At the high school level, most athletes have the opportunity to play sports for free, but this is not always the case for some students. Hockey, racquetball, rugby, boys’ lacrosse, bowling and ultimate frisbee are considered club sports, which means they follow a different set of rules.

“As a club sport, you’re essentially asking for high school athletes to give up a certain amount of money to play,”  Giovanni Najarro, boys’ varsity lacrosse coach, said.

According to Microsoft Network, the annual cost of some club sports can total up to thousands of dollars per athlete. Because schools do not support club programs, this money is often used to pay for uniforms and equipment. Not only do the financial demands affect the cost of playing, but it also impacts the number of players club coaches are able to roster.

“I think sports that are school-sponsored have more guys coming out [to play] because families today can’t afford to pay so much money,” Najarro said. “If [boys’ lacrosse] was school-sponsored, we would have more players trying out.”

MSHSAA, the Missouri State High School Activities Association, determines what sports are considered club sports. Currently, there are not enough of these teams to support a high school state championship series, so they are considered club. The conversion from club to a school-sanctioned sport is a complicated process that takes years through MSHSAA.

“It’s not our decision [at] Kirkwood whether a sport is school-sponsored or not,” Corey Nesslage, athletics director, said.

In addition to the financial impact club sports have on athletes, Najarro said non school-sponsored sports have significantly less attendance at games.

“I think school-sponsored sports have more recognition [than club sports],” Najarro said. “I don’t think club sports like lacrosse get enough fans coming out to watch them.”

Kole Mudra, junior and varsity hockey player, agreed club sports get less recognition than school-sanctioned sports.

“[Hockey] doesn’t really get that much reputation,” Mudra said. “I feel like we are ignored sometimes.”

Club sports also have to compete for field space with sports that are sanctioned by the school. Najarro said the limited amount of space set aside for Kirkwood lacrosse has a major impact on the program.

“There’s always a battle for trying to find practice fields,” Najarro said. “I think that’s the biggest disadvantage of being [a club team].”

Despite the disadvantages of playing for a club team, Nick Naes, junior and varsity lacrosse player, said it does not matter to him.

“Other than paying club fees, playing for a team that isn’t school sponsored doesn’t really bother me that much,” Naes said. “In the end, I don’t think there is really that much of a difference between club teams and teams that are sponsored by the school.”