RecLIFE Spring 2008

REC Contributions

Giving BACK Rec Sports embodies the Aggie Spirit by providing all Aggies with facilities and programs to challenge themselves, test their limits and gain the benefits of sportsmanship. Together we can help ensure that future Aggies become great leaders, one donation at a time.

Ways to contribute currently include: l Walk of Champions Brick Campaign

l ”Giving Back” to Rec Sports development l Department of Recreational Sports Endowed Scholarship l Men’s Volleyball Endowment Fund l TAMU Gymnastics Funds Visit our website for info on more ways to get involved: http://recsports. tamu.edu/AboutUs/Development/Opps.html

Reaching You

R EC Life

http://recsports.tamu.edu Volume 2, Issue 1 Spring 2008

Want to get in touch with Rec Sports former student staff? Make your connection by updating your information online. Still in touch with other former student staff? Ask them to forward their contact information to James Welford.

Visit our website for information on more ways to get involved: http://recsports.tamu. edu/AboutUs/Development/Connect.html

For more information:

Contact James Welford at jwelford@rec.tamu.edu or 979.862.1856.

Department of Recreational Sports Texas A&M University 4250 TAMU College Station, TX 77843-4250

INSIDE

REC Promise: Reunion & Tailgating News REC Honor: Featuring Barney Welch REC Spotlight: Intramural Champions & Former Staff REC Pride: TexFIT REC Action: Sport Club Updates REC Contributions: How to Help

REC Action

REC Promise

GREETINGS FROM THE REC! Howdy!

The Spring semester has come to an end, and everyone is very busy finishing up programs and planning for the Summer and Fall semesters. Since our last newsletter, our efforts with the Texas A&M Foundation have been fruitful. The focus for some sport clubs has been to establish endowments that will benefit the future of the clubs. Of special note is the Men’s Volleyball Club Endowment that has raised $10,000 toward its goal and the very successful Men’s Soccer Club Memorial Endowment established in memory of Danny Kenney ’92. The Soccer Club Committee presented six current club members with scholarships totaling $8,000. Great Job! If you have been considering a donation to Rec Sports, now is an excellent time to give; your gift will make a difference now and in years to come. For more information on how to give, contact me at 979.862.1856, on my cell at 979.255.4519 or by e-mail at jwelford@rec.tamu.edu.

“You are making a difference, spread the word.”

REC Life

TEAM

Project Manager: Josh Collins Communications Coordinator:

Michelle Briggs Marketing Director:

Connor Heim

Thanks and Gig’Em! James Welford Associate Director of Development

Associate Director of Development:

James Welford

S A VE T HE D AT E : N o v e m b e r 1 , 2 0 0 8 Rec Sports Reunion

REC SPORTS

The Department of Recreational Sports will host the annual Fall reunion. SAVE THE DATE and ATTEND. Additional information about the reunion will be posted on the Rec Sports website in July.

CORE VALUES

1 3 5 2

Modeling a Balanced, Healthy Lifestyle

2

Service

4

Quality RECLife

6

Rec Sports offers tailgating options!

Integrity Respect Leadership

The Department of Recreational Sports will host a tailgate program for each home football game this Fall. A tent located in front of the Student Recreation Center will mark the location of the tailgate activities. All former student and full-time staff are invited to drop by. Those who know they are going to attend for a specific game or who have questions can contact James Welford at jwelford@rec.tamu.edu. Prior knowledge of those attending will help us approximate the amount of food we should order. Water and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided. You are welcome to tailgate with us and bring your beverage of choice. We hope to see you this Fall.

More information about the tailgate program will be made available on our website in July.

Polo

by Katie Connell The Texas A&M Men’s Polo Team came home with bragging rights after the National Collegiate Championship in Lexington, KY, on April 5th. The team easily beat Westmont 23–9 to make it to the finals match where they faced Cornell. Despite a challenging game and a drawn-out second chukkar that included a few horse injuries and falls on the Cornell side, A&M dominated the match, beating Cornell 20–10.

This is the second year the men’s team has taken home the title back-to-back after a brief break as champions. The team had two returning members: Parker Flannery and Steve Krueger, with Jake Little and Jose Aguilar rounding out the team. On their road to Nationals, the team won games against Texas Tech, New Mexico State, Texas Christian, Colorado State, and Oklahoma State. They were undefeated in the region and maintained that record all through Nationals. In addition to their undefeated season as a team, Steve Krueger was named to the national all star team and Jake Little received a complimentary trip to the U.S. Open in Florida. Overall, the men had an astonishingly successful season. Our club, sponsors, and supporters could not be more proud of the team. We only hope that this success can continue on next year as each current team member will be returning to defend the title in the 2008-2009 school year.

Trap & Skeet

noteworthy

sport clubs accomplishments

Powerlifting USA Powerlifting National Collegiate Championships - Women’s Team Overall 3rd Place

Women’s Volleyball NIRSA National Championship Series - Tied for 5th Place Division I Gold Bracket

Trap & Skeet Association of College Unions National Clay Target Championship - 2nd Place High Overall Team

by Scott Henning

Pistol Club

Every clay target in San Antonio cringed the weekend of April 10–13, as the Trap & Skeet team took aim at the 40th Annual Intercollegiate Clay Target Championships. The 2008 event hosted a record 295 participants, presenting stiff competition for the skilled Aggie shooters. However, the targets stood no chance against the team’s precise and accurate shooting.

NRA National Intercollegiate Pistol Championships - Overall 6th Place

In the team competition, Texas A&M finished an impressive second in the nation, amassing an incredible score of 1,522 targets hit out of a possible 1,600.

Only Lindenwood University (a varsity program in Missouri) was able to hit more targets: 1,528, a mere five targets ahead of Texas A&M. The strong Aggie performance was led by medal winners Laura Kolb and Brazos Lackey. Laura is the 2008 Women’s Champion, hitting 352 of 400 targets. Brazos finished second by the narrowest of margins, hitting 384 of 400 targets. The champion hit 386 targets. Other Aggies in the top twenty were James Gougler (6th), Troy Kensinger (7th), and Victoria Reynolds (6th).

Competitors shot in events including International & American Trap & Skeet, with the overall score in each event going toward the team and individual totals. The Five Stand Sporting Clays competition was also held.

This Summer, the Intercollegiate Championships will be show on the ESPN networks. The broadcasts are June 13, 20, 27 and July 4, 11 on ESPNU, and July 23 on ESPN2. Congratulations to the Trap & Skeet Club for their performance!

Gymnastics NAIGC National Championship Meet - Women’s Team National Champions

Handball USHA National Collegiate Championships - 3rd Place

Women’s Rugby USA Rugby Sweet Sixteen - Advanced to the Top 8 recsports.tamu.edu

7

REC Pride

Rec Honor Campus fitness instructors from across the state got to experience the Aggie spirit during the 12th annual Texas Fitness Instructors (TexFIT) Training conference, held March 1st at Texas A&M University. The conference brought more than 225 fitness instructors from over 22 colleges and universities to the Student Recreation Center for an event that was, by all reports, the best ever in the 12-year history of TexFIT. “TexFIT was a wonderful experience for our group exercise instructors and personal trainers to increase and improve upon their skills and knowledge in the fitness industry,” said Raquel Cruz, Fitness Director at Texas State University. “It provided a comfortable atmosphere for our students to learn choreography from their collegiate peers.”

TexFIT is a one-day conference that gives student instructors the opportunity to learn from their peers and network with other fitness enthusiasts from around the state. The event features four hour-long workouts on topics ranging from Pilates on the BOSU to Zumba, Cycle and Sculpt and more. Twenty different fitness formats were offered throughout the day including a personal trainer lecture track instructed by the top student group fitness instructors and personal trainers from each university.

While content was the main feature, participants were excited to receive a TexFIT t-shirt, conference manual, snacks, and free giveaways from sponsoring fitness companies.

One highlight of the event was a lunch panel facilitated by four Texas A&M graduates now working as professionals in the fitness industry. The panelists shared with attendees how their training and experience during college equipped them to pursue a career in fitness.

“TexFIT was a blast!” said Lauren Bayliss, a fitness instructor from Texas A&M. “My favorite part was getting to meet instructors from other universities. I’ve even been able to use some of their new ideas in my own classes!”

Barney Welch Take one look around Barney Welch’s home and you’ll know he’s got a thing for turtles. But contrary to the traditional “tortoise and hare” fable, Barney’s no slow-poke. He had a distinguied career as a collegiate athlete and pro football draft pick before settling in as Texas A&M’s intramual director many years ago.

Fowler B. “Barney” Welch, born in the Fall of 1922, grew up in Stephenville, Texas, and developed a passion for athletics at a very young age even though he had no opportunities for organized competition.

Barney can distinctly remember playing tackle football in the street—without pads.

It was that passion that ultimately led him to his success at Texas A&M University.

His fondest memories are of his times in Aggieland.

After four years in high school, Barney was still eligible to play another season of football, so he stayed one extra semester to do so. Barney then received an offer to play for Rice University. He packed up and moved to Houston, where he took a job parking cars at Hughes’ Tool when employees changed shifts. Barney soon decided that Rice was too far away from his home, so he began to look at Texas A&M. “We didn’t have television or anything like that, so I didn’t even know what A&M was, to be honest,” said Barney, adding, “I wrote to my friend Derace and he told me to get to A&M as fast as I could, so I did.”

While attending Texas A&M, Barney played the “halfback” position, which closely resembled today’s running back.

He recalls that members of the football team were expected to play both ways though, so often times he found himself on the defensive side of the ball as well. He was the first Aggie ever to score a touchdown at Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.

When

6

RECLife

asked about the experience, Barney said, “It was nothing. Really. I was a sophomore, and I ran a punt back 72 yards. I didn’t even know until the next day it was something that hadn’t been done before.

It wasn’t even a big deal; they still beat us. However, until 1941, neither Texas nor A&M had beaten the other at home. Texas beat us at home during my fish year, so in small way, scoring that touchdown at Memorial Stadium was a little payback, even though we didn’t win.”

Things would soon change for Barney after the United States entered World War II. When the war began, he was only a freshman, but in his own words, “school became secondary.” The university had a system set up called the Enlisted Reserve Corps, and he was allowed to finish his sophomore year before being drafted. In July 1943, Barney enlisted in the Armed Forces and became a private.

Upon returning from the war, Barney found that Texas A&M was a very different place. He was relieved to be back, but the university had grown significantly, and there was no housing for married people—which was an issue since he was now married and had a child. The family moved to a one-room apartment above the bus station in Bryan. In order to pay the $28-per-month rent, Barney officiated softball games while completing his degree. The pay was $1 per game.

Barney served as the Intramural Director for 20 years before accepting a more lucrative position in the life insurance business.

“One Sunday at church, my pastor said, ‘Pity the turtle. He never gets anywhere unless he sticks his neck out,’ and that’s what made me decide to take the insurance job,” said Barney. “Looking back, I still regret the decision to leave A&M, but it was what was best for my family at the time.”

When asked to describe something of which he is most proud, Barney looked over at his wife and grinned. “After my first wife passed away, Pauline and I used to play tennis at the same courts. I had seen her before, and I’ll be the first to tell you that I didn’t particularly like her,” he said. “But one day, she called me up from her home in Waco to give me her best regards after my wife’s passing. I immediately drove to Waco to see her and we started dating, probably for about three weeks. I asked her to marry me, and a few days later, we met in Calvert. She opened a little box and it had a stuffed turtle inside. That’s probably the most unique way I’ve ever heard of anyone saying yes to a proposal.”

After graduating with a degree in Ag Economics, Barney was drafted by the Washington Redskins, but he was also offered the position of Intramural Director at A&M. The job at A&M paid better, so he took it.

Of his time as Intramural Director, Barney said, “I loved that job. I didn’t know what anything was when I got started, but they hired me anyway. I learned how to train, how to schedule. Back then, we were even allowed to play, so I played handball with someone nearly every single day. It was a lot of fun.” recsports.tamu.edu

3

REC Pride

REC Spotlight

Intramural Champs Celebrating Success

On April 29, 2008, 55 intramural champions attended the first ever Intramural Champions Gathering. Our intramural staff hosted the event and spent time thanking the champions for their participation. Future programs with our champions will include an invitation for a five-year reunion to bring back champions from the many intramural programs offered throughout the year. Due to the success of this first champions gathering, we plan to host many more events in each of our future semesters. Rec Sports would like to again send congratulations to all of the Spring 2008 Intramural champions!

Left: Clint Fletcher and Wayne Parks

Austin

Former Staff Gathering On April 4, 2008, over 55 former and current staff attended a gathering at Doña Emilia’s Bar and Grill in Austin, Texas. The National Intramural Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) Conference was held in Austin and provided Rec Sports with the perfect opportunity to get together for such an event. Excellent food and old friends made the evening enjoyable for all. Guests in attendance included Skip Walker, Barb Aiken, Tom & Anne Reber, Wayne Parks, Raquel Cruz, Tim Willett, Shannon Shaffer, John T. Meyer, Clint Fletcher and many more.

Whenever the opportunity presents itself for former staff to get together, Rec Sports tries to make it happen. Those living in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area should keep the first week of April open. Many of our current staff will be in Charlotte for a national conference. Plans are underway for an opportunity to meet and greet.

Former Student Staff Update: The Gwie Family

We recently caught up with Steve Gwie, class of 1994. As an undergrad, Steve worked multiple positions within the Intramurals Department. In 1997, he was selected to be part of the first group of student intramural coordinators overseeing specific intramural sporting events.

In 1998, Steve was one of two Intramural Employees of the Year. By the time he left A&M, Steve had earned degrees in biochemistry and management.

Today Steve resides in McKinney, TX, with his wife of two years, LaRita. Earlier this year the couple celebrated the birth of their first child, Eliana. Steve has been working for BearingPoint, a management and technology services company, for nine years. As a senior technical consultant, he is involved with systems integration and quality assurance projects.

LaRita is originally from Nashville, TN. She has been a design engineer for Texas Instruments for 10 years. Some of the circuits LaRita’s work group has designed are components found in cell phones and notebook computers.

RECLife 4

Below: John Meyer and Dennis Corrington

For the Champion in Every Aggie

Walk of Champions

Take a walk up to the front of the Student Recreation Center and you can’t help but see the Walk of Champions, our special brick program. Walk of Champions gives students, staff, and alumni the opportunity to be a permanent part of the Texas A&M landscape by having their names engraved on a brick that is installed in the display.

Brick Campaign

It’s exciting to see the Aggie community embrace this opportunity to be part of this special program. This Spring alone, 155 bricks have been ordered and installed. While we still have room for more, we will eventually reach our capacity. There’s no time like the present to order your brick. Purchase one for yourself, as a gift, or as part of an organization.

To find out how YOU can be a part of the Walk of Champions, contact James Welford at 979.862.1856, email champions@rec.tamu.edu, or visit http://recsports.tamu.edu and enter Walk of Champions in the search box.

Rec Sports Honors Graduating Seniors Every year, Rec Sports has the privilege of working with nearly 1,000 student staff. While we love seeing our student staff grow and develop in their positions, saying goodbye to graduating seniors is always bittersweet.

This Spring, Rec Sports recognized graduating seniors at a special dinner. In order to accomodate our honorees schedules’ we hosted dinners on two different dates. Our first dinner was held at Café Capri in downtown Bryan. Twenty individuals enjoyed a scrumptuous meal and visited with Dennis Corrington, Director of Recreational Sports, Drew McMillen, Associate Director of Intramural Sports and Sport Clubs, and James Welford, Associate Director of Development, who encouraged attendees to stay in touch with the department upon graduation.

The second dinner was more intimate, with nine graduating seniors enjoying Italian food at Johnny Carinos in College Station. Jerod Wilson, Director of Strength and Conditioning, spent time with the guests, who were reminded about staying in touch with the department and about the concept of giving back to the department in the future.

ATTENTION

FORMER STUDENT STAFF The Department of Recreational Sports, formerly known as the INTRAMURAL DEPARTMENT, wants to locate all FORMER STUDENT STAFF! If you worked for the Intramural Department or the Department of Recreational Sports, or if you were a member of a Sport Club, please visit our website at recsports.tamu.edu and complete a contact form. WE’LL BE IN TOUCH!

recsports.tamu.edu

5

REC Pride

REC Spotlight

Intramural Champs Celebrating Success

On April 29, 2008, 55 intramural champions attended the first ever Intramural Champions Gathering. Our intramural staff hosted the event and spent time thanking the champions for their participation. Future programs with our champions will include an invitation for a five-year reunion to bring back champions from the many intramural programs offered throughout the year. Due to the success of this first champions gathering, we plan to host many more events in each of our future semesters. Rec Sports would like to again send congratulations to all of the Spring 2008 Intramural champions!

Left: Clint Fletcher and Wayne Parks

Austin

Former Staff Gathering On April 4, 2008, over 55 former and current staff attended a gathering at Doña Emilia’s Bar and Grill in Austin, Texas. The National Intramural Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) Conference was held in Austin and provided Rec Sports with the perfect opportunity to get together for such an event. Excellent food and old friends made the evening enjoyable for all. Guests in attendance included Skip Walker, Barb Aiken, Tom & Anne Reber, Wayne Parks, Raquel Cruz, Tim Willett, Shannon Shaffer, John T. Meyer, Clint Fletcher and many more.

Whenever the opportunity presents itself for former staff to get together, Rec Sports tries to make it happen. Those living in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area should keep the first week of April open. Many of our current staff will be in Charlotte for a national conference. Plans are underway for an opportunity to meet and greet.

Former Student Staff Update: The Gwie Family

We recently caught up with Steve Gwie, class of 1994. As an undergrad, Steve worked multiple positions within the Intramurals Department. In 1997, he was selected to be part of the first group of student intramural coordinators overseeing specific intramural sporting events.

In 1998, Steve was one of two Intramural Employees of the Year. By the time he left A&M, Steve had earned degrees in biochemistry and management.

Today Steve resides in McKinney, TX, with his wife of two years, LaRita. Earlier this year the couple celebrated the birth of their first child, Eliana. Steve has been working for BearingPoint, a management and technology services company, for nine years. As a senior technical consultant, he is involved with systems integration and quality assurance projects.

LaRita is originally from Nashville, TN. She has been a design engineer for Texas Instruments for 10 years. Some of the circuits LaRita’s work group has designed are components found in cell phones and notebook computers.

RECLife 4

Below: John Meyer and Dennis Corrington

For the Champion in Every Aggie

Walk of Champions

Take a walk up to the front of the Student Recreation Center and you can’t help but see the Walk of Champions, our special brick program. Walk of Champions gives students, staff, and alumni the opportunity to be a permanent part of the Texas A&M landscape by having their names engraved on a brick that is installed in the display.

Brick Campaign

It’s exciting to see the Aggie community embrace this opportunity to be part of this special program. This Spring alone, 155 bricks have been ordered and installed. While we still have room for more, we will eventually reach our capacity. There’s no time like the present to order your brick. Purchase one for yourself, as a gift, or as part of an organization.

To find out how YOU can be a part of the Walk of Champions, contact James Welford at 979.862.1856, email champions@rec.tamu.edu, or visit http://recsports.tamu.edu and enter Walk of Champions in the search box.

Rec Sports Honors Graduating Seniors Every year, Rec Sports has the privilege of working with nearly 1,000 student staff. While we love seeing our student staff grow and develop in their positions, saying goodbye to graduating seniors is always bittersweet.

This Spring, Rec Sports recognized graduating seniors at a special dinner. In order to accomodate our honorees schedules’ we hosted dinners on two different dates. Our first dinner was held at Café Capri in downtown Bryan. Twenty individuals enjoyed a scrumptuous meal and visited with Dennis Corrington, Director of Recreational Sports, Drew McMillen, Associate Director of Intramural Sports and Sport Clubs, and James Welford, Associate Director of Development, who encouraged attendees to stay in touch with the department upon graduation.

The second dinner was more intimate, with nine graduating seniors enjoying Italian food at Johnny Carinos in College Station. Jerod Wilson, Director of Strength and Conditioning, spent time with the guests, who were reminded about staying in touch with the department and about the concept of giving back to the department in the future.

ATTENTION

FORMER STUDENT STAFF The Department of Recreational Sports, formerly known as the INTRAMURAL DEPARTMENT, wants to locate all FORMER STUDENT STAFF! If you worked for the Intramural Department or the Department of Recreational Sports, or if you were a member of a Sport Club, please visit our website at recsports.tamu.edu and complete a contact form. WE’LL BE IN TOUCH!

recsports.tamu.edu

5

REC Pride

Rec Honor Campus fitness instructors from across the state got to experience the Aggie spirit during the 12th annual Texas Fitness Instructors (TexFIT) Training conference, held March 1st at Texas A&M University. The conference brought more than 225 fitness instructors from over 22 colleges and universities to the Student Recreation Center for an event that was, by all reports, the best ever in the 12-year history of TexFIT. “TexFIT was a wonderful experience for our group exercise instructors and personal trainers to increase and improve upon their skills and knowledge in the fitness industry,” said Raquel Cruz, Fitness Director at Texas State University. “It provided a comfortable atmosphere for our students to learn choreography from their collegiate peers.”

TexFIT is a one-day conference that gives student instructors the opportunity to learn from their peers and network with other fitness enthusiasts from around the state. The event features four hour-long workouts on topics ranging from Pilates on the BOSU to Zumba, Cycle and Sculpt and more. Twenty different fitness formats were offered throughout the day including a personal trainer lecture track instructed by the top student group fitness instructors and personal trainers from each university.

While content was the main feature, participants were excited to receive a TexFIT t-shirt, conference manual, snacks, and free giveaways from sponsoring fitness companies.

One highlight of the event was a lunch panel facilitated by four Texas A&M graduates now working as professionals in the fitness industry. The panelists shared with attendees how their training and experience during college equipped them to pursue a career in fitness.

“TexFIT was a blast!” said Lauren Bayliss, a fitness instructor from Texas A&M. “My favorite part was getting to meet instructors from other universities. I’ve even been able to use some of their new ideas in my own classes!”

Barney Welch Take one look around Barney Welch’s home and you’ll know he’s got a thing for turtles. But contrary to the traditional “tortoise and hare” fable, Barney’s no slow-poke. He had a distinguied career as a collegiate athlete and pro football draft pick before settling in as Texas A&M’s intramual director many years ago.

Fowler B. “Barney” Welch, born in the Fall of 1922, grew up in Stephenville, Texas, and developed a passion for athletics at a very young age even though he had no opportunities for organized competition.

Barney can distinctly remember playing tackle football in the street—without pads.

It was that passion that ultimately led him to his success at Texas A&M University.

His fondest memories are of his times in Aggieland.

After four years in high school, Barney was still eligible to play another season of football, so he stayed one extra semester to do so. Barney then received an offer to play for Rice University. He packed up and moved to Houston, where he took a job parking cars at Hughes’ Tool when employees changed shifts. Barney soon decided that Rice was too far away from his home, so he began to look at Texas A&M. “We didn’t have television or anything like that, so I didn’t even know what A&M was, to be honest,” said Barney, adding, “I wrote to my friend Derace and he told me to get to A&M as fast as I could, so I did.”

While attending Texas A&M, Barney played the “halfback” position, which closely resembled today’s running back.

He recalls that members of the football team were expected to play both ways though, so often times he found himself on the defensive side of the ball as well. He was the first Aggie ever to score a touchdown at Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.

When

6

RECLife

asked about the experience, Barney said, “It was nothing. Really. I was a sophomore, and I ran a punt back 72 yards. I didn’t even know until the next day it was something that hadn’t been done before.

It wasn’t even a big deal; they still beat us. However, until 1941, neither Texas nor A&M had beaten the other at home. Texas beat us at home during my fish year, so in small way, scoring that touchdown at Memorial Stadium was a little payback, even though we didn’t win.”

Things would soon change for Barney after the United States entered World War II. When the war began, he was only a freshman, but in his own words, “school became secondary.” The university had a system set up called the Enlisted Reserve Corps, and he was allowed to finish his sophomore year before being drafted. In July 1943, Barney enlisted in the Armed Forces and became a private.

Upon returning from the war, Barney found that Texas A&M was a very different place. He was relieved to be back, but the university had grown significantly, and there was no housing for married people—which was an issue since he was now married and had a child. The family moved to a one-room apartment above the bus station in Bryan. In order to pay the $28-per-month rent, Barney officiated softball games while completing his degree. The pay was $1 per game.

Barney served as the Intramural Director for 20 years before accepting a more lucrative position in the life insurance business.

“One Sunday at church, my pastor said, ‘Pity the turtle. He never gets anywhere unless he sticks his neck out,’ and that’s what made me decide to take the insurance job,” said Barney. “Looking back, I still regret the decision to leave A&M, but it was what was best for my family at the time.”

When asked to describe something of which he is most proud, Barney looked over at his wife and grinned. “After my first wife passed away, Pauline and I used to play tennis at the same courts. I had seen her before, and I’ll be the first to tell you that I didn’t particularly like her,” he said. “But one day, she called me up from her home in Waco to give me her best regards after my wife’s passing. I immediately drove to Waco to see her and we started dating, probably for about three weeks. I asked her to marry me, and a few days later, we met in Calvert. She opened a little box and it had a stuffed turtle inside. That’s probably the most unique way I’ve ever heard of anyone saying yes to a proposal.”

After graduating with a degree in Ag Economics, Barney was drafted by the Washington Redskins, but he was also offered the position of Intramural Director at A&M. The job at A&M paid better, so he took it.

Of his time as Intramural Director, Barney said, “I loved that job. I didn’t know what anything was when I got started, but they hired me anyway. I learned how to train, how to schedule. Back then, we were even allowed to play, so I played handball with someone nearly every single day. It was a lot of fun.” recsports.tamu.edu

3

REC Action

REC Promise

GREETINGS FROM THE REC! Howdy!

The Spring semester has come to an end, and everyone is very busy finishing up programs and planning for the Summer and Fall semesters. Since our last newsletter, our efforts with the Texas A&M Foundation have been fruitful. The focus for some sport clubs has been to establish endowments that will benefit the future of the clubs. Of special note is the Men’s Volleyball Club Endowment that has raised $10,000 toward its goal and the very successful Men’s Soccer Club Memorial Endowment established in memory of Danny Kenney ’92. The Soccer Club Committee presented six current club members with scholarships totaling $8,000. Great Job! If you have been considering a donation to Rec Sports, now is an excellent time to give; your gift will make a difference now and in years to come. For more information on how to give, contact me at 979.862.1856, on my cell at 979.255.4519 or by e-mail at jwelford@rec.tamu.edu.

“You are making a difference, spread the word.”

REC Life

TEAM

Project Manager: Josh Collins Communications Coordinator:

Michelle Briggs Marketing Director:

Connor Heim

Thanks and Gig’Em! James Welford Associate Director of Development

Associate Director of Development:

James Welford

S A VE T HE D AT E : N o v e m b e r 1 , 2 0 0 8 Rec Sports Reunion

REC SPORTS

The Department of Recreational Sports will host the annual Fall reunion. SAVE THE DATE and ATTEND. Additional information about the reunion will be posted on the Rec Sports website in July.

CORE VALUES

1 3 5 2

Modeling a Balanced, Healthy Lifestyle

2

Service

4

Quality RECLife

6

Rec Sports offers tailgating options!

Integrity Respect Leadership

The Department of Recreational Sports will host a tailgate program for each home football game this Fall. A tent located in front of the Student Recreation Center will mark the location of the tailgate activities. All former student and full-time staff are invited to drop by. Those who know they are going to attend for a specific game or who have questions can contact James Welford at jwelford@rec.tamu.edu. Prior knowledge of those attending will help us approximate the amount of food we should order. Water and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided. You are welcome to tailgate with us and bring your beverage of choice. We hope to see you this Fall.

More information about the tailgate program will be made available on our website in July.

Polo

by Katie Connell The Texas A&M Men’s Polo Team came home with bragging rights after the National Collegiate Championship in Lexington, KY, on April 5th. The team easily beat Westmont 23–9 to make it to the finals match where they faced Cornell. Despite a challenging game and a drawn-out second chukkar that included a few horse injuries and falls on the Cornell side, A&M dominated the match, beating Cornell 20–10.

This is the second year the men’s team has taken home the title back-to-back after a brief break as champions. The team had two returning members: Parker Flannery and Steve Krueger, with Jake Little and Jose Aguilar rounding out the team. On their road to Nationals, the team won games against Texas Tech, New Mexico State, Texas Christian, Colorado State, and Oklahoma State. They were undefeated in the region and maintained that record all through Nationals. In addition to their undefeated season as a team, Steve Krueger was named to the national all star team and Jake Little received a complimentary trip to the U.S. Open in Florida. Overall, the men had an astonishingly successful season. Our club, sponsors, and supporters could not be more proud of the team. We only hope that this success can continue on next year as each current team member will be returning to defend the title in the 2008-2009 school year.

Trap & Skeet

noteworthy

sport clubs accomplishments

Powerlifting USA Powerlifting National Collegiate Championships - Women’s Team Overall 3rd Place

Women’s Volleyball NIRSA National Championship Series - Tied for 5th Place Division I Gold Bracket

Trap & Skeet Association of College Unions National Clay Target Championship - 2nd Place High Overall Team

by Scott Henning

Pistol Club

Every clay target in San Antonio cringed the weekend of April 10–13, as the Trap & Skeet team took aim at the 40th Annual Intercollegiate Clay Target Championships. The 2008 event hosted a record 295 participants, presenting stiff competition for the skilled Aggie shooters. However, the targets stood no chance against the team’s precise and accurate shooting.

NRA National Intercollegiate Pistol Championships - Overall 6th Place

In the team competition, Texas A&M finished an impressive second in the nation, amassing an incredible score of 1,522 targets hit out of a possible 1,600.

Only Lindenwood University (a varsity program in Missouri) was able to hit more targets: 1,528, a mere five targets ahead of Texas A&M. The strong Aggie performance was led by medal winners Laura Kolb and Brazos Lackey. Laura is the 2008 Women’s Champion, hitting 352 of 400 targets. Brazos finished second by the narrowest of margins, hitting 384 of 400 targets. The champion hit 386 targets. Other Aggies in the top twenty were James Gougler (6th), Troy Kensinger (7th), and Victoria Reynolds (6th).

Competitors shot in events including International & American Trap & Skeet, with the overall score in each event going toward the team and individual totals. The Five Stand Sporting Clays competition was also held.

This Summer, the Intercollegiate Championships will be show on the ESPN networks. The broadcasts are June 13, 20, 27 and July 4, 11 on ESPNU, and July 23 on ESPN2. Congratulations to the Trap & Skeet Club for their performance!

Gymnastics NAIGC National Championship Meet - Women’s Team National Champions

Handball USHA National Collegiate Championships - 3rd Place

Women’s Rugby USA Rugby Sweet Sixteen - Advanced to the Top 8 recsports.tamu.edu

7

REC Contributions

Giving BACK Rec Sports embodies the Aggie Spirit by providing all Aggies with facilities and programs to challenge themselves, test their limits and gain the benefits of sportsmanship. Together we can help ensure that future Aggies become great leaders, one donation at a time.

Ways to contribute currently include: l Walk of Champions Brick Campaign

l ”Giving Back” to Rec Sports development l Department of Recreational Sports Endowed Scholarship l Men’s Volleyball Endowment Fund l TAMU Gymnastics Funds Visit our website for info on more ways to get involved: http://recsports. tamu.edu/AboutUs/Development/Opps.html

Reaching You

R EC Life

http://recsports.tamu.edu Volume 2, Issue 1 Spring 2008

Want to get in touch with Rec Sports former student staff? Make your connection by updating your information online. Still in touch with other former student staff? Ask them to forward their contact information to James Welford.

Visit our website for information on more ways to get involved: http://recsports.tamu. edu/AboutUs/Development/Connect.html

For more information:

Contact James Welford at jwelford@rec.tamu.edu or 979.862.1856.

Department of Recreational Sports Texas A&M University 4250 TAMU College Station, TX 77843-4250

INSIDE

REC Promise: Reunion & Tailgating News REC Honor: Featuring Barney Welch REC Spotlight: Intramural Champions & Former Staff REC Pride: TexFIT REC Action: Sport Club Updates REC Contributions: How to Help