The Hidden Gem That Is College Club Sports

At midnight, the UWM campus is quiet but in the Klotsche Center college club sports are just getting done with practice. Women’s basketball, men’s basketball, women’s volleyball and men’s volleyball take up the four courts in the pavilion.

On court one, we see the women’s basketball team lining up on the baseline to run laps. 10 down and backs, President of the team Tylor Huber yells. By the end of practice, the girls are exhausted but, in their minds, it’s worth it.

Monday and Wednesday from 10:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m. is when the women’s club team has practice. The season begins in October and goes until April, having around 10 tournaments that happen on the weekends. Last season, the team had tournaments in Iowa, Ohio, Illinois and Wisconsin.

At UWM there are plenty of college club sports for anyone looking to play competitively. According to Valentyn Potapenko, assistant director of sport clubs programs at UWM, in 2019-2020 there were 536 students active in club sports. The school has around 20 club sports teams that have around 10-30 players on each team. The clubs range from equestrian to football to disc golf to sailboat racing.

Some college club sports even have tryouts because of the huge number of people trying out and the competitive nature of the sport. According to Tylor Huber, the women’s basketball team had to cut 10 girls to get down to the 12 allowed number.

Tylor Huber, the president of the women’s basketball team, would describe the team as a competitive AAU team.

“I joined club basketball because intramurals weren’t competitive enough for me and I liked the structure of an actual team,” said Huber. “I was really excited about the idea of becoming president.”

As the president of the women’s club basketball team, Huber does a lot for the team. With no coach on the team, Huber takes on a lot of the responsibilities a coach would normally do. From renewing the club every year to making tournament plans and running practices, all while also being the starting point guard and majoring in Film, Huber definitely has her plate full.

“I like that we don’t have a coach because your coach can really make or break the team,” said Huber. “I feel like people are more comfortable coming up to another player than they would be going to an adult coach.”

Although the UWM team doesn’t have a coach, many of the other teams such as Madison and Marquette have a coach. Everyone on the team agreed that not having a coach is better for their team.

Huber doesn’t do all of the planning by herself though, by her side is Vice President Breally Kautzer. Breally also helps with the planning of practices and tournaments.

“I like that club sports are more competitive than intramurals but less intense than being on an actual sports team,” said Kautzer. “It is a very happy medium and allows students to continue their passion for the game they love while also focusing on school.”

According to Kautzer and Huber, the competitive nature is what really drives the team. Huber enjoys developing rivalries against other Wisconsin teams such as Madison and Marquette.

At the Kent State Tournament last season, the UWM team beat Madison to win the conference tournament and get a free bid to the national tournament played in Kansas. Sadly, the team never got to play at nationals. Due to COVID-19 all club sports were canceled in March 2020 and are still suspended until further notice.

“Unfortunately, we haven’t had the chance to play together since we left, but we’ve all stayed in contact and continue to plan for when we are able to get back on the court again,” said sophomore starter Quinn Stephens.

Stephens started playing her freshman year and doesn’t regret a single minute.

“I love the people and how competitive it is but laid back enough that I have time to still do school,” said Stephens. “It’s a fun environment where you can play a serious game of basketball but still have a lot of fun behind the scenes.”

Although they will lose one senior this year, the majority of the team will be retuning when the suspension is lifted. According to Stephens, they are all excited and they have one goal: getting a chance to prove themselves at nationals.

Huber, Kautzer and Stephens all recommend club basketball and club sports in general to anyone that wants to play competitive, have fun and make new friends in the process.

If you are interested in playing a club sport or know someone who is, go to this link to find the directory of all sports clubs at UWM: https://uwm.edu/urec/sportclubs/