a great teammate to all. Let’s take a look at some of his final thoughts as a player this year.