Wayne State College students are striving to add softball to the list of club sports the college has to offer.
President Drew Kratochvil and Treasurer Amber Vinsonhaler both felt the need to give girls the opportunity to extend their softball careers instead of having to stop them when entering college. They both have an extensive softball background from playing all throughout their lives starting at tee ball.
“I’ve played ever since tee ball when I was younger, and I’ve coached the last two years for a 16/18u summer league team as an assistant coach and I miss it,” Kratochvil said.
A club softball team would help give girls the opportunity to further their softball careers, but not on as big of a stage as the college’s team, resulting in a smaller time commitment.
“We decided to start one up as an option for girls that wanted to play or wanted to go out for it, but didn’t make the school team or didn’t have the time to be on the school team and wanted a smaller commitment with classes and everything,” Vinsonhaler said.
On a social level, the club will help create new friendships and connections among the players that they would not have gained otherwise.
“I just want to give girls an opportunity to make more friends,” Kratochvil said. “I’m in club volleyball and marching band and I’ve made so many more friends because of it. It’s a great way to make friends if you’re struggling, especially for freshman, or if you need new friends.”
Vinsonhaler hopes to bring in players who have never played the game of softball. It will also be something to fill out the downtime in students’ schedules.
“We also wanted to include girls who have never played before that want to learn how to play,” Vinsonhaler said. “I think just having that option for any sport is really nice and it’s a way to fill your time. I know I have a lot of free time even as a full-time student and a part-time employee.”
Lots of students struggle to exercise on their own and club softball would solve that issue and increase students’ motivation to stay active.
“Some people have a hard time finding motivation to go lift weights and this gives girls an opportunity to feel good about themselves for exercising and staying in shape,” Kratochvil said.
The club team recently got approved by the Wayne State College Student Senate on Monday night. The team is going to play a total of 15 games in the fall within the Mid-America East Conference, five schools throughout the Midwest, with a nationals tournament in the spring as well as the World Series.
“After it’s approved the paperwork will head on to the Mid-America East Conference to be approved by the five other teams which are the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Kansas State, University of Kansas, Iowa State, and the University of Iowa,” Kratochvil said.
The team will hold its tryouts at 7pm on September 5 at the Community Activity Center Northwest softball fields. They are looking forward to their inaugural season as a club team.
