“It’s unlike any other sport I have played but it’s a combination of so many sports that you’re used to playing,” said SU Quidditch Player Ryan Govoni

The rules of Muggle Quidditch, or human Quidditch, are very similar to those outlined by J.K. Rowling in the Harry Potter series,

“You have to adopt it for land use. You have to run with the broom in between your legs. You have to stay on your broom at all times. If you take the broom out from in between your legs you technically fall off your broom so you have to start back at your goal post,” said Govoni.

There are three chasers on each team who take the Quaffle and try to score it through the hoops. The two beaters play defense while seekers have to chase around the snitch.

The game broken down a little more:

Chasers must pass the Quaffle (white ball) and scoring points by throwing it through one of the opponent’s goals at each end. Three chasers play on a team. When a Chaser is hit by a Bludger while holding the Quaffle, he or she must drop the ball and run back to his or her own goalpost before rejoining the game.

Keepers are the goalies and block the attempts to score. One keeper plays on a team. Depending on the version of Quidditch played, Keepers can be invulnerable from being hit by the balls but in others, the keeper must freeze for a few seconds.

Beaters play defense by hitting opposing players with Bludgers, red balls. There are two Beaters on a team.

Seekers try to catch the Golden Snitch, who is a person dressed in yellow that runs around the field.

“I like to call it a combination of soccer and basketball with even a little dodge ball thrown in there. I guess a glorified game of tag in some aspect,” said Drew Shields, creator of the Syracuse University Quidditch Team.

Magic may have been crucial in the Harry Potter books but no fancy equipment is involved in Muggle Quidditch.

“I think we had to hit up the dollar store to get the brooms and home depot for the PVC stands and what not and then we just kinda grabbed a bunch of hula hoops and through them on top. It’s pretty bootleg,” said Shields.

Some players, including Chelsea Sigmond of the Syracuse University Team, love Harry Potter.

“I am a huge potter nerd,” aid Sigmond.

But others, including the creator of Quidditch at Syracuse University, started playing only after a friend started the game over summer break to impress his girlfriend.
“I didn’t really read the books I, didn’t really care about the movies but we came down there and played the game and it was pretty fun so we decided to start teams at our respective colleges the next year and its kinda turned into something that has grown and blossomed I guess,” said Shields.

Quidditch was invented at Middlebury College in Vermont and has grown internationally ever since. Here in Central New York there are teams recognized by the International Quidditch Association at Fayettville-Manlius High School, Cornell, Ithaca, SUNY-Geneseo, and here at Syracuse University.

“I got here the fall of my freshmen year which was last year and from what I understand it started about a year before that so I mean we’ve been getting a lot of new people every year so the team’s just kinda growing,” said Sigmond.

The SU teams plays at the Women’s Building Field every Sunday…

“We just usually play like pickup games it’s just a way to kill an afternoon especially on a lazy Sunday and it’s just kinda grown into a nice thing. It’s nice to see the same faces. We’ve gotten a lot of friends over the years from doing this. It’s just kinda a nice thing especially for kids their freshmen year don’t really know anybody it’s just kinda nice to get people together,” said Shields.

Ithaca and Cornell also practice on Sundays while SUNY Geneseo practices Saturday afternoons. Players say it’s more about having a good time than the rivalries between teams but that doesn’t mean things can’t get a little rough…

“Its full contact, there’s no tackling to the ground normally, you can do that if you want but there’s nothing that says you can’t grab somebody and strip them from the balls as hard as you want,” said Govoni.

The World Cup Quidditch Tournament was held in New York City this year, a big step up from the previous host city of Middlebury, Vermont. Although Syracuse was the only team from Central New York that attended and lost in the first round, they say Quidditch is more about having fun than actually winning.

“Ya know we are just a bunch of kids who come out here on a Sunday and just shoot the shit so we’re just going to go down there to see our friends that we’ve made over the years,” said Shields.

Some schools hope to make Quidditch a NCAA sport. But the Syracuse team has its doubts after the hoops they have had to go through trying to form a club team.

“I mean there’s a lot of red tape involved with trying to start something like this. We’ve always thought about becoming a club sport but there’s so much red tape and you have to sign this form/that form and you have to reserve fields. I think it’s actually too late in the year to reserve a field as a club so we realized it’s better to just come down here unofficially but i mean there’s a lot of red tape like that,” said Shields.

The teams say they have had their share of being made fun of.

“There are people who think we are nerds just running around trying to fly in our childhoods and there are other kids who just think this is the coolest thing ever so if we can help kids live out their childhood fantasies it’s just kinda nice thing to do,” said Shields.

But the bottom line of the SU Quidditch team, much like that of the Harry Potter books, is having fun.

“At the end of the day you’re playing a game where you’re running around on brooms based on a fictional sport so you can never take yourself too seriously no matter how aggressive you get, you have to kinda take a step back and realize I’m just doing this for fun,” said Shields.

Clay LePard (CL): Thank you for being with us Coach Marrone for this edition of 5 Questions with CONNECT. First off, how does the success of the football team affect the psyche of the Syracuse Community?

Doug Marrone

Doug Marrone: Well I think it’s important to me; it goes back to my days in New Orleans. When we first came there after Katrina, there was a lot of tough things going on economically within New Orleans and then coming across and having that season where we went to the NFC championship game. Just being able to pick up the spirits of the people, of where they were able to get away on a Sunday and forget about the problems of what Katrina caused really could pick up a community and really a whole area. So I think as far as the Syracuse football program, oh which we will do, have success on this football field. I think it will pick people’s spirits up and get them excited where they can go and be proud of their team.

CL: You went to school here, you played football here in the 1980s. How have you seen our school, but also our community, change over time?
Marrone: I know that from a university standpoint, we have done so much to increase our academic integrity as far as our schools are much more higher rated now, and Chancellor Nancy Cantor has done a great job on our campus. We’ve expanded our campus with new buildings and our professors are great; they were great when I was here, so I’m excited about that relationship we still have. And then the community – it’s been tough. We’re going through some tough economic times but we survive here in Syracuse; we got to work, we get our hands dirty and we get things done. So I’ve been very excited, you know, being on campus and being off campus in this community.
CL: When you applied for the job as head coach at Syracuse University, you kept a folder of current high school football players to keep an eye on in the Syracuse area. How important is it for you to recruit locally?
Marrone: Well I think it’s important for us to recruit locally obviously as a radius of 250 miles, starting here working our way out throughout the state. It’s important because it’s such an easy sell. We have a great school academically; we have such a great campus, we have great students here – people who go on to become leaders in the industries all over the country, if not the world. It’s an exciting standpoint for us to get someone close who can visit the campus multiple times, and it gives us a better chance to get those kids here.
CL: If you weren’t coaching football, what would you be doing?

Marrone: I’d be involved in athletics at some point. I don’t know if it would be coaching, it might be administration at some point. If it wasn’t that, it would be law enforcement. Growing up, I always wanted to be a state trooper. So, it would be one of those roles for me. 

CL: Even though so many people know your name and even though you’re so recognizable there has to be something people don’t know about you. So what would people be the most surprised to know about Doug Marrone?

Marrone: I would say it’s probably where I eat. I have three young children; they’re eight, six and four [years old]. So we go quite a bit to Red Robin, Friendly’s, to McDonalds. I probably visit those establishments more than any other ones because of the children. We go to bowling alleys, movie theatres. I’m out in the community quite a bit, and I know when I walk into Friendly’s or Red Robin, people always say “Coach, what are you doing here?” “Well I’m doing the same as you with your children.” I look for children friendly establishments and that’s what I look for with my children.

CL: Thanks Coach. This has been 5 Questions with CONNECT.

Danielle Waugh (DW): Coach Boeheim, thank you for being with us for five questions with CONNECT.

First I wanted to ask you: to people outside of the Syracuse area you are the most recognizable person, you’re essentially the face of our area. So how does that affect you, and why?

Jim Boeheim: Well that’s pretty sad. Oh I don’t know, I think people have followed our basketball program for a long time. So I think when you go outside, people tend to identify with Syracuse through our basketball program because we’ve had so many teams and so many games on television I think.

DW: Outside from being the basketball coach here, you’re also really involved in our charities. You’re involved in Coaches vs. Cancer and you also started the Jim Boeheim foundation. How has that affected you and why are those things so important to you?

Syracuse Men's Basketball Coach, Jim Boeheim

Boeheim: Well I believe you have to give back to the community. Our community has supported our basketball program as well as any community in the country. So in turn for that we have to give back, and Coaches vs. Cancer and the Kidney Foundation and Make a Wish are some of the vehicles we’ve used. With our own foundation we’ll be able to give to a lot of different local groups because we’ll be able to raise enough money hopefully to give back to several different groups. Some of it will be cancer related and some just to help kids in Central New York.

DW: On a more personal note, how would you describe yourself as a father?

Boeheim: Well it’s a lot of work, I know that. I have an older daughter, 24 years old, who was really pretty easy and not a hard child to raise. Now I have three that are 11 and twins that are ten and it’s a challenge. I know see how being a parent is much more of a challenge than I originally thought it was with my first daughter. But it’s fun, it’s a lot of activities and a lot of good things that go on every day and a little bit of craziness.

DW: You’ve been here for a while. You went to school here, you played basketball here in the 1960s. How have you seen our school, but also our community, change over time?

Boeheim: Well I’ve always loved the community and the school. I came here in 1962 as a player and I never left. I stayed as an assistant coach and was able to get the head coaching job. I love Central New York, I think the people are great. I think the people really care about the community. I think people are willing to get in and get involved in work and with charities. Everything we’ve ever done we’ve had support. People have supported us 100 percent. It’s a great place to live. I believe that.

DW: What about you, how have you changed since back in the 1960s?

Boeheim: Well, I’m a lot older, a little slower, more aches and pains. But you know, in coaching the thing I think is you start over new every year, you really do. So in a lot of ways it feels like your first team. You know, this is a brand new team this year, we’re 0 and 0, where are we going to go? So you really kind of start from scratch every year. And it kind of makes it almost seem timeless, it doesn’t seem like you’ve been coaching a long period of time. It kind of seems like this is your team, this is the year. So from that point of view I feel very similar from when I first started coaching.

DW: Even though so many people know your name and even though you’re so recognizable there has to be something people don’t know about you. So what would people be the most surprised to know about Jim Boeheim?

Boeheim: That’s a tough question. Um, I don’t know. I watch a lot of soap operas, the night time soap operas–Grey’s Anatomy and shows like that. You probably wouldn’t think that. But I do I watch a lot of television to kind of get away from the game. I like movies, old movies. I don’t get to many movies now because the only movies I get to are kid’s movies, but I like old movies and television. I don’t think people know that much. I like to fish. I don’t get a lot chances, but I do like to fish when I get the opportunity and hopefully some day I’ll get a little bit more opportunity.

DW: Coach Boeheim, thank you for being with us, this has been 5 Questions with CONNECT.

McChesney v Saint Patrick’s game 1/29/09 6:30PM

Coach Matt Kearney said no one should bother coming to the game because his team will probably lose by at least 40 points. Kearney’s varsity team, Saint Patrick’s of the Catholic Youth Organization league, was scheduled to play the first-ranked McChesney.

Saint Patrick’s nine players showed up to McChesney Recreation Center wearing yellow jerseys with “Saint Patrick’s” written across their chests in green. They gained a significant lead throughout the game but started to lose speed in the final minutes. Saint Pat’s won the game in the last minute, 63-61.

Even after this upset victory, Coach Kearney doesn’t focus on just wins and losses.

“We try and teach them something, not necessarily about basketball,” Kearney said.

While St. Patrick’s turned up the heat on the court against McChesney, the gym where they practice is quite cold. Kearney said the heat in the gym is “probably on enough just to keep the pipes from freezing.”

Inside, the players look like they are getting ready to play tackle football game rather than basketball. They wear winter hats, sweat pants and long sleeve shirts on the court while practicing. Yet the biggest problem for the team is coordinating everyone’s schedule.

“This year the biggest challenge is getting kids to come to practice, because I have a lot of kids that work,” Kearney said.

St. Pat’s team is a mix of kids from various local high schools. Not all these players were turned away from their high school teams; some of them just can’t make the time commitment at the high school level. But because they love the game, they find a way to play.