Augustana women’s club soccer has been working to regrow their team since the pandemic. This year they have had to regain players again due to a huge loss over the past two years. “COVID knocked out a lot of participation and people not wanting to come,” Soccer Club co-president and senior Holly Chesney said.

 Because of COVID-19, the Soccer Club has had to rebuild their team this year as well as start gaining participation and attention again. 

“We’ve been doing a lot to push forward the club,” Chesney said. This has helped them gain more traction again and help kickstart the Women’s Soccer Club.

Although the women’s soccer club hasn’t played any games yet, practices have been going well and there have been a lot of new people joining the team this year. 

Don Ulmand, the director of intramural sports and recreation, has played a vital role in helping the women’s club soccer team get off their feet.

“They’re in the process right now to get a schedule against opponents. In fact, they’re going to play in a local winter league. But they’re in the process in the spring to play other universities,” Ulmand said.  

 This year the club has gotten more organized with getting games scheduled and having a more formal practice layout. 

“We’ve been doing a lot to push forward the club, and Don has been receptive to the changes we want to make,” Chesney said. 

Though the soccer club has been getting more participation, funding has been an issue in the past. This year they are getting new jerseys while still working on getting new equipment for everyone on the team. “We get a budget from Augustana to buy our jerseys, transportation and new equipment,” Chesney said. 

The decision on how much funding club sports receives depends on if they are tier 1 or not. Tier 1 sports are determined based on club sport standards and the risk involved in participating. 

“For those sports we go to the length of doing concussion testing just in case an injury occurs,” Umland said. 

Since the Soccer Club has had to rebuild their team, they haven’t been able to play any real games yet. They have only been scrimmaging.

Though they have still been making sure the new players can learn the important lessons beforehand. “We usually start by stretching, drills and we try not to make the drills super complicated so people are able to practice new techniques,” said senior and Vice-President of the club, Audrey Zettler. 

The club is making an effort to be receptive to the newcomers, allowing them to learn important skills as well as making life-long friendships on the team. 

They have been including everyone on the team by talking to them during practice and off the field as well. 

“It’s a great place for everyone to relax and have fun, it’s more of the mindset that you’re here to play, have fun and learn new skills, but it’s nothing serious,” Zettler said.