NU club sports are thriving despite PR and communications problems

The club sports season has been underway since the start of fall quarter, and while many teams are off to a successful start, club athletes have expressed concerns about Northwestern’s lack of support.

Teams disseminated information about their tryouts via social media and conducted them primarily on the weekend before classes began. Club sports captains said there was pressure to finalize team rosters quickly as games for some sports such as football and rugby were due to start the following week.

The time commitment of club sports includes training and games two to three times a week, which can require hours of travel. Weinberg sophomore and club soccer player Eleanor Bergstein finds the involvement of her club sport ideal.

“It fits in very well with everything else I do,” Bergstein said. “I can still play competitively and have a team atmosphere, but I don’t have to feel like it takes up my entire life like it would if I was a collegiate athlete.”

Women’s club soccer had a strong season, qualifying for this weekend’s regional championships. Men’s club soccer also goes to the regional championships this weekend.

However, Weinberg senior and club soccer captain Diego Guerrero believes that despite its success on the field, the university could do more to encourage participation in club sports.

“Kids who played sports in high school come to college and are overwhelmed by everything they can do and miss the opportunity to participate or don’t know who to talk to,” Guerrero said. “If more people knew about it, we could have more kids on every team, more kids trying out. Now some of the teams are underfunded and have low participation.”

Guerrero suggested organizing a club sports-specific event during the Wildcat Welcome, separate from the club fair that takes place the first week of school.

Well-planned communication was also a problem Bergstein faced in this year’s club football tryouts. As the soccer team’s social media chairwoman, she is responsible for publishing dates and times before test matches.

“You would expect there to be more communication about it in advance,” Bergstein said. “The problem we face is that there is a lack of communication between the school and club sports. Information about travel weekends or fields is often not released until the last minute.”

Some clubs don’t know what fields they can use or what their scheduling is until the last minute, making it difficult for teams to communicate a clear plan to students in advance, Bergstein said.

Medill sophomore Avery Fehlman started on the club’s basketball team during her freshman year and has since joined the lacrosse club.

Leidman said increased exposure of club sports would not only improve team performance, but also help build communities that support students throughout their college experience.

“When you come to Northwestern, you come from a completely different place than everyone else,” unfortunatelyman said. “You have a different life, a different upbringing, but there is a path that you share: your sport, and it’s nice to find your people in a place where everyone is so different.”

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