Club Sports Surge
November 10, 2009
Rowan students who want to play a sport or activity but can't commit to daily practice have found an outlet in club teams on campus and the trend, like a well-filled rugby ball, is practically bursting at the seams.
During the fall 2009 semester alone, some 400 Rowan students joined club teams for the flexibility and niche opportunities to play they can't find anywhere else.
Ken Reynolds, assistant Rec Center director for sport clubs and youth programs, said there are 17 club teams on campus - everything from soccer and tennis to roller hockey, rugby, skiing/snowboarding, fencing, even juggling - and opportunities to play and compete grow practically every year.
"The club sport program is intended to be an outlet for students who have a passion for a sport or activity but don't have the time to practice every day," Reynolds said. "They get to play on the weekends and they love it."
Reynolds said club teams are a great way for students to engage more with campus, to make friends and be part of something bigger than themselves. He said many teams exercise and socialize together even during the off-season.
"The camaraderie is unbelievable," he said. "It's kind of like fraternities or sororities but on a smaller scale."
When Reynolds joined the Rec Center staff four years ago there were just five teams and the program was run by the Student Government. Now managed by the Rec Center, club teams get a modest budget each year that some teams stretch with dues and/or fundraisers.
Teams must perform one service project per semester and what they do varies - from participation in a Halloween program for area school children to, in the case of the juggling team, performing for patients at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Members of the outdoor adventure club last year "adopted" two families for Christmas and students from various clubs have worked with the AIDS Coalition of Woodbury.
Rugby Club president Matt Klein said the team, which he helped start in 2006 with just 11 members, now has 27. The team has two volunteer coaches and plays in the Metropolitan New York Rugby Football Union against teams from New Jersey and New York. Wrapping up its first winning season, the team finished 4-3-1.
"It's really becoming a good time," said Klein, 22, a senior religion and philosophy major from Ringwood.
Klein, who said he was first attracted to the club team concept because it leaves ample time for school work, acknowledged that rugby can be a little rough but less so if players train well and play smart.
"We really work hard to teach the guys proper form and that prevents injuries more than anything else," he said.
The rugby ball is oblong like a football but slightly larger, rounded at the ends and has no laces. It is mostly carried toward the goal but may be tossed laterally backward to teammates as they work it up field to score.
Klein said the team practices five times a week during the season and plays Sunday afternoons.
"It's less time consuming than traditional school sports," he said. "You can concentrate on your academics and still come out and play on the same level as if you were playing for the school."
