Feature
Campers Learn Quidditch at Culver
As quidditch grows, the age range of players continues to expand from the sport’s origins on a college campus. Nowhere is that truer than in Alex Scheer’s kidditch class at Culver Academy’s Woodcraft Camp.
As quidditch grows, the age range of players continues to expand from the sport’s origins on a college campus. Nowhere is that truer than in Alex Scheer’s kidditch class at Culver Academy’s Woodcraft Camp.
In order to ensure continued success, the quidditch community must expand its reach and look toward recruiting younger players. US Quidditch, formerly the International Quidditch Association, created a kidditch team within the development department in 2011. While teams routinely host kidditch events as part of their community outreach, there is still more that can be done. Scheer’s class is just one way that quidditch players are helping to broaden the age range of quidditch players.
“The Culver Military Academy in Culver, Ind. has allowed me to teach three, two-week segments of quidditch to our various divisions, ranging from the ages of nine to 14,” said Scheer, co-founder of the Blue Mountain Quidditch Club. “It’s really cool because the interest for the class has just blown up. The kids love it, [and] most of the staff thinks it’s pretty cool and/or kind of adorable watching the kids doing it.”
The idea of teaching the quidditch class at Culver came about when Zak Hewitt, a keeper from Bowling Green State University who worked at the camp last summer, suggested that Scheer consider working there too.
“I brought my hoops just thinking maybe [Hewitt] and I could get a game going,” Scheer said.
They then asked if they could teach a class at Culver, and the camp jumped on the idea right away. In the first week they were only allowed to take 80 students, but over 200 signed up for the class. The camp was so invested in the idea that they gave Scheer the money to make hoops.
“They were going to order me Peterson hoops and they didn’t order in time, so they [gave me 200 dollars to] make hoops,” he said. “So I ended up making the hoops. We now have the AVP quaffle [and] the three bludgers. I have 20 PVC pipes for the brooms and then we have, obviously, the six hoops.”
Scheer has adopted a regimented lesson plan to ensure that the children learn every aspect of the sport while having fun at the same time. In the first week they learn each position, ending the week with learning how to seek. He does this because at first the campers are only interested in playing seeker because they want to be just like the Harry Potter they saw in the movies.
“I want them to understand that there are other aspects besides the snitch and the seeker game,” he said. “And in doing that, the kids have found that chasing is similar to basketball. Beating is similar to dodgeball. And the kids, if give them a dodgeball, they love throwing it at each other, so they’ve actually really enjoyed beating and chasing even more so than seeking.”
Scheer is also planning on teaching the campers some advanced strategy and is working on making handouts.
“We’d like to teach them how to play quidditch with a little bit of strategy, not just the traditional ‘OK, let’s throw the ball to the teammates three times and then try to score’ [method],” he said. “I want to teach them basic strategies [with] a little bit of something more advanced.”
Scheer has changed the rules to accommodate the age group and to prevent injuries. For instance, there are no headshots or tackles. He has been successful thus far with no injuries and is hoping to continue with this perfect record.
This summer, in order to show the campers how adults play quidditch, Scheer is trying to get real players to have a scrimmage at Culver.
“We’re going to put together an exhibition game between some of the [players] from around the Midwest, getting mostly Ball State University players to come to Culver and do a one-night exhibition match to show the camp and to show all the kids what the game is like,” he said.
The exhibition match is currently scheduled for the evening of July 25, with the time to be determined. Scheer is looking for a minimum of 28 volunteers and is also hoping that some players will attend his class during the day to help coach the campers. His goal is to show the camp why quidditch should continue to be a part of their community.
Heike Spahn, the director of Woodcraft and Junior Woodcraft Camps at Culver, however, is already very pleased with Scheer’s creativity in coming up with the idea of having a quidditch class.
“I always encourage counselors to come up with new class ideas that would be fun and educational,” she said.
Spahn is excited to see the children having fun during the class.
“The class meets outside of my office window, and the kids look like they are having a blast,” she said. “Plus, we are probably one of the only camps who have a qualified instructor teaching quidditch, so I know they are learning the fundamentals of the game.”
As the new Midwest regional director, Scheer is trying to get high school players involved in the quidditch community. As such, he sees Culver and other summer camps as a gateway for youth players to get involved once they are in high school and, most importantly, to start or join college teams.
“In the next few years if more and more kids come through the system, you’re going to see hopefully high school teams pop up not only in the Midwest, but the entire country because this camp actually caters to states all over the United States and to countries as far out as China, Russia, Egypt, France [and] England,” he said. “We now have the next generation of quidkids if you will, and I’m really looking forward to watching that happen.”
Scheer is thankful for the experience thus far and has enjoyed sharing his passion with the next generation of quidditch players.
“This is something that has been really amazing to do,” he said. “It’s a really great opportunity. I’m getting to share with these kids something that I’m really passionate about, something that I really care about and hold very dear to my heart. And I get to watch the joy on their faces when one of them scores a goal, or one of them makes a great beat, or one of them even makes a great save.”
If all goes well, Scheer, Spahn and Greg Kopp, director of instruction at Culver, would like to have the quidditch program back next year.
“I think short term, we want to have more staff members learn about the quidditch program and how to instruct,” Kopp said. “And long term, as long as there is interest, I see it being a class that is offered at Culver every summer.”
