The Michigan State ice hockey program isn’t the only one on the rise. The Spartans are known for another form of hockey, one that’s much wetter and tends to bring quite a few bumps and bruises, including the occasional black eye.
MSU’s underwater hockey club team is a community favorite, open to anyone affiliated with the university, therefore made up of a wide age range of participants. As long as members are approved by the coaching staff, they’re allowed on the team.
“I get the shit beaten out of me by grandmas,” sophomore Alex Laskowski said.
The underwater hockey team's origins lie in a former MSU student club sport: scuba. Once the members of the scuba club learned about underwater hockey, they decided to branch off to create MSU’s first of its kind.
Underwater hockey consists of a six versus six matchup. Players wear a swimsuit, swim cap, snorkel, a mask and fins. Participants aim to hit the weighted puck (3 lbs) into the goals on each side of the bottom of the pool by using small sticks that are approximately a foot long,
There are no skills required to join the club besides the ability to swim However, students are encouraged to try out the sport regardless of past experience restrictions.
MSU freshman Sydney Wasser heard stories about the underwater hockey club from one of her friends on the executive board. He reached out to Wasser in search of new members early in the school year. With limited prior swimming experience and no involvement with club sport teams at the university, she was hesitant to step outside of her comfort zone and try it out.
Eventually, the rookie attended a practice at the IM circle pool and has been a member since, even scoring a goal in practice on Mar. 20. and planning to compete with the teams in upcoming tournaments.
“I tried it out and the people are fantastic and it’s a lot of fun,” Wasser said. “I’m really trying to get better at it.”
The fee to join the club is $30 per semester or $55 for the entire year, making the sport one of the more reasonably priced clubs offered on campus.
With the lack of funding from the university, members have resulted in creating their own gear, a beloved team tradition of turning glove making into an annual and highly anticipated team bonding activity.
Rebuilding after COVID-19
The popular club that once consisted of a dozen-plus members had dwindled down to a scant one at the peak of the pandemic. Since then, the club is gradually trending back up to its prior size and members are determined to rebuild what once was.
“COVID has really interrupted a lot of relationships and community building that we’ve had,” MSU alumna Mallory Simon said. “There's a whole generation of people who have left. Everybody’s kind of in a rebuilding phase.”
Underwater Hockey competes with other clubs (men’s water polo, women’s water polo and triathlon) for pool time. In order to hang onto the reserved practice times on Monday and Wednesday Nights, the club must maintain at least ten members, although the university is being flexible due to the COVID rebuilding period.
From recruitment at campus wide events and word-of-mouth, the club’s able to operate with enough members for a full game during practice and on the road in tournaments.
New members are found at Sparticipation or Rec-Fest, usually by current players shouting at passing students to come to a practice on Monday and Wednesday nights from 8-9:30 p.m. When people are seen peeking over the pool balcony, they’re encouraged to come downstairs and join in.
“We’ll shout at them, ‘hey you wanna play’,” Simon said. “Sometimes it works, most of the time it doesn’t.”
Tournament Appearances
Underwater hockey is a global sport, allowing for MSU members to travel to a number of tournaments throughout the year, specifically across the U.S. and in Canada. To kick off the club’s 2023 tournament season, members traveled to the University of Illinois for a tournament from Mar. 24-26.
The club has two international students, hailing from Belgium and Ukraine, who are assisted by fellow members in finding clubs to join upon their return overseas. With a variety of club teams across the world, it allows for international students to remain involved with the sport following their collegiate career.
As Spartans continue to navigate a campus and club sports system post COVID-19, those involved with underwater hockey are eager to revive the beloved club team and immerse incoming students in the community it offers.
“It’s all community based and a very cool one to be a part of,” Simon said. “It’s kind of like a second family.”