Collegiate club sports might lack large crowds of people paying larger amounts of money, opportunities for a shot at athletic scholarships and the sense of fame or status that might come with being a Division I college athlete, but one thing club sports found across the campus of MSU don’t lack are athletes with passion for the game.
Packaging senior Kevin Horton is in his fourth and final year on the MSU men’s club lacrosse team, and is an example of this passion for sports.
“The reason I think a lot of us play is for the love of the game,” Horton said. “I have been playing sports all my life, and when it came time to go to college, luckily I was given the option to continue playing lacrosse competitively. The competitiveness of college club sports, along with being able to represent MSU, was enough for me to want to play on the team. I am glad I joined because it keeps me busy and I have met a lot of lifelong friends in my four years on the team.”
Another club athlete on campus, marketing senior Connor Flynn, is in his fourth year with the club hockey team. He said when he got to college there was no decision to be made about whether or not to continue with his passion for hockey.
“For me there was no decision — it was that I was going to do this,” Flynn said.
“I am a hockey player and that’s who I am. I wanted to keep playing hockey and I didn’t want to be done playing, and on top of getting my hockey fix I wanted to win a national championship.”
Luckily for Flynn, the Men’s Division III club hockey team won the ACHA National Championship for the 2014-15 season, something that he said he will never forget.
The national championship game really sticks out in his memory, Flynn said.
“I was so old, so close to being done and it took me so long to finally do this (win a national championship) thing that I had dreamed about my whole life,” Flynn said. “It was surreal and overwhelming and it didn’t set in until I got the ring to signify our accomplishment.”
Another national champion at the club level representing the Spartans is Nancy Krutty, a computer science junior in her third year on the women’s club soccer team. She is also the president of the club this year.
Krutty and the women’s club soccer team won the national championship this November, giving her and her teammates a lifelong memory to share. Krutty said just being on the team itself has been an unforgettable experience.
“My favorite part of being on the club soccer team is the mini family that you get out of it,” Krutty said. “You see them on a day-to-day basis and get to make a lot of new friends. It’s something that has been a big part of my time here at MSU and has given me lifelong friends.”
For those incoming freshmen or even current undergrads who are on the edge about playing club sports, the current club athletes on campus would advise they give it a try.
“For someone on the bubble, I feel like it’s anything,” Flynn said. “You can join a frat, or a club and just try it out and see if you like it because you’d rather try it and not regret it in the end. The friendships that I have built over the past four years are unforgettable.’'
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
