The Benefits of Participating in a Club Sport at the College Level
The Benefits of Participating in a Club Sport at the College Level
When traveling to a new college, where everything is foreign, stress starts to form in new ways, and you try to balance a million new things at once, staying involved in something familiar is extremely important. For me, that was joining a club sport.
Being an active student, I wanted to continue a sport, as I gave so much time towards developing my skills during high school. Once I made the team, my world in college opened so much wider than I initially expected. Looking back, there are so many different aspects of Providence that I don’t believe I would have experienced without the club.
There are three things that it provided me throughout the 4 years: Benefits in health and fitness, social interactions, and opportunities for career development.
First of all, for health and fitness, club sports have provided me with a good fitness schedule as well as taking the “chore” out of working out. It gives a chance to stay fit while hanging out with your other teammates.
Which leads into the social benefits of participating in club sports, you are not only given the opportunity to make long lasting bonds with your incoming teammates, but it opens the door to establishing relationships with people from other grades as well. Especially for the younger students, having older friends provides a sense of security and adds to the overall experience at college.
Lastly, career developmental benefits come towards the later years of the sport. Where I am now, I started working to get the club ready during the summer, organization, scheduling, times, tryouts, and the overall constant upkeep of the club became a full-time job. Along with that, you then gain the responsibility of leading the team during every practice, having everyone looking up to you as a role model, and establishing the energy and motivation of the team for the season.
This all can translate into the professional world and truly benefit you as you start to build your career. With all considered, it is highly beneficial to participate in a club sport in college as it will help with fitness, social interaction, and career development.
Kate Kirkwood, Providence College, class of 2026
