Opinion: UIS Club Baseball demonstrates what it means to be part of a team

April 8, 2009
By Marcus Johnson
Sports Editor

“We are just a bunch of guys who enjoy playing baseball.”- Catcher Colin Samson

These words best describe the passion that the UIS club baseball team brings every time they step onto the field. Now, before we go further, most people out there are probably wondering: What is club baseball?
Club baseball is a team that is organized by students; they play different school club teams around the country. In 2000, the National Club Baseball Association (NCBA) was founded. The NCBA can be compared to the NCAA (which is the governing body of intercollegiate athletics), but the athletes that play in the NCBA do not get scholarships to play.

Here at UIS, the club baseball program is growing rapidly. “A great thing about UIS is that it is full of opportunities as it continues to develop as an institution and Club Baseball serves an example of that potential growth,” said acting club baseball president Michael Omenazu. “The great thing about Club Baseball is that it features and showcases students taking initiative, a key aspect in this success of the university's development. Rather than waiting upon upper administration to provide for us, we as students hold ourselves responsible for setting and achieving goals,” said Omenazu.

Only a handful of the players that are currently on the team have no previous experience, but as C/3B Mike Vinik says, “Every practice is an adventure. We learn new techniques, or new styles we’re not used too.”

Even though the team’s record is not over .500, catcher Colin Samson optimistically states, “We still have a good time.”  Recently I went out to Rochester High School to watch the UIS club baseball team in action against the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana club baseball team. From what I saw, it looked like the players were having the time of their lives out on the field. Even though the team got swept all three games, you can tell that the team’s pride was not hurt.

The team’s next home series will be on April 18th against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. They play their home games at Rochester High School.