College Varsity vs. College Club

[mrbiggs]

Well, sex comes to mind as something you might run into your first year at college that's a bit more compelling than watching tv; hormones, adulthood, thousands of potential partners wandering about looking for new experiences, your parents are a thousand miles away and you have a door that locks.

Coach: Hey Steve, why weren't you at practice?

Steve: Sorry coach, I was really busy with sex.

Coach: What?

Steve: Sex. Couldn't make it to practice. Sorry.

Coach: Practice was at 8 AM.

Steve: Look coach, I have only so many hours of the day.

Coach: I'm only asking for two.

Steve: Well, those are taken up by sex. Sorry.

[MyrddinsPrecint]

Steve: Look coach, I have only so many hours of the day.

Coach: I'm only asking for two.

Steve: Well, those are taken up by sex. Sorry.

So THAT'S why some people have a tendency to have sex with their fencing coaches.... never did understand it myself.... But when you look at it as time optimization...

[K O'N]

Coach: Hey Steve, why weren't you at practice?

Steve: Sorry coach, I was really busy with sex.

Coach: What?

Steve: Sex. Couldn't make it to practice. Sorry.

Coach: Practice was at 8 AM.

Steve: Look coach, I have only so many hours of the day.

Coach: I'm only asking for two.

Steve: Well, those are taken up by sex. Sorry.

Right, exactly!

And imagine how much more time it will take up if Steve ever finds a "training partner"....

K O'N

[Dr Epee]

The bottom line in this discussion is this: It depends.

Coaching is usually better in a varsity team... or not.

People have more fun in a club team... or not.

Varsity teams are better funded... or not

Club teams have to do more fundraising... or not.

Everybody gets sex... or not.

[noodle]

The bottom line in this discussion is this: It depends.

Coaching is usually better in a varsity team... or not.

People have more fun in a club team... or not.

Varsity teams are better funded... or not

Club teams have to do more fundraising... or not.

Everybody gets sex... or not.

glad we cleared it all up

[dcrocket]

The bottom line in this discussion is this: It depends.

Coaching is usually better in a varsity team... or not.

People have more fun in a club team... or not.

Varsity teams are better funded... or not

Club teams have to do more fundraising... or not.

Everybody gets sex... or not.

Yes!!

[MyrddinsPrecint]

Yes!!

...or no.

[Cookeit]

...or no.

.... or not. *

[Philistine]

I've been part of both a NCAA team (Rutgers 2004-2007) and a club team (Rutgers 2008), due to the unfortunate circumstance of the team being cut from the varsity program. So here's the breakdown of my experiences:
{snip}

Good post. You were in a unique (and unfortunate) situation.

I had a couple of questions come to mind. How much change did you see in the program? For instance, do you think the reduction in practice--both in number of practices and (maybe?) intensity--impacted the team? Were there significantly more people in the club than on the team?

Did more people join the club than tried-out for the team? (Previously did you have many/any people try-out who had never fenced before?)

--Philistine

[AndrewH]

Good post. You were in a unique (and unfortunate) situation.

I had a couple of questions come to mind. How much change did you see in the program? For instance, do you think the reduction in practice--both in number of practices and (maybe?) intensity--impacted the team? Were there significantly more people in the club than on the team?

Did more people join the club than tried-out for the team? (Previously did you have many/any people try-out who had never fenced before?)

--Philistine

I would say the change was tremendous. The club attracted a large number of people with varying degrees of experience. I don't think the change in amount of practice really affected anything, because for the prior varsity fencers, we all fenced in outside clubs anyway. The new members who had experience usually hadn't fenced since high school, so any practice was helpful at that point. Plus, having practice in the evening really raised the energy level in the room. Better than everyone being half asleep at 8 am.

The club did attract people who had never fenced before, whereas everyone who tried out with the team had experience, even if only high school.

[foilwatcher]

Of course, then there were those (or just one?) who bailed out to another DIV I school because of the downgrading of the team.

[AndrewH]

Of course, then there were those (or just one?) who bailed out to another DIV I school because of the downgrading of the team.

Yea, obviously that affected his decision, but I can't blame him. The kid could have gone to any ivy league/MIT he wanted, and came to Rutgers instead. Rutgers basically said they didn't care about him, so he took his business elsewhere. Their loss, really.

[ladyofshalott99]

Having acknowledged that, I think clubs are still fun. I first learned fencing at a club. I was a club scrub. We never had a coach, but we still trained and practiced as best we could. We improved here and there, and threw people out who stopped caring about fencing and only were showing up halfway through practice to socialize and get people to go out to the local brewpub. Would I have preferred I start fencing at 10 years old with a coach, and carried a fencing career up to the top levels? I sure would. I wouldn't mind NOT having all my bad habits that I'm whittling away with a coach now (at 30 years old). Even though I didn't get to do that, did I have a lot of fun, make friendships, and come away from club fencing with some great life memories? ABSOLUTELY

Do what you can with what you can get. There's some truth in this thread, but don't let the jerks and negative attitudes get to you.

Ditto.

Did I enjoy being looked down upon by the Varsity teams back in the day? Nope. But their elitism taught me to value the friendships I made then with my teammates. These are friendships I still value today, even though we're hundreds to thousands of miles apart. It's something I've also seen in others I've met since, who also started in clubs. Also, plenty of wonderful people that I know and love started out as club scrubs, are now A's, and are wonderful to see every year at Nationals.

Now, looking back more than 12 years later, I'm still fencing. I'm sure that we can all say, varsity or no, that not all of those who we fenced with and against are competing today. So I cherish the friends I have with that shared background even more. It's a hazing ritual we've all gone through, and, for those of us who've kept at it, we've emerged more disciplined for it.

So no--I wouldn't trade my club experience for anything, because it lead me to the fencing friends and family I love today