I have a ton of respect for student-athletes. In order to be good at math, most people have to work at it. In order to be good at relationships, most people have to work at it. In order to hit a baseball fair 3 out of 10 times, you guessed it, you have to work at it. Whether you are in middle school, high school, or a four year college or university balancing schoolwork, a social life, and sports is extremely difficult. The successful student-athlete who can navigate an 85 on an algebra quiz, asking out and gaining a yes for a prom date, and going 3 for 5 in a State playoff game – all on a Friday – is a rare breed indeed. And has my respect!

So what happens when one of these facets of student-athlete life is simply not available at your current or potential 4 year school of choice. Let’s say you are in the top 5% of your class and have your mind set on becoming the next greenskeeper for Augusta National Golf Course. Your local university has an esteemed professor who worked at Augusta for 10 years and he has personally recruited you for his landscape architecture program. And you are completely gaga over your high school prom date sweetheart, who has already committed to your local university, the one with the program you want to major in. One small snag, your local university does not have a Varsity baseball team. Due to funding issues about 2 decades ago, the baseball team was scrapped and so, you cannot continue to play college baseball if you attend this local university. You are being recruited by other schools, but they do not have your landscape program and your girlfriend will not change her mind on her school of choice, plus they are in Montana, California, and New Mexico. Do you give up 2 for the sake of 1? What if you didn’t have to?

What if there were a student run baseball organization at your local university? A club, a baseball club, one that organized baseball games against other school’s club teams? Kind of like the chess club or the garden club or the theater club. Guess what? You can go to become a greenskeeper, and continue your relationship with your sweetheart, and yes you can continue to play baseball at your local university via your school’s Club Baseball Team! Win, Win, Win. I recently reached out to Eric Curitore, Vice President of Baseball Operations, National Club Baseball Association, to learn more about the National Club Baseball Association, and some its members playing club baseball right here in Hampton Roads.

Simply, I asked Eric what is the role of the club baseball team at the college level. His answer, “Club Baseball programs are student run organizations on campus that provide the students at that specific school an opportunity to continuing play baseball while in College. A lot of student athletes playing in the NCBA could have played at the next level somewhere else, but chose to attend their current school for a host of different reasons – major, proximity to home & more. With them selecting another school without baseball in mind initially, the NCBA provides them the opportunity to keep playing once on campus. We’ve seen tons of guys play club ball on campus & that move up onto the NCAA team from there. We’ve even seen a lot of guys get drafted and/or have professional experience – https://clubbaseball.org/league/proalums/.” And I asked Eric for a few references here in Hampton Roads and was excited to make contact with Zachary Wu of local Christopher Newport University.

Here is Zachary’s inspiring story about his Christopher Newport University Club Baseball team. “CNU Club Baseball was formed by a group of guys in 2021 who wanted to continue playing baseball competitively while in school. This club offers the opportunity to continue playing baseball in college to those not able to make the varsity team or not wanting to play at the NCAA level. We have grown from a small scrappy team to now competing in the NCBA for a title. The first season was rough with trying to figure out all the details, games, fields, uniforms, etc. As most teams just starting out there were a lot of difficulties but in the last few years we have grown significantly. We have gone from reusing old varsity team jerseys to now having a set of our own. From playing a few exhibition games a year to now having a full set of 5 conference series and several out of conference series. From having only barely enough players to field a team to last season maxing out our NCBA roster.

This team is a great group of guys who all share the same love of baseball and get to continue playing the sport we love. As a graduating senior now, looking back at my time here at CNU, joining club baseball was the best decision I made. From being here since the beginning it is wonderful to see how the team has grown and lasting friendships have been made. At the end of the day we’re a great group of buddies who enjoy hanging out with each other and playing the best game of baseball. 11/9-10 we play our biggest rival ODU in our fall finale. This series will be at the CNU Baseball Field (Captains Park).“

It was just amazing learning about club baseball, its place on the many campus of our colleges and universities throughout the United States, and the incredible feedback from Zachary on his experience with his Christopher Newport team. Listen to how these club baseball programs can shape a young mind – “we went from a scrappy team to vying for a championship,” “we had to figure out fields and uniforms and overcome logistical obstacles” and “best decision I could have made.” Sounds like the club baseball experience teaches you far more than hitting a ball fair 3 out of 10 times. I am hearing business, logistics, management, organization, networking, socialization, positivity, and success on so many levels in Zachary’s summary of his club baseball organization. That is incredible and I salute the entire network of the National Club Baseball Association for providing such an amazing opportunity here.

Huge thanks and high fives to Eric Curitore and Zachary Wu for their information and inspiring stories about club baseball. I can’t wait to attend games and meet some of the players and experience the club baseball world firsthand. For more information on the National Club Baseball Association and to see if your school (or the one you are applying to) has a club baseball team, head over to www.clubbaseball.com.