In no other sport are mallets and wickets so important.
While most students lounged around during Spring Break, Virginia's diminutive croquet team made a big splash at two different national championships in Palm Beach, Fla., and in the larger world of croquet. The University's club croquet team brought home plaques for the U.S. Croquet Association University Team of the Year. The team also won several individual awards and made an important step toward revolutionizing the face of its sport.
It seems difficult to imagine a group of University students taking energetic swings at a croquet match, a traditionally English sport. Who would have predicted that this team, started by first-year College student Jacques Fournier, at the beginning of the fall semester, would score the University such fame and prestige? But all 14 members of the team and their coach, Daley Craig, knew it.
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"We set out to be the best from day one and we won't back off that," Craig says with an endearing, grandfather-like smile. An elder gentleman clad in croquet-appropriate whites from head to toe, Craig exemplifies the croquet persona. If success is largely dependent on image, Virginia's croquet team lucked out with Craig.
But success does not come easily, he admits. After introducing more than 50 potential players to croquet throughout his first semester, Fournier's team finally has solidified after twice-weekly practices.
"It takes a certain type of person to take up croquet," says Steve Roberts, first-year Engineering student and club secretary. "The students that have stuck with it are very dedicated."
The first challenge these ambitious young sportsmen faced was to learn the ins and outs of the complicated game of croquet. In the beginning, most of the team was unfamiliar with the sport.
"It's an extremely difficult game," Craig says. "It combines a heavy mental aspect with hand-eye coordination."
The game is as much mental as physical, he says.
"Hitting balls is of second importance - strategy is of utmost importance," he says. "You aren't playing the course, you are playing the opponent."
In order to master this lesser-known sport, the team members make a pilgrimage 20 minutes from Grounds to Crozet every Thursday and Friday for practice at their coach's house. Craig's farm, nestled in the mountains of Crozet, could hardly be more beautiful. Complete with a restored farmhouse and in-ground pool with a slide, a more idyllic setting seems unimaginable.
"We all lucked out," Roberts says of Craig offering his home as a practicing ground. "Without Daley's court, this wouldn't be possible."
The immaculate court, which resembles a putting green with six wickets and a stake instead of holes, is nothing less than inviting. After the journey to the nearby shed to retrieve a favorite mallet and some balls, playing commences according to one of the three official sets of croquet rules. To become more well-rounded players, the team alternates among the three game types, each of which have different patterns.
But Craig's croquet court is only the beginning of the contribution he gives to the team.
"He knows a lot about croquet and has been playing for quite a while," Fournier says. The novice players on the team have benefited from "his help with strategy and shooting."
As Fournier effortlessly demonstrates how to hit balls that are side by side simultaneously in opposite directions, the team cannot help but learn from his 12 years of experience.
"Daley is our coach, mentor, educator and friend," Roberts says with an enthusiastic smile. "He teaches us things that the University can't."
Today, Fournier picks up as coach where Craig leaves off. A star in the croquet world after winning the 1999 World Croquet Championship, Fournier's 10 years of honing skills and working hard are paying off.
"Jacques is a terrific competitor," Craig says. "You wouldn't know it by looking at him, but nothing gets to him."
As president and founder of the club, fellow team members find Fournier indispensable in assisting everyone with both the mental and physical aspects of the game.
"He taught us everything," Roberts says emphatically, demonstrating his newfound skills as he successfully knocks his ball through a wicket.
However, the motivation to succeed is innate in every team member. Ambitious plans for the future include going to the Collegiate Championship on April 21 in Philadelphia, the second tournament in which the team will participate. Two scrimmages this spring are also in the works.
"The team has already committed to doing the same thing next Spring Break - we are going to make it an annual thing," Craig says.
Two additional teams will join the 10 existing college croquet teams next year, and Craig predicts that the growth of the sport will continue exponentially.
But the relative obscurity of the sport brings mixed feelings from the players.
"It is an enjoyable challenge because you can get enough fame to offset that lack of appreciation," he says. However, he also feels that the sport is tremendously overlooked both at the University and worldwide.
"The University needs a couple courts," Craig says. "When that happens - and it will happen - there will probably be as many as 50 players."
So far, Vice President of Student Affairs William W. Harmon and Director of Athletics Terry Holland already have helped the sport increase its fan base by helping the team advertise and giving it valuable advice.
As the team continues to expand the world of croquet by catching the interest of a younger crowd, the Internet provides a powerful medium in which to do that. The team recently founded a Web site at www.virginiacroquet.com, where it posts croquet rules, tournament dates and information about the team.
"We are trying to use technology to help our game," Roberts said.
From the World Wide Web to the national championship, Virginia's croquet team is making waves in this gentleman's sport. A younger and feistier group of competitors has hopes of creating a domino effect, popularizing croquet in much more modern circles. Little by little, these dedicated athletes will stop at nothing to bring glory to both their sport and their University.
"The sport is growing really fast," Roberts says. "And a lot of that is from our success"
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