If you're someone like me, you grew up playing sports; there was never a time in your life where you weren't involved with some type of sports team. Then suddenly you went to college and you had SO MUCH free time on your hands (which you later learned only was a problem your freshman year). Luckily for me, at the beginning of my freshman year, I had a friend tell me about the club sports program that Boise State offers, as well as many other colleges. Club sports is a program for students who love and want to continue to play the sport in college, but not necessarily at the varsity level. Here are a few simple but very important reasons why I joined, and why I think you should too:
You get involved on campus
Do you want to bleed blue and orange but don't know how? Club sports is your answer! Of course, you play the specific sport you signed up for, but being a member of a club sport is way more than that. In order to be defined as a club sport at Boise State, you must do a certain number of community service and fundraising hours! Don't worry it's WAY more fun than it sounds.
A big part of club sports is getting to know your community and gaining their support and trust! In order to achieve this goal, every club team is constantly out in the quad and all over town talking about our program and trying to fundraise, and show how much we love playing for Boise State. One thing I absolutely love about this program is the emphasis on how important it is to be a part of something bigger than yourself. Joining a club team gives you a sense of belonging and allows you to showcase your school pride. If you didn't absolutely love your school before, I promise you will after joining!
There are some unknown benefits
The most amazing thing about club sports is how flexible they are. For my team specifically, we have practice 3 to 4 days a week at the max. Which if you think about how often a Varsity team practices, is not too much to ask. Plus, ever heard of the Freshman 15? No? Yeah, me either! One of my favorite things about it is that it's a constant exercise motivator, and it's fun because you get to workout out with all of your friends! To reiterate that, you won't need to go to the gym during the season and even better you won't even need to buy a gym membership in the first place!
Although practices might sometimes feel like a drag, there is one thing that makes all your hard work worthwhile. Traveling! It may take some extra time out of your schedule, but trust me it's worth it. In all honesty, who doesn't love getting to miss a few days of school AND get to travel all over the country? Last season my team and I went to 5 different states and played against a ton of different schools along the way. It was super cool getting to travel to a ton of new states that I didn't even think to go to if I hadn't gone with my team, especially being the California girl I am. I think club sports allow you to have the perfect balance of sports, school pride, and socializing.
Not only do you have teammates, but friends too
My absolute favorite part about joining a club sport is all of my amazing teammates. I am a member of the Boise State Women's Lacrosse Club, and I won't lie I was super intimidated of all of the older girls when I first joined. That feeling lasted approximately a week because I quickly learned that all of my teammates are super great about including everyone. Our team truly is a family. Yes, we do play lacrosse together, but its so much more than that. We also study together, go out to eat together, grocery shop together, basically, we do everything together. We are way more than just teammates, we are best friends, and most importantly we are sisters. Joining the Lacrosse Club was the best decision I have made in my college career thus far. Not only have I found an outlet to play the sport I love, but I have found a group of people I can rely on and a place I can call home.
