, OTHER CLUB SPORTS INCLUSIVE AND ELITE

By Kip Carlson | Photo by Hannah O’Leary Sam Bredenbeck grew up playing racquetball and eventually made the Team USA junior national squad, so he knows fierce competition. These days when he and his teammates send shots past opponents, whether in Corvallis or on the national stage, their effort is no less intense, because they’re proudly playing as Beavers. “When I go to compete, it’s not just only me … I’m trying to win points for us to win the national championship,” said Bredenbeck of representing OSU in intercollegiate competition. The Beavers have won 12 overall (combined men’s and women’s) national titles, including the last 11 in a row, over powerhouses that include the likes of Missou- ri, Texas and Alabama.

48 OREGON STATER Members of OSU’s highly successful club racquetball team — are booking facilities and figuring all their travel arrangements,” from left, Sam Bredenbeck, Nick Buring, Erik Holman and Nate Schaffer said, noting that the leadership work offers valuable -ex Buring — feel pressure to sustain a winning tradition. perience. “Some of these clubs have tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of budgets that they’re managing, and other students may Racquetball and the other club sports at Oregon State don’t not be getting that experience.” compete under the NCAA banner, but many have earned region- The time commitment may not be on the level of a varsity ath- al and national respect while providing a competitive outlet to a lete, but it’s not insignificant. Bredenbeck, a graduate student in wide range of students. business from Forest Lake, , figures he spends some- For 2018-19, there are 40 club sports at OSU, ranging from where between one and two hours per day on the sport, five or archery to dodgeball, bass fishing to , ultimate to six days per week. shooting. Joe Schaffer, assistant director of sport programs, esti- Natalie Lorati, a senior in Finance and Business Information Sys- mated about 1,800 students participated in club sports last year. tems from Portland, is the racquetball club president this year. All clubs compete in some form, Schaffer said, with about According to club sports guidelines, she or another officer has to three-quarters of them going against teams from other colleges be present for the racquetball team’s two on-campus practices and universities. each week. Lorati estimates that on top of four or five hours of practice per week, she also has about five hours of administra- Their success isn’t isolated to racquetball. Offhand, Schaffer can tive work. recall national championships for equestrian and men’s volley- ball teams within the past decade and regional titles and national The commitment to the sport and the feeling of pride in repre- tournament appearances for a host of other sports. senting OSU can lead to an intensity level approaching that of varsity contests. Some club sports are the only outlet for their athletes: At OSU, racquetball, karate, and rugby are among those not sanctioned “It kind of depends on the sport,” Schaffer said. “The competi- by the NCAA. tion does get a little rough when you get to the national level. It comes and goes.” Other club teams may be in NCAA-sanctioned sports that don’t have varsity squads at OSU, such as men’s water polo, On the flip side, Durbin recalled that a story from a few years rifle and . back, when Oregon still had a racquetball club team and also finished in the top five nationally. On that occasion, the Beavers And there are also clubs for sports that have varsity teams at and Ducks sat together through the national tournament; many OSU, including baseball, and soccer. Schaffer pointed of the players had known each other from competing in high out that many athletes who are passionate about those sports school or juniors programs. may not have the ability or desire to play at the Division I level. Oregon is one of the top states for youth racquetball, along “There’s definitely a lot of opportunity for those students who with Missouri. Beaverton and Salem’s Sprague were the top two might not have been at the D-I level, but they still wanted to finishers at the 2018 national high school tournament, which come to a D-I school,” Schaffer said. was held in Portland. Schaffer said surveys by his office indicate students participating Of OSU’s national championship teams, Durbin said, two players RACQUETBALL, in club sports feel a closer tie to Oregon State by representing came from outside Oregon. That makes recruiting simple: he’ll the university in intercollegiate competition. A large body of let players know that if Oregon State fits their academic needs, research on student success reveals that participation in team he’d love to have them play for the Beavers and become part of OTHER CLUB SPORTS sports is associated with a greater likelihood of earning a degree. the family atmosphere the program fosters. He’ll make similar “They feel they have a sense of community and belonging from inquiries of players up and down the West Coast, but also has being part of these clubs,” Schaffer said. potential players seek him out. Clubs have no-cut policies but may select competition squads That’s helped OSU win not only those 12 overall titles (combin- INCLUSIVE AND ELITE to compete in leagues and tournaments. Each club has its dues ing men’s and women’s results), but also eight women’s team structure; racquetball, for instance, has an initial fee of $400 per championships and two men’s team titles. Now the Beaver player, then raises money to cover the rest of the approximately racquetballers work to protect and extend that legacy. $1,000 it costs to send each team member to nationals. “We know some of the people who have played here in past Rob Durbin, who is also the racquetball pro at Timberhill Athletic years and they’ll put a little pressure on us: ‘Don’t break the Club in Corvallis, provides coaching, but the structure of club streak,’” Bredenbeck said. Added Lorati: “You don’t want to be sports at OSU mandates student leadership. Schaffer’s office the team that lets it down.” manages the clubs, assures they are following university policy and advises them. OSU’s club sports teams are trying to increase contact with their alumni and many club sports are building databases of former players. To con- “But for the most part there’s usually a set group of officers tact the OSU club sports program, or for more information and a list of who are leading that organization and they’re the ones who are club sports at Oregon State, visit: scheduling games with their opponents, they’re the ones who recsports.oregonstate.edu/sports/sport-clubs/list-clubs. q

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