The FAMU club baseball team has been hard at work with practices and games for their fall season. The club stands as its own organization outside of the athletic department.
It serves as a way for students to play the sport they enjoy. It’s been around for about a year but will officially be registered on iStrike starting in January.
Its future registration on IStrike not only makes it an official university club but the team will then become the first HBCU to play in the National Club Baseball Association. According to clubbaseball.org the NCBA is the fastest growing intercollegiate baseball organization in the country.
“The National Baseball Association is the fastest growing intercollegiate baseball organization in the country. We are the only national governing body for collegiate club baseball and are driven to provide college student-athletes with the opportunity to play competitive, organized baseball and to continually improve this experience for all participants,” according to the organization’s website.
Reggie Williams ll is a fourth-year graphic design student and is the FAMU club’s vice president and creator. He says he created the club so students can be around peers with a similar interest.
“So, I have been on the team since we started doing open practices last October. I wanted to create and join the club team to have a way to still continue to play the sport that I love and still be around peers that had that same drive and goal for the sport,” Williams said.
Williams has been playing baseball since he was 3 years old. He plays outfield and catcher.
He says it has been rewarding to see his and his fellow captains’ ideas come to life.
He adds that the most difficult thing has been balancing between being a player and coach at the same time. The team has around 20 members and has played two games against FSU’s club team. The team ranges from individuals who’ve played for years to some who’ve never played before. Practice consists of dividing the team into beginner and experienced and then coming together at the end.
“We work on throwing, catching and fielding for our beginner players and normal infield/outfield for our advanced players. Then we all come together and work on hitting as a team,” club president Rashad Cohen said.
Cohen is a third-year engineering student and says he has been playing sports since he was a child.
“I’ve been playing baseball, basketball, football and soccer since the age of 6, in high school I played each sport but baseball was the one that I was most consistent with and became the sport that I wanted to pursue,” Cohen said.
“My favorite part about being also of this team has been seeing this team improve each day they come out and starting to love the sport. The bond between the players is fun and a good vibe for everyone,” Cohen added. “We even participated in the Kappa dodgeball tournament going undefeated even playing against the football team and winning the grand prize. Our goal is to come together when playing this sport, learning from one another and doing activities together when traveling to become the best team.”
The team has plans for scheduling double header games on Sundays with other universities in Florida along with preparations the NCBA.