Hi all - we’re considering Macalester for my son who is sporty (loves playing and watching) but will not be playing at the college level. Wondering what the recreational sports scene at Macalester is like - are intramurals available, popular etc? He’s on the quiet side and usually finds his people/connects through playing sports. Thanks so much!
1 Like
Might he be interested in club sports? They are in between the intensity of varsity and the (usual) casualness of IM and recreational sports, and typically you travel and represent your school against other schools, which is fun. They typically have open tryouts, and while prior experience is often helpful, you don’t necessarily need it if you are a decent athlete and willing to learn. There are also sometimes no-cut teams.
Like many LACs, Mac has a pretty good range of different club sports:
I note that is the highest level at Mac of those men’s sports for Ultimate, Skiing, Water Polo, Volleyball, Rugby, and Ice Hockey (I might have missed something).
IM is also a thing at Mac as well:
It is a somewhat overlapping but overall different mix of sports. Generally you are looking at shorter seasons, much less practice, and of course no travel.
2 Likes
Thank you very much!
No problem!
I’ll add that at a high level, I think kids who are interested in participating in sports at these sorts of colleges generally find something that works for them. They may not know exactly what in advance, but doing the normal first-year exploration, talking to other people they meet, and so on, they eventually find what works socially, competitively, and within the context of their other college commitments of various sorts.
1 Like
Oh, and I think this is somewhat in distinction to, say, large publics. They will likely have club and IM too, but the level of ability and commitment required for club, and sometimes even IM, can be pretty high.
It is basically just a scale issue–an institution of 40000 kids isn’t likely to have 20 times as many club teams or IM leagues as an institution of 2000 kids. More, yes. 20 times more, very unlikely.
Obviously there is a lot of other stuff to consider when choosing a college, but this is one of those things where for the right kid, a smaller or at least midsize college might be a little better for them in terms of opportunities to participate in well-organized team sports.
1 Like
My sophomore boy plays club soccer at Macalester. He has been loving it.
4 Likes
Club sports are great for a sporty kid because the team isn’t already full of recruited athletes. Many kids find a new (to them) sport that they fall in love with, that either wasn’t an option due to availability or because they had to devote too much time to their high school sport(s). S23 wa recruited in 2 sports and decided he did not want to spend the time away from academics to play in college. He ended up joining the nordic ski team (club) this year. He never strapped on a pair of XC skis until a year prior, but his GF is the captain and he really likes the people on the team. His times qualify him for the races, but he only has to compete if/when he wants to.
3 Likes
The common understanding that your commitment level may sometimes vary based on other important commitments is such a huge plus compared to the common understanding with recruited varsity athletics.
Not to sound overly old school, but club sports really strike me as embodying the classic ideal of the student-athlete, a person for whom athletics is supposed to be a complement to their academic studies.
3 Likes
thank you - glad to hear!