One of the best aspects of playing a sport is being part of a team. Growing up, most everyone competes on at least one athletic team, whether it be YMCA soccer at the age of seven or high school basketball. When college comes around, most decide to shift their focus to their studies and preparation for their future. The idea of participating in a team sport seems unattainable. However, the Union University Office for Campus Recreation provides an opportunity for students to be part of a team once again.
The Union Jaxx and Jillz are the university’s men’s and women’s ultimate frisbee club teams. These teams allow students to be part of an athletic environment and compete in tournaments against other schools in the region without the confines of the NCAA. These tournaments allow the teams to have the same competitive experiences as the programs in the university’s athletic department. Sophomore accounting major and Jaxx member Charlie Skinner shared the goals of the team.
“We like to have fun, but we like to play our best and improve and compete because when we go to tournaments, we realize that we represent Union,” said Skinner. “The best way to do that, first of all, is showing what it looks like to be a Christian, modeling Christ, and second, being as good as we can at ultimate frisbee.”
One major difference between the university’s club sports and NCAA sports is the required time commitment. In season, NCAA sports have a maximum practice time of 20 hours per week, or four hours a day. The Jaxx practice two hours a day, three times a week, while the Jillz practice two hours a day, twice a week; their players workout outside of the scheduled practice time. Even with practices, players can stay connected with what is going on around campus.
“It’s somewhat of a big time commitment, but compared to other sports, no. I’m able to be very involved in campus outside of Jaxx,” said Skinner.
Because they are not NCAA affiliated, the Jaxx and Jillz are able to compete against schools that are outside of the Gulf South Conference (GSC). Emma Cate Hare, junior teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) major and co-captain of the Jillz, talked about how unique it is for them to play against larger state schools.
“We get to play schools like Ohio State, LSU and UTK,” said Hare. “As the Jillz, we get to provide a witness to other schools. Since we do get to play bigger schools that maybe don’t have a faith-based education, we get to model that Christ-like competitive attitude.”
Hare wants people to know that club sports on campus should not be taken lightly.
“I would like people to know that [ultimate frisbee] is a valid sport,” said Hare. “It’s really rigorous physically.”
Due to COVID-19, the Jaxx and Jillz are not able to compete in any tournaments this season, but they are looking for other schools in the area to scrimmage against.
