By Carson Vercoe | Sports Writer
You don’t need a packed football stadium or a sold-out basketball arena to be competitive at Baylor. Sometimes all you need is a circular net, a yellow ball and three friends ready to compete.
For Baylor’s club Spikeball team, or roundnet team, a casual beach and backyard game has turned into a competitive one filled with dives and rallies. Whether they are battling it out or just playing for fun, this team has built a community within a simple game.
Baylor club Spikeball is just one of the 36 club sports options at Baylor. It was created in 2015 but grew in popularity during COVID-19.
“It really grew and exploded during COVID because it was one of the only clubs still active during the pandemic,” said Temecula, California, senior and Baylor club Spikeball President Jawaan Rasmussen. “Every Wednesday on Fountain Mall there were tons and tons of nets because that was one element of community that people got during COVID.”
The surge in participation helped the team become the 2022 College Roundnet national champions.
Now the club has around 116 players with 16 competitive players and around 100 casual players. The club offers two teams for people with differing interests.
“There are two clubs,” Rasmussen said. “You have the casual club and the competitive club. The casual club meets from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Fountain Mall, which is tons of fun. The competitive stuff also happens from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. but on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Edgefield.”
But aside from the actual sport, the club offers more than just a game. It offers a sense of community for students who might be missing out on the sports they used to play.
“When I came here, I was missing the sports and team aspect, and I didn’t have a team anymore, so I didn’t know what to do,” Chicago senior Haleigh Manske said. “The team brought back a piece of my life that I was really missing.”
The club also gives students a chance to build meaningful friendships through competition.
“It’s definitely a close-knit community because the competitive club is smaller,” Santa Barbara, California, senior Micah Allin said. “You really get to know people super well and just form good relationships with them.”
On the competitive side, the team participates in several tournaments and has found success showcasing its skills against other colleges on a national stage.
“People love competing,” Rasmussen said. “We have lots of tournaments, and this past summer we won nationals, so we’re definitely among the more competitive club sports.”
While winning tournaments and competing at the highest level remain at the heart of this club, the club’s success is not measured solely based on what goes on around the net.
Whether students come to Fountain Mall for competition or to have fun, Baylor club Spikeball has created a place where both can coexist.
“There’s no skill level required,” Rasmussen said. “We’re here to have fun, and just build community, and share God with one another through playing.”
