There are over 20 club sports organizations at DePaul, from archery to dance to ice hockey to water polo. But with a busy schedule including classes and extracurriculars, why do students still play?

For Christopher Nash, a junior who plays for DePaul’s men club basketball team, the answer is simple.

“It keeps me active,” he said. “And me loving the game of basketball, it just motivates me to play.”

Nash started playing club sports his freshman year with the flag football team. His sophomore year, he decided to play club basketball. He said he “loves playing club sports at DePaul” and likes that the clubs are flexible with students’ schedules.

“It’s very time manageable,” Nash said. “They know people have a lot of school work, and it could be hard.” 

But not everyone shares this opinion. Oliver King, the president of club baseball, says he finds it harder to manage his club activities with other aspects of his life. 

“There is not much balance,” said King, who also works part time. “Between juggling work, my studies and responsibilities for the club, it demands a disciplined schedule.” 

As president, King handles the logistics and finances of the baseball club along with being the team’s manager. Though King struggles to find balance, he said his work for the club is “one of the best parts of my time at this university.”

 “It has not only given me another opportunity to play the game I love, but it gave me some of the best friends I could have asked for,” he said.

Like King, Imanii Hernández, safety officer and social chair for DePaul womxn’s club rugby team, enjoys the “community aspect” of club sports, but is also driven by other things.

Hernández started playing rugby in high school as an “outlet.” What continues to drive her passion to play is the “physicality” of the game and “just being a dominant force on the field.”

Alongside dominating on the field, Hernández works part time and volunteers on top of her classwork.

“It’s kind of hard to juggle,” she said. “But I think I manage it by just taking it one day at a time.”

Club sports are demanding for everyone involved —  especially club presidents. Rileigh José, president of the men’s club volleyball team, has a different philosophy for dealing with the responsibilities that come with being president.

“I treat it like another class,” José said. “The outside work that is required for president — I treat like a fifth class.”

José transferred to DePaul last year. After a year with the club, he found himself in the position of president by happenstance.

“A lot of the other people weren’t really interested in that position,” he said. “I was the one that stepped up to last year’s president and said, ‘I’d be interested in being the president.’” 

His motivation for assuming the role was simple.

“I like the idea of leading a team,” he said. But he added that taking on this responsibility wasn’t as easy as he thought at first.

 “The initial learning curve is really rough,” he said. “Because in a coaching position you are outside of the team and you can see from a bird’s eye point of view what the team needs.”

Overall, José enjoys his time as club president.

“I really like a lot of the guys,” he said. “We all really love volleyball. … The culture that we’ve created has kept me motivated to keep pushing and keep the club together.” 

Beyond the joy they get from playing, the competition is still a major motivator for those involved in club sports. 

As Nash put it, “We still want to win. … That’s why I continue to play club basketball.” 

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