Ryan McBride and his Eureka High School club ice hockey team competes in the 2010 championship game.
It was an idea that started on Jan. 9 with a single Facebook post; a digital expression of disappointment about Webster University’s narrow selection of intramural sports, written by junior Jordan Hageman.
“Some more intramural sports (at Webster) would be nice,” Hageman wrote.
Although he did not mention specifically what intramural sports he would like to see on Webster’s campus, friend Ryan McBride knew what sport Hageman was referring to: hockey.
While others may have taken the status as nothing more than a mutual thought, McBride took it as a sign to finally bring hockey to Webster.
“I had been toying with the idea ever since I got here (two years ago),” McBride said. “As soon as I saw someone else had the same idea, I was like ‘OK, that’s enough to start a (hockey) club.”
To achieve recognition as a funded or unfunded organization at Webster, organizations must complete a checklist before the group makes its case to the Student Government Association (SGA).
With the deadline to submit the paperwork to the SGA due by Jan. 25, McBride and Hageman, both second-year students, acted fast.
Items on the checklist include writing a club constitution, submitting a roster of at least 10 current Webster students and completing a petition for recognition, which must have at least 25 student signatures.
To get the number of signatures needed as well as student commitments to the official group roster, Hageman and McBride began to spread the group’s existence using social media.
“I just basically started putting (our group’s information) all over Facebook, all over Twitter and any time I can on Instagram,” Hageman said.
While McBride was placing flyers around campus, he met Webster’s Director of First Year Experience Program Sarah Tetley.
Tetley, a hockey fan herself, had previously heard people bounce around the idea of starting a hockey club at Webster, but never saw the idea get any farther than wishful thinking. But when she met McBride and heard that he and Hagerman were trying to bring that wish to life, she was more than happy to lend a hand.
“(Ryan) came to the front desk and said, ‘We’re trying to get a hockey club off and running,’” Tetley said. “I looked at him and asked ‘Do you have an adviser yet?’ and he said, ‘No, not yet,’ and I said, ‘Hi, I’m Sarah Tetley. I’ll be your new adviser.’”
McBride said they have four committed members including he and Hageman.
Hageman and McBride said the difficulty of getting the required number of student commitments was not a surprise. Hageman and McBride think the student body’s love of sports, especially hockey, may not be as strong as their own.
“(I feel like) a lot of people hate sports here,” Hageman said. “Anytime I mention sports to people, they cringe.”
McBride and Hageman both said they have been actively recruiting students in their classes. Outside the classroom, they flag down anyone on campus who looks like they might be interested in joining the group, i.e., wearing a St. Louis Blues hat or shirt.
Once they have the 10 required students on their official roster, as well as the required 25 student signatures, then the next step is to have a formal meeting with the SGA to gain recognition as an official group.
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