CSULB Roller Hockey

     CSULB roller hockey is steam rolling the competition. For the first time in school history, the club has captured the Division I National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association (NCRHA) championship in Middleton, Wis.  “We are so proud to be the first university in NCRHA history to bring the national championship to the West Coast, and we couldn’t have done it without our coach, Bill Burrows,” said team president Travis Benson, a junior kinesiology major.

     Roller hockey is played on “sport court”, which is similar to plastic tiles, in a standard size rink. Games consist of three, 12-minute periods with four players and a goalie competing for each team. Team rosters generally carry up to 16 players so they can have fresh substitutes throughout the game.

      “Not too many students know that we have an elite roller hockey club here at Cal State Long Beach,” he added. “So, for us to get this recognition and support feels great.” The roller hockey club has been highly recent years. They made the Elite Eight at nationals the last two years and have been ranked among the top 10 in the nation. To get to the finals, the 49ers had to defeat the season favorite and top team, Lindenwood University.  Lindenwood has been to finals the past 10 years and had a undefeated season of 28-0. Long Beach beat them in a tough game 5-4 clenching a spot in the finals.

     The championship game was played against Cal Poly-SLO, setting the stage for the first ever West Coast team final. Both CSULB and Cal Poly-SLO compete in the Western Collegiate Roller Hockey League.

Cal Poly led 1-0 after the first period with CSULB tying up the game 1-1 in the second period. CSULB went on to win in the third period 4-3 in a shocking victory, with game winning goal scored by junior Sklyer Hoar.

     In the tournament the team defeated big schools from both coasts. The 49ers defeated the University of Missouri-St. Louis, 5-2, in the second round, and the University of Tampa, 7-3, in the third round to advance to the semifinals against Lindenwood who they defeated 5-4 to advance to the Cal Poly final.

Photo coutesy of CSULB Roller Hockey

The Inner Workings of CSULB Clubs

     "2001 we had 20 teams and 10 years later we have gone to 42," said Rita Hayes, the Club and Recreation director of CSULB.  As the campus grows, there becomes a greater number of people who want to find some way to feel connected in the sea of faces.  Club sports provide an excellent opportunity for everyone to participate.
     NCAA teams only recruit the top players to join their teams, leaving a multitude of high school athletes without a chance to compete.  Club sports allow for them to continue with their sport and grow in a college community.  Sports like lacrosse, that are popular in high school, are not as prevalent on the West Coast are given a chance at life by becoming a club sport.
     The process to become a club sport is very long and can sometimes take years.  The club must procure facilities to practice and play games, which is especially hard for teams that need fields.  The rugby field and those adjacent to it are very run down and time slots to use them have been filled by the club teams who are already formed.
     "The hardest part of the application process is getting insurance for the team," Rita said.  Teams like lacrosse and rugby need ample insurance because of the high physical demand and chance of injury.  Students have been trying to make a club cheer-leading team for a few years because many students don't make the actual team.  While there is plenty of facilities for them to use, the insurance is incredibly expensive due to the high rate of injury induced by the sport.
     If a team can find facilities and insurance, they must prove they can be competitive.  This means there needs to be a local league that the team can play in without having to travel extreme distances for games.  Teams must also have 150% of the field, meaning they need to have a full team  and a half on their roster.  Also, since they are self funded the first year, teams must prove to have an way of producing money to support the team and equipment.  If a team survives the first year, they will begin receiving ASI funds the following year.
      This year, ASI gave $155,000 to clubs, which was split among 42 teams. Easily the most expensive club, ice hockey received $15,000.  Games usually run the team upwards of 12,000 dollars to pay for the ice rink, forcing the club to charge fans for tickets.  Players come up with 2,000 dollars out of pocket. Crew is the second highest because of the expense of the equipment and facilities.  The boats, boathouse, and trailers, must all be paid for and most of the money comes from students who pay well over a thousand dollars a year.
   Specialty sports like wake boarding and water skiing team require students who are trained and licensed boat drivers.  The school owns the boat, but students must pay for storage, towing and maintenance.
    It is extremely difficult for club teams to earn NCAA status, not only because of cost but also because of title 9 rules.  The campus must have equal opportunity for both men's and women's sports.  Many teams have actually been dropped from NCAA down to club, including archery, gymnastics, wrestling, and a handful of others.  our campus hasn't had any teams join NCAA. title 9 requires equal sports for men and women.
   Overall, club and recreational sports at CSULB have continued to grow every year.  The increasing student body calls for more areas where students can be a part of something on camps, and club sports are a major player.

CSULB Rugby trains with Navy SEALs

     Head coach Kyle Quinn was faced with a huge challenge when he took over CSULB Ruby.  How to take the rag-tag team and make it truly great.  Quinn has implemented multiple new training regiments to make the team fit and competitive at the highest level.  This has included bi-weekly CrossFit training and a day long session with U.S. Navy SEALs.

     The team travelled to Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, located in San Diego Bay.  As soon as the players arrived, the training started with a jog to a meeting room where they received a 30 minute prep talk and introduction. The short meeting was followed by four hours of intense and rigorous training, which included obstacle courses, tire flips, also, relay races and sit-ups while holding a 200-pound log.

     The Navy drill instructors were just as ruthless as they are made out to be.  Barking orders and lecturing players about a mental drill called "flipping the switch," which basically means telling your body it is not tired or sore and digging deep to find energy to finish your task.  Instead of resting between drills, players were required to sprint up a 20-foot hill, jump into the ocean then sprint back up the hill and crawl around in the sand.
      "It was mostly that switch that you have to turn on when you're tired; flip that switch and keep going," junior Sean Mazer said. "I was really sore. It was such a great experience to share with my teammates."
     Coach Quinn came up with the idea for the trip as a trial run.  He hopes to return to the SEAL base next season.  While the short-term results were soreness and fatigue, Quinn hopes the exercise will have the desired effect of teaching stamina and strength to finish a game strong.
  
Photos courtesy of Sean Mazer

CSULB Lacrosse Making A Comeback

Four years after coming back from a 20 year hiatus, the CSULB Lacrosse team has become a force to be reckoned with.  The team has returned stronger than ever making finals appearances every year. They were the first “new” team to attend the Southwestern Lacrosse Conference Finals in 2009.

Since the team is so new, finding enough members to fill the roster is a challenge. Nick Jezulin, a member of the team, said “Well for starters we don't have any money to recruit with. We typically find out from friends, family, other coaches that hit us up via email or the actual player wanting to come to Long Beach will make contact with us and inquire about our program.”

The team has been striving to reach NCAA status, but this present a steep financial obstacle to overcome. A fully funded lacrosse team can cost upwards of $500,000 per year. Funding from the team now comes mostly from player’s pockets and a small portion from ASI. The team sells apparel and discount food cards to help raise money.

 A more immediate goal the team is working towards is acceptance to Division I of the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association. The MCLA consists of 213 teams from the US and Canada and is split into 10 conferences. Each conference has both Division I and II.  During the regular season, CSULB plays multiple D-I teams and does very well against them.

Photo courtesy of Nick Jezulin

CSULB Rugby

Rugby is the second most watched sport in the world, and yet rugby is nearly unrepresented in the US.  This is a considerable challenge to overcome when recruiting and trying to get people interested in CSULB Rugby.  “Recruiting is rather rough, because the NCAA doesn't consider the sport in America to be sponsored. So we don't receive any scholarships,” said Sean Mazer, a senior on the CSULB rugby team, “Probably, only about 5% come out and know what they are doing.” 

                The club is open to everyone in the community not just students.  However, being a full times student is necessary to participate in league play.  Most members have no experience with rugby.  Rugby is very much a European sport.  It is the equivalent of football in the US.  Players in Europe have the opportunity receive full scholarships and professionals receive the same treatment as the biggest super stars in the US.

                Recognition for the team is even more of an issue. “All college rugby teams are club sports, so no college in America gives NCAA scholarships for their players,” Sean said. Teams are severely under presented on campuses nationwide.  Another issue that rises from this is funding.  School funding granted to club sports depends on the number of members and the money isn’t enough to cover team expenses.  The rugby collects $200 per semester from every member for league dues and gear.

                The team was recently bumped down to Division 2 and play teams from Pepperdine, Fullerton, UCSD, SBCC, and other California school teams. The team is striving to regain Division 1 status this year.  During pre-league play they have defeated numerous Davison 1 teams including and all out rout against USC ending in a 34-7 victory.

                 The team just participated in a tournament at Cal Poly.  They played the top teams in California including, Cal Poly, Saint Mary’s, UCSB, Loyola, and UCLA, which are all part of the premier league, which is the step above Division 1.  They came in 5^th out of 12 over-all proving the 49ers are able to hold their own with the big boys.

Photos courtesy of Sean Mazer

CSULB Archery Club

     The Archery Club was established in 1962.  CSULB has the longest continuous operating collegiate archery program in the United States.  They have been competing at the state, regional, and national level for over 40 years.  Seventeen archers from the program have been named as All American Collegiate Archers, which is the highest honor for collegiate archers in the nation.

     The Archery club is open to everyone, even allowing non students to join.  All aspects of the club are available to them, except they are not eligible to be selected for competitions.  The club is also one of the few which requires no prior experience and they provide tutelage through veteran members and the coaching staff.  The club also offers all equipment needed.  This allows a larger range of members to participate.

     The team competes in both indoor and outdoor competitions along with 75 other colleges and universities across the nation.  In a recent event, CSULB ranked in the top five in both men's and women's compound and finished first in the women's recurve.  The team has a limited number of spots and members must qualify to fill them, providing the highest level of competitive spirits possible.
  
Photos courtesy of CSULB Archery

CSULB Crew Team, Women's side

            The CSULB Women’s Crew team has had a hard life.  “Its hard to get girls to join a team when they think they will only get ‘big muscles’,” said Pamela Van Diepen, one of the teams senior rowers.  It is hard for a strength driven sport like crew to recruit members, especially female members who fear getting too bulky or to ‘man-ly’ from the effort.  Despite this Danny Harris, the four-year head coach of the varsity team, is working night and day to make the crew and the lives of his athletes better. 

            “I got four points, Faith, Family, Academia, and Sport,” Danny said, “you have to have the other three in line for the fourth to happen.”  Danny Has worked hard these past four year to bring the women’s team up, and mold them into the best athletes and students they can be.  Danny coaches by a simple statement, “Give me two weeks and I will change your life for the positive.” 

            Academics are immensely important to Danny’s coaching philosophy.  Crew is a sport of commitment and sheer, brazen will power.  “If you are failing, you can’t row, we will ask you to leave,” Danny commented about academics.  He urges his girls to apply themselves fully to their education before even thinking about sports.  He wants to see the women on his team learn and grow to reach their highest potential through the commitment required by crew.  A third of his team consists of biology and chemistry majors who balance a full course load and a 5 am practice everyday, which is no easy feat.

            Danny believes this sport holds one of the highest levels of difficulty and fitness, only rivaled by cross-country.  “It is 100% body and 100% mind,” Danny said.  The girls are challenged daily to become better.  There is something to be said about waking up before the dawn, and doing more in 2 hours than most people do in an entire day.

            Despite the hard work and endless hours of training mind and body, crew has remained a club.  The women’s team pushed for NCAA entrance on the 2010 CSULB ballot, but were over shadowed and forgotten by the campaign for bring back football and the 100 other clubs who want to be recognized.  “I believe this is a top-tier sport,” Danny said, “yet most people still see it as a secondary.”  He hopes that someday NCAA status will be granted to both teams, and that Beach Crew will then be able to reach its full potential.

 

Photos courtesy of Pam Van Diepen

CSULB Crew Team, Men's side

     The Mens Crew team at Long Beach State is one of the oldest clubs on campus.  Founded in 1954, the crew team has had its ups and downs, but the biggest hardship they have faced is campus recognition.  Due to the early practice time, 5:30 am, most students have no idea what crew is or even realize we have a team.  Like other club sports, crew has no way of actually "recruiting" athletes by offering scholarships or other compensation through the university.
     "Recognition on campus is mostly 50/50," said Matthew Wood a senior and three year member of the team,  "We walk around with beach crew shirts on and people say 'What's that?' and you answer 'Rowing', and they ask 'What's that?' and you generally walk away after that."  5 am is not a time when most college students rise.  Therefore, one can see how easily something like crew could slip under the radar.

    Recruiting is possibly the biggest issue faced by the crew team.  Club dues are $500 per semester, and other costs include travel and apparel, which brings us to an almost unavoidable total of around $1,500 a year.  As you might guess, this is not a big "selling" point for the team.  Many recruits balk at the costs and ultimately leave the program until only the truly dedicated remain.  "The ones you do get drop before money is due, or you have members try to get by without paying, which ultimately just hurts the club," said Mathew Dalton a four year rower and three year member of the varsity team.
     The club is still incredibly competitive.  The number of novice rowers, or new members, has increased each semester.  The entire club, including both men and women, jumped from 56 athletes last year, to 80 athletes this year alone, 25-35 of those members on each side are novices.  High numbers like these, provides more oppurtunities to compete, not only with other colleges but also within the team itself.  The old saying, "iron sharpens iron", comes to mind when i think of the team.

     As a former rower, i know how difficult it is to face some of the heavy hitters in the NCAA, namely those close in proximaty.  USC, UCLA, UCSD, and Cal are the strongest crews on the West Coast.  Some races even include schools from the east, like Yale and Harvard.  "They just blow us out of the water," said the men's varsity coach, Robert Edwards.  "With other clubs its pretty similar we are pretty evenly stacked, and even against some the NCAA's, the smaller ones like Lewis and Clark just dont have the population to keep up."
     Crew is easily one of the hardest and least noticed sports on campus.  The men and women of the club are trying to change that.  They want to be seen and recognized for their accomplishments and they strive toward that goal every day.  So if you have nothing better to do at 5 am, there is always crew!

Photos courtesy of Matthew Wood

CSULB Sailing Team

            Not even a year old and the CSULB Sailing Team is already making big waves.  Not to be confused with the sailing club, the sailing team competes with universities from up and down both the west and east coast.  The relatively small team holds there own against the larger NCAA crews, often beating big names such as UCLA and USC. 

            Last semester, five students came together to re-create the CSULB sailing team, which had originally disbanded in the 60s.  The team has grown to 13 members, many of which are professional sailors and sailing instructors at yacht clubs around Long Beach.

            Kristen Barca, a CSULB junior, is both a founder and treasurer for the team.  It is notoriously hard for club teams on campus to receive funds and the sailing team is no different.  The five founders sent over 300 letters to alumni and families asking for donations to help jumpstart the team, and received nearly 4,000 dollars to pay for dock space and yacht club fees.  Kristen said this was crucial to getting the team back on its feet.  The school granted under 2,000 dollars to the team, which is barely enough to buy sails.  “We are really getting the money out of our pockets,” Kristen said. 

            The sailing team holds annual fundraisers at restaurants around Long Beach.  Kristen seemed particularly excited about a  “weekend regatta extravaganza” in the works, to invite students and families around Long Beach to attend and spend a day learning to sail and to see what the team is all about.  The team is always looking for potential new members, which are hard to come by when the smaller clubs are overshadowed by the NCAA teams.

            The sailing team is fighting hard to make a name for themselves and find there place on campus. “We are mainly in the shadows but we are being heard,” Kristen says, “We aren’t a priority yet, but we are trying to show [people] that this will continue on.” 

Photos courtesy of Kristen Barca