Every new Chaminade gentleman is taken through the Athletictron at the end of their Open House tour, and is treated to a vast display of every club, sport, and student organization that Chaminade has to offer. Among the cacophony of tables, the main attractions are obvious: football, basketball, baseball. However, past the crowds lie some tables with little to no passerbysat all. Despite the lack of attention, these hidden gems have a lot more to offer than what initially reaches the eye.
Ultimate Frisbee:
When it comes to team sports, almost no game emphasizes teamwork as much as Ultimate Frisbee. Passing makes up the majority of every match, which creates a connection on the team that is hard to find in another sport. Along with team building, Coach Steven Murphy asserts that the conditioning is a major aspect of what makes Ultimate so special.
“I’ve got football players playing for me that are training for the fall.”
In addition, Coach Murphy also explained a crucial foundation about Ultimate Frisbee that sets it apart. “There’s a theory called ‘Spirit of the Game.’ Players do their own foul calling and discussions. It really helps them with conflict resolutions and compromise.”
While self-officiation is not super rare in sports, having something like that in a team game is quite unique. Consider giving ultimate frisbee a try, and finding the Spirit of the Game for yourself.
Rugby:
Often generalized as the sport that’s kind of like football, rugby actually has a lot to set it apart from its more popular sibling sport. Student Lawson Burchett-Mount (’24) said, “If you like to be physical, I think it’s the best sport. There’s lots of chances to hit and tackle but also a lot more chances to run the ball and make passes.”
Rugby is not officially a Chaminade sport anymore due to lack of enrollment, but the Chaminade Rugby team from previous years has joined a team called the Saint Louis Jets, a club team with several other schools. Lawson recounted a recent tournament the Jets went 1-2 in. “We won our last game. I believe that in our last game we started to click a lot more as a team. This is our first tournament as a team and we even had guys play who had never played rugby before.”
So, if you are looking for a physical sport that is open to beginners and has a strong team atmosphere, rugby might just be up your alley.
Bocce Ball:
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, bocce ball may be the least physically demanding sport Chaminade has to offer. “Any size, and shape, it doesn’t matter,” Bocce Captain Carter Fogarty (’24) said. “It doesn’t take a lot of activity to play, but is still really fun.”
While it is in an article about under-the-radar sports at Chaminade, bocce has been experiencing an explosion of success and attention. Last season was the first time that Bocce held an STL Fall Championship, which Chaminade took by storm. After only one loss all season, Chaminade bocce inserted itself onto the scene as a powerhouse, and appears poised to remain that way.
When asked to describe the bocce team in one word, Carter said, “Character.”
Nobody embodies the character of Chaminade bocce as much as Coach Keithley, the winningest (and only) coach in Chaminade bocce history. The bocce legend praises the team aspect of his current roster:
“They support each other and are quick to offer corrective advice as well. There’s a good rapport among them … perhaps part of what unites them is a collective tolerance of their coach.”
