Bringing together students from different , majors, and athletic backgrounds, Oberlin’s club soccer meets multiple times a week to play the world’s sport. The club’s practice times and locations are dribbled around by scheduling conflicts; a scrimmage can occur on the sun-drenched North Fields, where midges and gnats are kicked up by the hundreds; head indoors to Williams Field House for 7-on-7 turf scrimmages; and even run late into the night on Bailey Field, where the stadium lights illuminate every pass and shot. Regardless of location, attendance, or insect population, Oberlin club soccer offers a communal space for athletes of all skill levels to share a love for the game, provided they keep slide tackling to a minimum.
Stef Bell, a third-year who serves as the club’s treasurer and one of its captains, attended the first practice in his first year and hasn’t looked back. Bell’s involvement with the club has grown over the years, from his first position as safety officer to now organizing games with other colleges, more practices, and club social outings.
“This year I’ve taken a more significant role [by] going to every practice along with the five other captains organizing four games, which is more than what happened in the first two years of my being here,” Bell said.
If the cones and club members’ schedules align, Oberlin club soccer meets five days a week for practice. After kicking the ball around and warming up for a few minutes, the team huddles, and players introduce themselves and answer a check-in question before diving into scrimmages. For practices, there are no predetermined teams, so players have new teammates almost every time they play. The game itself can serve as a backdrop to making friends and finding community.
“People come to the practices even when they’re injured to hang out on the sidelines and chat to people,” Bell said.
During the winter and spring season, the club begins its intramural season, where teams are assigned a captain and play each other throughout the semester.
The club emphasizes participation and community building over competition, cultivating a low stakes, nonjudgmental environment. To more actively level the playing field, Bell and other captains are directly involved in opening the space for non-male athletes and ensuring practices aren’t dominated by a competitive culture.
“We try to have one practice a week for non-dudes,” Bell said. “We [also] have a very wide range of experience levels and physicality and crack down on people coaching or making comments when someone is out of position.”
In games against other colleges, however, Oberlin club soccer has recently displayed fierce competitiveness, winning all four games so far this fall semester season.
“I was getting cramps by the end of the game, but everyone worked really hard,” Bell said.
The club has an upcoming tournament at Kenyon College Nov. 16, where they look to continue their unbeaten streak.
