Author: Anthony Ostland
Here at Occidental, there is a rich tradition of club sports. In the past, there has been much debate concerning what kind of support ought to be provided by the school. For the most part, it has been the responsibility of the student athletes who participate in club sports to raise the money, hire coaches and put together a seasonal schedule to compete with other schools. But this year all of that has changed.
With the support of President Prager, Vice President Michael Groener and the ASOC, Athletic Director Jaime Hoffman has created a new administrative position to oversee all recreational sports at Oxy. After an intense search for qualified candidates to fulfill the roll, Hoffman and company happily selected Coach Sae Woon Jo to act as Coordinator of Recreational Sports.
You may already recognize the name: Jo has been coaching on the Oxy football team since 2003, and his wife, Christine Kim, works in the Office of Admission. When Jo heard about the new position in athletics, he saw it as a great opportunity to further his involvement with the school.
“I care a lot about what goes on here at Oxy,” Jo said. “I saw this job opening as an opportunity to help provide some structure for a growing interest within the community.” Jo may have already had an impact: the number of students involved in club sports has nearly doubled from eight percent of the student body to 15 percent this year.
Jo’s responsibilities will cover all club and intramural sports. This includes men’s and women’s lacrosse, rugby, Ultimate Frisbee, the Oxy Dance Team, intramural basketball and flag football. He is also open to the idea of adding more sports such as club wrestling, fencing, crew, intramural dodgeball and inner-tube water polo if there is enough interest.
Jo will also be in charge of managing the budget, player eligibility, athletic training and acknowledgements, and he has taken it upon himself to institute physical examinations as a requirement for all participants. “I believe strongly that the health and safety of all the participants should be our first priority,” Jo said. “The new Director of Emmons has agreed to help out and be accessible for all club sports.”
He is also excited about rekindling the great tradition of Oxy club sports. “It is my opinion that there should be no difference between varsity and club sports in terms of support,” Jo said. “I believe that the level of play is just as exciting and beneficial for the athletes participating in club sports.”
Jo also wants to do everything in his power to get more people involved. “I plan to send out weekly updates to alumni and parents in an effort to increase interest and get people thinking about club sports,” he said.
Participants and fans alike should be very excited about what Jo has in store for the future of club sports as well. Jo has been working with a number of people trying to create the first club sports handbook. The handbook will provide a structured set of policies that govern Oxy club sports.
Jo is also planning on assembling a club sports council. “I envision the council being comprised of one or two elected representatives from each club sport, along with administrators and faculty cooperation,” he said. “The council will provide a forum where athletes can voice issues concerning practice time, field space [and] budget.”
Jo believes the support from both Prager and Groener is very positive in regards to the future of club sports. “I think their support is very important because it shows everyone that people really do care about this,” Jo said. “A lot of hard work went into making this happen – it is going to be great.”
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