Whitman College club vows to attain athletic excellence
People have generally known Whitman College as an institution that always attains excellence in the academic activities. However, for past five years, a group of the alumni have gathered up with the aim to reciprocate equal excellence in athletic competition.
Formally known as W club, the athletics squad maintained by the booster group consisting of alumni, staff members of the college and the parents of the students is being led by 19 members. The interest of the alumni is rather commendable in the club that
this year alone there would be 400 to 650 of them participating in various sports disciplines, supporting the W club with its endeavours.
While addressing a meeting of the members and supporters, Whiteman Athletic Director Dean Snider said that they wanted to ensure that the institution was pursuing the same level of excellence in sports as was maintained by the other schools and colleges
in the vicinity. He also expressed his willingness to support the student athletes and to establish a connection with them.
Right from the time the W club was formed, Whitman alumnus and President of the club, George Osborne has been helping in forming a large contingent of support from the Whitman alums. The first step in this regard was taken when the budget for the club was
increased significantly, which would give a boost to a wide range of athletics programs of the club. The W club has also funded the hiring of four full time assistant coaches for each men’s basket ball, women’s basket ball, swimming and for baseball teams.
The guidance of full time assistant coaches has tremendously helped the teams improve their performance. The teams now have got another set of eyes which would assist them during the practice, they would point out their mistakes and guide them regarding
how to overcome those mistakes and become better athletes.
A major stride for addressing the financial issues of the W Club was observed when one year ago an alumnus of the college and member of the club provided the seed money for establishing first ever athletics endowment, which, with contributions from other
members, is expected to grow in the coming years. The endowment would ensure the availability of the funds and to maintain equity across all the sports and would prove to be a major support to all the programs.
Two other impressive attributes of the W club are tailgating and the flying programme. The flying programme extends help for the teams to fly in top recruits to visit Whitman; this would greatly help building up the recruiting nation-wide.
On the other hand, tailgating has been proved to be the most interactive part of the W club between the club members and the Whitman community. The club has been putting on tailgates at various games every year including the sports like basketball, swimming,
soccer, and tennis. According to a club member, a number of tailgates had been put on at the contests which were held outside of the community, the reason was to generate interest for the alumni in other regions. According to the club members, putting tailgates
had helped in creating enthusiasm for students, athletes, parents, and was doing great help for the kids and their programs. It was something in which almost everyone could participate into.
A key success for the W Club had been the relationship between the athletics department and the administration. The club has started looking like an enduring force for excellence while the only thing which would determine its success is its sustainability.
The year-to-year success of its athletes on the field would translate directly into the success of the W club.
While addressing a community meeting, Snider was of the view that the club administration intended to expand the club to a point where it would become a significant contributor to the athlete programs. This would help the club to stand as a long term partner
in establishing the reputation.
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