Everyone stopped and stared. Basketball players, students and even parents couldn’t figure out what exactly was going on in the field behind Abbottsford Hall. There were goals at each end, but there was no soccer ball. The players were using rackets but it wasn’t lacrosse. Players couldn’t run forward much like ultimate, but yet again, no Frisbee could be found. This was Trac Ball.
Three years ago, Terry McGrath, a senior in the College of Engineering, inherited a unique game combining elements of lacrosse, soccer and ultimate frisbee from a friend in Los Angeles to create a one-of-a-kind sport only seen on Marquette’s campus.
Trac Ball, originally invented as a simple game of back-and-forth catch, adds a whole new dimension to the leisurely activity by including teams, goals and a set of rules to make the game more organized and competitive.
Each player is equipped with a Trac Ball racket, a plastic hand-held device with a widened pocket to catch the ball and a smaller compartment to hold the ball, much like a lacrosse stick.
Players are then divided into teams of seven. The field consists of two goals on either ends, standing seven feet high by 14 feet wide, and a semi-circle around each goal spanning 12 yards in radius. Players may enter the boundary surrounding the goal but offensive players may not shoot inside it.
Because the game is relatively new, McGrath has yet to decide on an official field size or a definite time limit. However, he hopes that as the sport becomes more popular, he will be able to do so.
“So far we’ve just played until we’re done,” McGrath said. “But as we get better and as the game gets more developed we’ll probably set times and more rules. Right now there’s new people every time so it’s kind of just for fun.”
Players are allowed to run side-to-side or backwards when they have possession of the hollow plastic ball but not forward. If the ball hits the ground, the first player to trap it with their racket gains possession for his or her team. But instead of picking up the ball with the racket, players must flick the ball from the ground to one of their teammates to begin a new possession.
Kyle Bero, a sophomore in the College of Engineering, was introduced to Trac Ball last year and admits the toughest part is restarting possessions from the ground.
“Scooping the ball to people is definitely the toughest part,” he said. “If you have people who can’t scoop it very well or can’t catch, sometimes the ball will be on the ground for a while which makes it tough.”
While McGrath has been able to recruit players also majoring in Engineering, a few members of the Trac Ball games have come from Campus Crusade for Christ at Marquette, which McGrath is also involved in. In addition to leaving an impression on the school, senior Maggie Baumann hopes the Trac Ball tradition will be passed on to fellow members of Campus Crusade in the future.
“People seem to like it, so it could be at least a Campus Crusade tradition,” she said. “Everyone that walks by is looking and watching, so it seems like it interests people. I wouldn’t be surprised if Campus Crusade kept playing it ever year.”
Junior Alyssa Gonzales, a junior in the College of Nursing who is also involved in Campus Crusade, played for the first time Saturday and came away impressed by the intensity but also the sportsmanship from all the players.
“It’s a little harder than you think,” she admitted. “But it was a lot of fun and the best part was the competitiveness and still being good sports and hanging out. I’ll definitely be back, it was a lot of fun.”
