Starting a Club

[jnorman]

I got this e-mail from an individual at DePaul University and I thought I would start a thread for suggestions on starting a club.

Bryan,

I am willing to help you out with whatever you need. Funny we both used racquetball for PT. Definately one of my favorite parts of the military. Thats great that you are a freshman and you have the military background to give oyu the drive to make it work.

There are absolutely no requirements for attending college tournaments, you just have to get in the loop and compete. I can get you into the e-mail loop. One tournament coming up at the end of February is going to be at U of I which is not all to far away from you. I would highly suggest you and a couple guys make that trip. It will be a ton of fun, and th ehost team is almopst always willing to put you up in their players homes.

Things you do need to do:

1. Make sure you establish your organizatiosn at your university as a registered student organization, this is either done through the student life office or directly through student government. You need to get this done as soon as possible, this is where every sports organization starts.

2. Once your an RSO, you need to get with your campus scheduling agency or student recreation body and get the courts reserved for practice time if possible.

3. Recruit, Recruit and Recruit some more. Use the same campus scheduling office to find a place where you can sit and recruit as well as putting flyers by court.

4. Ladders are also a great idea to promote inter-university competition and grow enthusiasm for the sport.

We do have a coach but you definately don't need one, alrthough they do help tremendously. I would suggest buying Fran Davis's Building Your Racquetball Dream House. Having your guys watch it and than practice the drills contained within.

We will definately see each other on the courts!

Give me a call if you have any mroe questiosn that pop up,

Josh Norman

217-549-4577

Dear Mr. Norman,

My name is Bryan Prasifka and I am contacting you with the hopes of learning from your experience. I am a freshman student at DePaul University in Chicago and am in the process of creating, or trying to create, a Racquetball Club for the university. I note your substantial efforts for the sport and a leadership role within it, and hope for whatever advice your time allows.
I too carry the love of the sport from military service: US Army 2002-2007. Other than the necessary task of getting friends and enthusaists to commit to a club, I am curious about the requirements of attending collegiate tournaments. I have researched your related websites as well as other universites, but I am still learning the bereaucracy of a university's athletic department, so any tips you could spare would be much appreciated. I also wonder if you enlisted the training of a coach for your club. I would like to admit that the knowledge I learned playing off-duty or during PT would be sufficient, but experience tells me such emboldening would be short-lived.
If all goes well, I hope to be leading a motley crew to a tournament during the upcoming months. If you still compete, perhaps we shall find one another on the court. I thank you for your time.

Bryan Prasifka
DePaul University