The Men’s and Women’s Club Hockey teams are perfect for anyone who loves the sport.  Practicing only twice a week for an hour and a half, and with only one game a week, the time commitment can fit into most people’s schedules, especially since players don’t need to show up to every practice or game.

Junior Sarena Gisser, an educational studies concentrator and the president of the Women’s Club Hockey team, says that there is very little in terms of barriers to entry for new players. 

“We don’t have any dues, and we have spare equipment for people who don’t have any,” Gisser said. “You still might need to buy some stuff if you end up liking it and joining the team, but the cost of playing isn’t any higher than other club sports.”

The skill level required to join also isn’t too high either, according to Gisser. 

“We are happy to teach people, and [how much you participate] in practices and matches is up to each player,” Gisser explained.

Unlike the Varsity teams, players are free to try out different positions. Junior Hunter Keller, a film and media studies concentrator who usually plays goalie for the team, expressed her appreciation for being able to try out offensive positions during games. 

“I was able to give ‘wing’ a try last semester. I don’t see why a varsity goalie would ever do that,” Keller said.

The Women’s Club Hockey team plays against other colleges in the area and even hosts tournaments of their own on home ice.

“We have a mixture of home and away games, and we never have to travel further than two hours for a game,” Gisser said. “We can’t do a [home tournament] this year because of the varsity schedule, but the tournament we hosted last year was a lot of fun, so hopefully we can have one next year. We also have a banquet at the end of the year, which is always something to look forward to.”

Joining a club sports team offers students the opportunity to cool off from the stress of the academic day, and get in a good workout. 

“[The team is] a change of pace from the stressful and sometimes intense academics that typically happen during the day,” Keller said. “And I find that going to class and the academic side of things can be draining in a lot of ways. Even though I am getting in a workout, because of the social aspect of it, I feel like I end up leaving energized and happy.”

Senior Jack Campbell is the president and captain of the Men’s team and talked about the benefits of being a student-run organization.

“The last two years, a few other guys and I [decided we] wanted to make the team more legitimate, and we joined a league as probationary members, and gained full membership this year. People have responded well and now we have a full schedule of games and much better practice attendance,” Campbell said. “We play other nearby schools like Cornell and Hamilton and we’ve had some success, winning a little more than half our games so far. We’re going to play in Canada in a couple weeks, so while there’s definitely a lot of room for growth, I think the team is looking up.”

Women’s Club Hockey is a great community to meet new people, too. Both Keller and Gisser have made plenty of friends through the team.

“The club gives me more people to wave at and say ‘hi’ to as I go through my day,” added Keller.

Students shouldn’t ever feel nervous to try out Club Hockey. Keller said that any nervousness she had in joining the team went away immediately after the first practice.

“Since I was a transfer student I didn’t really know anyone, so I was a little nervous, but everyone ended up being super friendly. Everybody, especially the leadership, was really organized, which was also nice,” Keller said.

The club hockey teams only have a few more games left before the rinks close for the semester, so interested students should head to https://www.colgate.edu/student-life/athletics-recreation/club-sports to find information about practices.