For most of the club sports teams at Elon University, the beginning of fall semester is an ideal time to recruit new freshmen. This includes the club baseball and frisbee teams, who eye events such as the Fall Organization Fair on Sept. 4 as an opportunity to get students to join their team.
Club Baseball President and senior Case Marino described the organization fair as the team’s biggest outlet for recruiting new members.
“That’s normally where we get the majority of our guys on the email list,” Marino said. “Once they’re on the email list, we can send updates about practice times and future games.”
Both baseball and frisbee, in particular, have experienced success in recent years. Club baseball made their first playoff appearance in 2024, while the frisbee team made nationals this past May. Frisbee’s President and senior Brady Jackson described nationals as the highlight of last season.
Although baseball failed to replicate its playoffs success in 2025, Marino said he was still happy the team got to play a full season.
Marino and Jackson each said the organization fair has always been helpful when it comes to registering new members. They explained how there’s often a high number of players early in the season.
“Registration is steady every year,” Jackson said. “There are always a large amount of freshmen that are interested in playing.”
While both teams see high numbers immediately after the organization fair, keeping the newest members can be challenging.
Marino said although many people sign up early on, not all of them will stay in the club over the course of the year.
“As the year goes on, people do find other interests,” Marino said. “We typically see our numbers go down a little as the year goes on.”
Jackson voiced a similar statement, explaining that although it’s great to see lots of interest in the beginning of the season, they would love to keep the majority of those freshmen.
“The biggest thing is retaining members,” Jackson said. “At the first couple of practices, we’ll get 70 members showing up. I think the interest is definitely there.”
To appeal to freshmen in the beginning, Jackson and Marino explained how they want to give everyone in the respective club sport a chance to connect with other members.
“We try to make everybody feel included,” Marino said. “We pride ourselves on being a family and being able to actively convey that is important for us.”
For frisbee, Jackson said in order to make freshmen feel welcomed at the club fair, current players will wear jerseys from past years as a way of showing their existing team camaraderie.
“We always want to chat with people before they sign up,” Jackson said. “I think the biggest thing is just emphasizing that community because I think that’s what gets people to show up and not just sign up on the sheet.”
Prior to Elon, Jackson said he had never played frisbee before. However, he liked the idea of the sport, and now he is club president. He added that some of his best friends are teammates.
“I had no experience with frisbee before, but it just sounded cool to me,” Jackson said. “I met some of my closest friends that I still have going into my senior year.”
Sports such as frisbee and baseball are only a couple of the many club sports throughout the organization fair. Both club presidents recognize that there are plenty of other organizations looking to recruit freshman students.
Marino said one thing he’d want freshmen to specifically know about club baseball is that they do compete against some of the other best club baseball teams in the region.
“It’s important for freshmen to know that it is a legit baseball team and that we play competitive baseball,” Marino said.
Perhaps just as important as winning, is establishing a fun environment for freshmen. Jackson said the frisbee team always looks to convey a sense of togetherness that the newcomers can appreciate.
Asked about any advice for students who are considering signing up, Jackson said he believes it’s beneficial to give club sports, such as frisbee, a chance.
“Just give it a shot,” Jackson said. “That’s what I’d say to a freshman or sophomore that’s interested, and I think they’ll have a good experience.”