Sam MacGilpin
@sam_macgilpin
As the academic year at Springfield College is in full force, varsity athletics have started strong, with student-athletes filling up their schedules with practices, meetings and games nearly every day. However, for students looking for a full athletic experience with half the commitment, an option is available for everyone.
The Springfield College Club Sports Program offers 15 different sports that span all three sports seasons, consisting of eight co-ed, four women’s and three men’s teams. An exciting part about the program is that most teams are run by “team leaders.” Those individuals serve as captains who run their respective teams, doing most of the off-the-field work.
A lot of effort goes into building the teams and club sports. Still, Tom Verrico, the Associate Director of Campus Recreation, manages to keep all 15 teams underarms while trying to make the community around it. Verrico expressed how accessible joining or trying out for a club sport is.
“We do a Club Sports Fair that was a part of rec the night, and then some of our teams do tabling. It’s in the Union and inside our office in the Wellness Center,” Verrico said. “You can also fill out a form on the website [springfieldcollege.com] that is mostly meant for prospective students, but we find there’s a lot of current students doing it as well.”
Verrico explained the benefits of being a part of club sports.
“Depending on the club, some people didn’t make varsity, some are in challenging majors and others just want to be competitive. Club sports can fit with people’s schedules,” Verrico said. “It’s just a little less commitment than the varsity level and just two, three practices a week versus five, and then games on the weekends when we have just a little bit less.”
Although the hours might be less, the competitive spirit is at a premium level.
“All of our teams are committed. They’re designed to be competitive. We’re a competitive sports program, which means our teams belong to an association or a conference,” Verrico said. “By doing that, it allows them to have expectations for the team and you have to show up to practice. We pay a coach to be on many of our teams, so we don’t want to waste anybody’s time.”
A few teams for Springfield belong to the National Intramural and Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA), where they play locally and will even travel regionally. Two years ago, men’s rugby came in second in nationals, and Verrico explained how there were vendors everywhere, as well as the rugby association putting on a wonderful weekend.
With the helping of Men’s rugby’s success over the past few years, Verrico believes many teams this year are primed for excellent seasons.
“Men’s hockey just took on a new coach, so I hope that can trend in a good direction. Women’s hockey got invited to Nationals last year, and we have two-time All-American ski and snowboarders. We also have an All-American women’s hockey player,” Verrico said. “I think all of our sports are trending in the right direction. The Pride Dance team was second in the nation last year at Nationals in the division they competed in.”
Verrico believes that club sports can bring the best out of students and even give them new experiences they never thought were possible.
“In 2016, I went with the men’s hockey team to regionals when they earned their way down there, which was in Philadelphia, and many of our hockey players had never eaten a real Philly Cheesesteak,” Vericco said. “That was a memory for sure.”
Photo courtesy of Leila Osorio