WCC club sports offers more than competitive edge

Yana Mcguire 

Staff Writer 

The bitter cold cannot stop the competitive yet positive spirit of the WCC club sports community. The winter 2025 season started off with enthusiasm after the WCC Gold women’s volleyball team finished first in the Fall 2024 University of Detroit Mercy tournament.

Matt Lucas, manager of WCC Sports, said he is grateful to have had the opportunity to watch the volleyball program grow from one team to two (The Green Team). Over the last ten years, Lucas said he has witnessed students in all programs improving their playing skills and commitment to rising up the ranks. 

“I can remember back in the day when I just wanted to win a match within a tournament. Now it is like, hey, we won the whole tournament,” Lucas said. “That’s awesome.”

As exciting as a win can be for a sports manager, the dedication the club sports programs have towards helping the WCC community is what Lucas looks forward to the most this season.

The Wolfpack Dance Team, who placed second in the 2024 dance competition, participates in the annual Ann Arbor Making Strides Walk, according to Eliza Williams, a Wolfpack Dance Team member. Making Strides is the nation’s largest network of breast cancer walks that honor patients and survivors.

“We walk with them, we cheer them on and sometimes we are at the tables passing out things like water,” Williams said. 

William states that during the current winter season, the team will be actively looking for indoor activities to continue supporting the community. 

Aiden Lenhardt, captain of the Men’s Soccer team, states they will be hosting a food drive for the WCC food pantry, in the Student Resource Center, although no dates have been set yet. 

The success of the team’s food drive, held in October 2024, empowered Lenhardt to make it his mission to organize one for the winter semester.

“It’s hugely impactful, way more than I thought it would be,” Lenhardt said. “We got a post (on social media) about it from WCC. They ended up doing their own food drive to create awareness. Hopefully, if we keep doing it, the pantry can grow.”

The Sports Department also participated in the Adopt a Family program through WCC, which purchases gifts for families in need during the holiday season, according to Lucas.

“That stuff warms my heart more than anything else,” Lucas said. “These students recognized that people needed something and said ‘Let’s see how we can fill that gap.’”  

Lucas believes that a student’s life on campus can be positively impacted by enjoying a club with people who have similar interests. Falling under the student development activities section of campus life, he enjoys finding a multitude of ways for sports fans to engage.

For instance, the Intramural Sports Club will offer students a way to engage with minimal physical activity by hosting a watch party for the first March Madness Game in March. The event will be held at Garrett’s, located on the first floor of the Student Center, where students and faculty can enter tournament brackets. 

If you are interested in WCC Club Sports, tryouts for men’s and women’s soccer, baseball and softball are coming up this week. 

However, Lucas encourages students who are interested in sports whose tryouts have already passed to still inquire about joining. Most teams will find room for you, meet you where you are at, and help you get to where you want to be, Lucas said. 

For information about tryouts, see the schedules below. 

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