Josh Sarl, sports editor

Augsburg is a great place for athletes to develop their skills, compete at challenging levels, and ultimately, enjoy themselves. We are very lucky to have such an extensive web of sports on campus that we can watch and play as students. However, for many, these options may seem limited, and there might be certain athletes on campus who do not feel included in the sporting pride of college life. 

A very minor example of this was my own disappointment when I realized that Augsburg did not offer any opportunities to play rugby. Coming from the United Kingdom, I felt that getting involved in rugby would be a great way to avoid homesickness and to stay fit amidst the liquid lunches of college life. I suppose the treadmill will do just fine. 

Another example is that of Ruben Lesko, a first-year student from France who expresses his wish to set up a male volleyball team here at Augsburg. As someone who is not only new to college life but also studying a long way from home, it seems important to have sport as an outlet. Ruben outlines the need to “work hard in college” but also “have time for yourself,” which he does through playing volleyball. He also mentions how playing as part of a college team “allows you to meet new people and develop new skills.”

With this in mind, Ruben is set on this project of starting a new volleyball team and urges other like-minded athletes to get involved and turn this dream into a reality. “First, it’s commitment. The more people we can get involved [with this], the more facilities we can use. Attendance is important.”

His efforts haven not gone unnoticed, and he has managed to come to an agreement with the new athletic director, Amy Cooper, to create an “open volleyball team” with structured training hours. This will not be gender restricted, and anyone will be able to get involved. It is a promising starting point, but one that relies on attendance in order to grow. 

The next step for Ruben is finding coaching staff, and he believes that “the third challenge will be to enter into a league.” This might prove to be difficult, as the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) does not currently support a male volleyball league. However, there is certainly potential for the team to join the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) or the National Collegiate Volleyball Federation (NCVF). This could be harder for Augsburg to enter into, considering the university’s smaller stature in comparison with the bigger colleges in the league. In the face of these challenges, Ruben very confidently comments, “The start doesn’t signify the end.”

With every sporting achievement there must first come a dream. For Ruben and the other volleyball enthusiasts at Augsburg, the open volleyball team is a perfect start and will help to grow the sport on campus. If you are interested in joining the training sessions, they will take place in the Kennedy Center on Monday and Friday evenings.