Exciting changes are coming to the Capital Athletic Department next year. As of spring 2014, lacrosse will no longer be in club standings and will finally be a varsity sport. A sport with growing popularity, the interest for lacrosse seems to have steadily been growing since it was brought to campus several years ago.
The university has several issues that it had to address before a sport can be considered at the varsity level. The level of interest from current and prospective students must be great enough for the sport to run successfully. “The Ohio Athletic Conference, and whether is considered a varsity sport in the OAC, was a major factor in the decisions,” said Athletic Director Stephen Bruning, “we also had to look at what kind of impact the sport may have on existing sports and whether the school believes we can field competitive teams in the sport.”
The addition of the varsity sport has current lacrosse players very exited for the future. “I think this is going to be great for Capital,” Senior, Mark Davis said, “It’s long overdue and it will only benefit the school’s athletics.
With the move from club status, lacrosse will no longer be a student run organization. Adding to the list of changes, a legitimate coach is one of the biggest changes headed for the program. “I think the biggest problem with club lacrosse deals with a lack of organization and university help,” Davis, the team’s captain, said. “Funding becomes a huge problem with many clubs, and this move to varsity status would eliminate a lot of the problems we’ve faced in the past.”
Addressing players varying talents in club sports can also prove to be difficult when trying to run a successful organization.
“ Club teams range from groups of players that practice a few times a week to groups of players that just meet for game days, so there are huge gaps in skill and competition at the club level” Frank Perri, a Capital graduate that participated in the club sport while he attended. “At the varsity level everyone has a coach, a workout regiment, a practice schedule, etc. The level of competition is much higher.”
Perri is currently working for John Carroll University and recently helped coach their club program. JCU is also in the process of bringing lacrosse to the varsity level.
“Having more varsity athletics is great for any university. It attracts new and different students to the school, value to the university, it creates an added sense of community for the students, and it provides an opportunity for young adults to continue their athletic careers beyond high school,” said Perri.
Both Perri and Davis had nothing but good things to say about their experience with club lacrosse here at Capital. “I’m extremely lucky to have been able to have the experience I did,” said Perri, “ Lacrosse gave me an opportunity to be myself and learn life lessons outside of the classroom. Not many students are granted opportunities like that, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”
If students are interested in playing club lacrosse this year, contact Mark Davis with any questions; mdavis2@capital.edu
kshlakma@capital.edu
