By Henry Grant
CCC Journalism Program
BLACKWOOD – “Man, I wish there was a football team” or “I miss playing field hockey so much” are just some of the words uttered by a myriad of students each day. So the question is raised: Do the students want more athletics at Camden County College?
Students argue the CCC soccer field could be used for lacrosse and field hockey. By Henry Grant/CCC Journalism Program
Former Lindenwold High School field hockey star Ashley Brocious said they do. “This is a college, and a college should offer extracurricular sports activities,” Brocious stated. “A lot of students here give up their sports aspirations because they can’t afford to pursue them at four-year colleges, and it’d be nice if CCC offered some of them.”
However, would the cost of the addition of these sports be covered in the school’s budget?
One coach at the school stated, “Students want a lot of things, but they never factor in the costs.” A field, uniforms, scheduling and equipment all cost money. “If these students want more athletics, they’ll see the results in their tuition,” the coach said.
Many of the students attend CCC because of the low tuition. Not only the athletes would be paying the extra tuition, every student would.
And even if the school did offer some of the extra sports, would the students bother to come out and participate?
According to a small poll taken among students, 75 percent of former athletes said that if their sport was offered, they’d try out. When told about the tuition factor, that number reduced to 50 percent.
When told about the cost situation of adding a sport, Jeff Magnus, former lacrosse player at Winslow High School, stated, “The hardest thing to get is a field, which we already have for some sports. We have a soccer field, which could just as easily be used for lacrosse or even field hockey games.”