It’s late afternoon on a Wednesday. Lacrosse practice is in session at the Quinnipiac Field Hockey and Lacrosse Turf Field, but it’s not the Quinnipiac men’s lacrosse team.
The team is running an offense vs. defense scrimmage on the near side. The attackers cycle the ball around the perimeter, trying to set up a shot on the cage, while the defensive players apply pressure.
Captain Vaughn Smith, however, doesn’t like what he’s seeing, and he has a pretty good view from where he’s standing at the front of the net, as he protects the crease like a pit bull on yard duty.
Smith, a long pole defenseman, calls the play to a halt. Shouting at the attackmen like a military tactician, he diagrams an offensive strategy. He tells his players where they should move after making a pass and when to cut.
“Make the defense work!” he barks to the offensive players.
Immediately, the pace of play picks up, while a couple of players who were taking a breather after their shift at the drill look on from the bench.
Meanwhile at midfield, Ned Emersonis the only one at practice who has no equipment at all studies the play attentively, making notes out loud to himself.
Although they certainly don’t lack the intensity, Smith and Emerson’s team is not varsity. This is Quinnipiac club lacrosse, started by Smith and co-captains Emerson, Drew Stubbs and Brad De Prima over winter break.
They have a 30-man roster. They have jerseys. They have a coach in Emerson, who is sidelined by a health issue. They even hold bi-monthly captains’ meetings. They’re just missing a few crucial elements, like a league, a schedule and what may be the most important, opponents.
Lacrosse is just one of three club sports teams that students have organized teams for. Rugby and the recent ice hockey have not been recognized by the university. Without recognition as an official university club sport, teams like Smith’s are left with the burden of paying for uniforms and travel. They are also responsible for contacting schools to set up games. The process, which began at the start of the semester, has been a struggle according to their players.
“That’s why it’s hard for us to get things done,” Stubbs said. “Everything falls on our shoulders no matter what it is.”
Quinnipiac’s three club teams may play different sports, but the task of self-management is one thing they have in common.
New Blue Rugby carpools to get all of its players to games. Team members split the costs of hotels and gas.
“It’s tough to be a student, an athlete and a coach at the same time,” New Blue Rugby captain Sean Morris said.
While Smith and his lacrosse team can certainly relate to the challenges Quinnipiac rugby players face, New Blue’s achievements are ones they can strive for. The rugby team went to the Division IV championship during the 2005-2006 season, and moved up to Division III the following year, according to Morris.
“It has become an established part of Quinnipiac, and that’s what I want this to become,” Smith said.
The fact that they are not formally affiliated with the school causes would-be opponents, who have official ties to their respective universities to view them with skepticism
“Other schools don’t really take us seriously, even though we do want to be a serious program,” Stubbs said.
Although there have been a number of attempts in past years to start club lacrosse teams, none of the others ever launched.
“We are the only ones who have succeeded so far,” De Prima said. “So hopefully we’ll keep strong after we graduate.”
For now, the team plans to backtrack and focus on setting up games for next season, a process that will involve contacting other schools over the summer.
“I think this is where the other failed attempts just gave up,” De Prima said. “We’re not giving up.”
And why should they? Anything is possible. Scott Sheahen played ice hockey in California for 12 years on travel teams and for another three in prep school. So naturally, he figured, why not at Quinnipiac?
“I just wanted to hit again,” Sheahen said. “I just wanted to play real hockey again.”
He may not be too far away from that. Athletic Director Jack McDonald has agreed to meet with Sheahen and club hockey team co-founder Dan Pressl about the prospect of granting them university recognition, said Sheahen.
For the time being, Sheahen and his teammates wrestle with difficulties that parallel those faced by their lacrosse and rugby counterparts; mainly, costs. Only for them, this is amplified further by an additional need of ice time.
For $750, the team can call the Northford Ice Pavilion its home rink. Once the referee fees are added, the price tag becomes $900, said Sheahen. If they become backed by Quinnipiac, he hopes to persuade the university to allow them to use the TD Bank Sports Center for practices and home games.
“When you’re paying 750 for ice time, that’ll drop off substantially when you just use their ice,” Sheahen said.
Although he’s optimistic, Sheahen is careful not to get his hopes too high.
“They seem willing to talk,” Sheahen said. “How far will it go? I don’t know. I think the big concern is if they let one, will they have to let all?”
If Quinnipiac is willing to make the recognition of club sports a trend, rugby may find itself at the bottom of the waiting list. Sheahen’s hockey team may become the favored child in the university’s club sports family, but New Blue is already treated like the rebellious teenager.
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