2021 in review: A look back at events, changes and so much more in the Badger Region
Wednesday, December 29th, 2021
If 2020 was defined by words that included Virus, Social Distance, Remote, Canceled, Postponed, and Virtual, 2021 was a complete rebirth.
Here in the Badger Region, our athletes, coaches, officials and staffs overcame the hurdles the previous year threw at us by being flexible, adjusting, adapting, being creative, and using some time to become more self-aware.
Lots of familiar events and moments dotted the 2021 landscape, but more importantly, their return marked a return to a sense of normalcy that was lost in 2020.
But let’s not forget the many new events that shaped the Badger Region in 2021 from the new USA All-Star Championships, a Region-run coaching clinic in Middleton and Strategic Plan and Tryout Surveys that got all of our members engaged in shaping the future of the volleyball in the state of Wisconsin. Many ideas of which will help shape the content of this column at the need of 2022.
With that, let’s take a look at the year that was: 2021.
• Jan. 9-10: Badger Region Power League kicks off its third year at locations around the state
• Jan. 19: The Badger Region/AVCA Coaching Education Tip of the Week and Badger Region/AVCA Recruiting Tips of the Week return for the third straight year.
• Jan. 27: Badger Boys Series kicks off for seventh year in a row offering competition for boys ages 13 and under
• Feb. 20-21: Second weekend of Badger Region Power League
• Feb. 22: Badger Region Board of Director Meeting
• Feb. 22: Teague Prichard joins the Badger Region board of directors as the Officials Liaison to USA Volleyball
• Feb. 28-29: Badger Region Qualifier at the Milwaukee Sting Center
• March 6-7: Dale Rohde Memorial Tournament at UW-Parkside
• March 13-14: First weekend of the Badger Region Championships at the Wisconsin Center
• March 20-21: Second weekend of the Badger Region Championships at the Wisconsin Center
• March 27-28: Third weekend of the Badger Region Championships at the Wisconsin Center
• April 12: Badger Region/AVCA College Coaching Recruiting Webinar
• April 17-18: Final weekend of the Badger Region Power League
• April 23: Twelve Badger Region teams compete at the Girls 18s Junior National Championships in Columbus, Ohio
• April 24: Carthage College Men’s Volleyball wins the NCAA Div. 3 National Championship. The head coach of the team is JW Keickhafer who is a Badger Region member as he is a coach at Milwaukee Volleyball Club and was a High Performance Camp Coach.
• April 24-25: Badger Region High Performance tryouts in New Berlin
• May 1: Badger Region High Performance training session for boys at Burlington High School
• May 6: After USA Volleyball cancels the 2021 High Performance Championships, the Regions banded together to put in motion an alternate event.
• May 10: Badger Region Board of Directors meeting
• May 12: Fifteen athletes named Badger Region scholarship recipients. Two additional athletes named FriscoMo scholarship winners for community service
• May 15: Badger Region helps host Art of Coaching Talent ID Clinic
• May 15: Badger Region High Performance training session for boys at Nicolet High School
• May 29: Ten Badger Region Adult Teams compete at Nationals in Louisville, Ken.
• June 1: Breit Nelson (Wisconsin Ice) elected to Badger Region Board of Directors as the Northwest Rep
• June 3: Badger Region announces second annual AVCA/Badger Region Coach of the Year and Club Director of the Year awards (Quinn Lukens, Meghan Mache, Steve Scheuerell, Pam Schroeder, Sue Baker, Ed Fried, Ken Anderson, Phil Lambe)
• June 26-July 6: Forty Badger Region teams compete at the Girls Junior National Championships in Las Vegas, Nev.
• July 1-8: Thirty-six Badger Region teams compete at the Boys Junior National Championships in Kansas City, Kan.
• July 6-8: Badger Region Girls High Performance Camp at UW-Oshkosh
• July 15: Bryant & Stratton College announces addition of men’s volleyball at the NJCAA level
• July 17-18: Badger Region Boys High Performance Camp at Lakeland University
• July 21-24: Badger Region High Performance teams compete at the USA All-Star Championships in Orlando, Fla., taking home the bronze medal in the Boys National Select and Girls National Select divisions
• July 31: Badger Region hosts first-ever grass volleyball tournament in Kenosha.
• Aug. 1-10: Badger Region offers “Retention Period” for clubs and athletes who played during the 2019-20 season
• Aug. 11: Badger Region Junior Club Director meeting (held virtually, of course)
• Aug. 12: Badger Region announces Meritorious Serve Award Winners (Jennifer Armson-Dyer, Scott Spiess, Julie Gahl, Nicole Holland, Hailey Litzau and Peggy Pechulis)
• August 2021: The U.S. Women’s National Indoor Team, the beach team of Alix Klineman and April Ross, and the Women’s Sitting Indoor Team all win gold at the Tokyo Olympics. Pati Rolf, a longtime Badger Region official, board member and coach also officiated at the Tokyo Games.
• Sept. 1: Badger Region/USA Volleyball begin their 2021-22 membership season – the second using Sports Engine
• Sept. 8: The Badger Region opens the tryout survey for club directors, athletes and parents to offer feedback on the timing of tryouts. The survey showed members were not in favor of moving tryouts to summer and no action at this time is being taken.
• Sept. 11-12: The Badger Region Youth Fall Volleyball League returns at the Milwaukee Sting Center and the New Berlin Sportsplex
• Sept. 12: Badger Region hosts a youth open house at the Milwaukee Sting Center
• Sept. 19: Badger Region Board of Director meeting that got in motion the Strategic Planning initiative that the Region is going through.
• Sept. 23: The second-annual virtual open house is published in place of having in-person open house events
• Sept. 26: A pair of open houses for boys and girls are held by the Badger Region at the Milwaukee Sting Center and the New Berlin Sports Plex
• Oct. 1: Damien Evans (Ozaukee Volleyball Club) chosen as Boys Rep to the Badger Region Board of Directors
• Oct 2: Tryouts begin for athletes 14-and-under
• Oct. 6: Badger Region and UW-Oshkosh partner for a youth clinic in Oshkosh prior to the Titans’ match that evening.
• Oct. 15: Marquette University women’s volleyball hosts BRYFVL night before and after its match against St. John’s University
• Oct. 30-31: Conclusion of the 2020 BRYFVL season
• Nov. 3: Badger Region hosts its annual boys open house at Pius XI High School in Milwaukee featuring a scrimmage between UW-Whitewater and Marquette men’s volleyball teams.
• Nov. 6: UW-Parkside women’s volleyball hosts a youth volleyball clinic with the Badger Region
• Nov. 8: Badger Region Board of Directors meeting that included the formation of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee
• Nov. 13: Tryouts begin for athletes 15-and-older
• Nov. 18: Frisco Mo’s “Noise for the Boys” debuts in the Badger Beacon.
• Nov. 19: Badger Region hosts the Advanced Skills Clinic with Frisco Mo at the Wisconsin Center featuring athletes from all over the country and coaches from Penn State, Loyola-Chicago, Pepperdine and Ohio State
• Nov. 20: The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Women’s Volleyball team wins the NCAA Div. 3 National Championship. The head coach of the team is Badger Region Board Member Kim Wudi, who serves as the secretary on the Executive Committee.
• Dec. 4-5: Badger Region Coaching Clinic sponsored by Sports Imports held in Middleton featuring John Kessel, Eric Hodgson, Marouane Jafir and Cathy Noth
• Dec. 7: Badger Region brings back its Coaches Coaching Coaches clinics with its first in over two years at River City Volleyball Club
• Dec. 12: First Badger Region tournaments of the 2021-22 season begin
• Dec. 17: JW Kieckhafer, the head men’s volleyball coach at Carthage College and club coach at Milwaukee Volleyball Club, is honored with the AVCA Div. 3 Coach of the Year award.
• Dec. 18: The University of Wisconsin Badgers Women’s Volleyball team wins the NCAA Div. 1 National Championship in Columbus, Ohio.
• Dec. 21: The first issue of the Badger Region Ref Bulletin is published as another communication tool for officials, tournament directors and others involved in the tournament-sanctioning process.
