Spring Break
Men's club broomball wins championship
Dan Kukla
Issue date: 4/4/08 Section: Campus
"I like playing on the open ice as a hockey player," said club president Dan Shugarts. "It teaches you to stick handle, pass and to make plays. On the small ice it's hard to create any kind of plays because there are so many people in such a small area."
To get to the tournament, the team had to travel 18 hours in a van over two days. While senior defenseman Steve Barone said that the ride up to North Dakota was not all that exciting, the team did have somewhat of an eventful tip home. Most of the players are loyal Miami hockey fans and trying to keep up with their tournament provided plenty of entertainment.
"Every time there was a (hockey) game we'd pile in the motor pool and go to the local sports bar and demand they put ESPNU on so we could all watch the game," Metcalf said. "(It) made the drive back take a little bit longer, but it was a blast."
When not competing in national tournaments, Miami holds weekly practices at the Goggin. The team also played in the Cincinnati Broomball Association's (CBA) Fall and Spring leagues. This was exciting for Miami, who has a limited number of teams to compete against who are close to home.
Looking back on their experience at the national tournament, it is very rewarding for some of the players to see how far they have come.
"It's overwhelming," Shugarts said. "It's pretty fun when you can play broomball for four years and go from playing in the beginner intramural league, where it's the first time you have ever played the sport, to learning a totally new style of play on full ice, and then taking that to the national tournament against other schools and (being) able to compete … and hold up a big banner and a trophy … because you're national champions."
Another rewarding aspect for Barone is the chance to compete as a Miami athlete, even if it is just at the club level.
"To bring (a national championship) back for Miami (meant a lot)," Barone said. "To say that I did it in the name of my school, I'm very proud of-I didn't do just for me I did it for my school. They put a lot of money into us without much return and we really appreciate that, (so) it's nice to bring home a nice big plaque."
The team will be graduating five seniors at the end of this year and will have some major holes to fill in order to defend their national championship. Metcalf encouraged anyone who is interested in playing next year to come to the team's drop-in practices on Sunday nights at the Goggin.
To get to the tournament, the team had to travel 18 hours in a van over two days. While senior defenseman Steve Barone said that the ride up to North Dakota was not all that exciting, the team did have somewhat of an eventful tip home. Most of the players are loyal Miami hockey fans and trying to keep up with their tournament provided plenty of entertainment.
"Every time there was a (hockey) game we'd pile in the motor pool and go to the local sports bar and demand they put ESPNU on so we could all watch the game," Metcalf said. "(It) made the drive back take a little bit longer, but it was a blast."
When not competing in national tournaments, Miami holds weekly practices at the Goggin. The team also played in the Cincinnati Broomball Association's (CBA) Fall and Spring leagues. This was exciting for Miami, who has a limited number of teams to compete against who are close to home.
Looking back on their experience at the national tournament, it is very rewarding for some of the players to see how far they have come.
"It's overwhelming," Shugarts said. "It's pretty fun when you can play broomball for four years and go from playing in the beginner intramural league, where it's the first time you have ever played the sport, to learning a totally new style of play on full ice, and then taking that to the national tournament against other schools and (being) able to compete … and hold up a big banner and a trophy … because you're national champions."
Another rewarding aspect for Barone is the chance to compete as a Miami athlete, even if it is just at the club level.
"To bring (a national championship) back for Miami (meant a lot)," Barone said. "To say that I did it in the name of my school, I'm very proud of-I didn't do just for me I did it for my school. They put a lot of money into us without much return and we really appreciate that, (so) it's nice to bring home a nice big plaque."
The team will be graduating five seniors at the end of this year and will have some major holes to fill in order to defend their national championship. Metcalf encouraged anyone who is interested in playing next year to come to the team's drop-in practices on Sunday nights at the Goggin.
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Brian K
posted 4/15/08 @ 1:14 AM EST
Congratulations to the Miami Men's broomball team! I'm personally very proud to see what an incredible job you guys did to come back to beat Bethel. Know that I enjoyed played with several of you both as a teammate and as a competitor. (Continued…)
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