Family is a word that can be thrown around without much thought. On Wednesdays and Fridays at Kent State Universityâs Warren Student Recreation and Wellness Center, family is something you can truly find while throwing dodgeballs.
Entering the season ranked fourth in the National Collegiate Dodgeball Association power rankings and third in the Ohio Region, Kent State Dodgeball has high expectations for this season. Now in its 25th season, the team is very aware of the road ahead.
âLast season was definitely the best Kent State Dodgeball team of all time,â said team president Evan Harbison.
Harbison, a junior studying psychology, first heard about the team on his first day on campus and has been a member ever since.
âOne of our graduated members took me out of a crowd and told me to join, so I went to the first practice and fell in love with it ever since,â Harbison said.
Carlton Pittman, the teamâs vice president and a junior studying entrepreneurship, also spoke with Kent State Today about the team.
Weâre definitely a fun and energetic group,â Pittman said. âBut when it comes down to the game, we tend to get really serious.
Last year, the team ended its season in the semifinals after falling to rival Ohio State University, and the team plans to win its revenge match in its season opener in Columbus, Ohio.
Kent Stateâs rivalry against Ohio State goes all the way back to the clubâs inaugural season in 2002, when Kent State was the second team created and Ohio State was the first.
Nathalie Conn has been in the club on and off since 2018 because of health issues. She is a member of Honors Education within the College of Honors and Global Education with a double major in child psychology and criminology.
âEvery year I come back, and itâs family. This game is amazing. This team is truly family,â Conn said. âThis team has been incredible for me, with me, with each other. Because of health issues, Iâve had to drop a lot of classes, redo classes and leave school temporarily on multiple occasions. Every time I come back to the team, I come back to hugs, to âwhatâs upsâ and just a big, happy family.â
This club sport is more than just a student organization; itâs a community that has created family on campus. All three members talked about their open-arms approach to the team, and they are welcoming any and all students to attend practices on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Follow along with âClub Hoppingâ as the university covers more student organizations on Kent Stateâs social media channels and Kent State Today.
