The Benefits of Club Sports, & why its great for us !
As we gain more success many more people will say where college cricket should go, & do – despite the fact that they may have done no research, & don’t know much about college sports in the US.
Fortunately American College Cricket was founded after over 6 months of research, & has a strategic plan.
Below are excerpts from a 2008 NY Times article that explains excellently the benefits of Club Sports in colleges. The link is provided – read the whole article, here are some main points :
College club sports are swiftly rising in popularity. These are not intramural sports but expertly organized, highly skilled teams that often belong to regional conferences and play for national collegiate championships.
An estimated 2,000,000 college students play competitive Club sports compared with about 430,000 involved in athletics governed by the NCAA and the NAIA. While many N.C.A.A. athletic departments are cutting varsity sports, club teams are competing for national championships.
“Nobody competes for the money or the fame because there are no scholarships and not a lot of attention. The kids have to do all the work to make their club function. They do it because they love their sport,” Jim Giunta of the National Collegiate Wrestling Assoc.
The ability to balance one’s academic, athletic and social life is an apparent draw to the club sports model (it does not require the time commitment of a NCAA varsity sport).
College administrators said they put club sports in the same category as student development.
“Being active in the leadership of a club sport teaches a wealth of real-life lessons that college students might not learn anywhere else,” said Chris McAlpine, who coordinates recreation and club sports at Villanova. “What they are doing is résumé building, Typical university financing is a few thousand dollars. At that point, the clubs solicit sponsorships from the community and seek donations from alumni who played the sport. “
Each sport generally has a national governing body (like American College Cricket), which often helps with scheduling and rule uniformity and hosts a championship tournament.
Clubs have been so enjoyable for many college students that if given the chance to turn their teams into fully financed varsity sports, most said they would decline.
READ the full article : http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/02/sports/02club.html?_r=4&pagewanted=all&
