Campus recreation serves PAC students and community

Campus recreation services at Palo Alto College serves students and community members alike. Whether it's through summer camps, club sports, or just getting a good sweat, the variety of activities available has everything needed to help the entire Palo Alto College community.

Outside of the classroom, students are encouraged to take advantage of the various intramural sports happening on campus. Flag football, ping-pong, and dodgeball are just some of the activities students can participate in throughout the school year. Students looking to compete against other colleges can also take advantage of the extramural teams at the College, such as men's and women's basketball, women's volleyball, and men's soccer teams. Palo Alto College students, incoming freshman, or 2019 high school graduates interested in joining these teams can participate in the open tryouts happening throughout the summer.

This summer, the College is creating a new women's fast pitch softball club team and a men's baseball club team. Aquatic and Athletic program supervisor EJ Moreno was pleasantly surprised to see so many talented students participate in the recent tryouts.

"I think we have an excellent group...that can really form a competitive team," said Moreno. "We'll really surprise some colleges when we go out there and play them."

While playing on any of the College's extramural teams, students can expect a competitive environment that allows them to sharpen their skills as they look to transfer and play for an NCAA-affiliated college or university.

"We've had a couple of students that come here and do their credit hours and then they get seen by another college," said Moreno. "The opportunity is there to get recruited to a university. They just have to be willing to put in the work academic-wise."

In addition to all that's available to the students, campus recreation also serves the community. With a fitness center fully-equipped with free weights, cable machines, locker rooms with showers, and more, students can use the facilities at no additional cost, while paid monthly and annual memberships are available for community members. The Aquatic Center houses an Olympic-sized pool which is open to the community year-round for a small fee. Kids summer camps are also available, where they can enjoy a variety of themed activities focusing on sports and hands-on projects, with special trips on Fridays.

"We try to get our hands in as much as we can with the surrounding community," said Moreno. "Our summer camps max out at 75 kids per week, but we do have a lot of them that are returning and have been here for like five years."

Palo Alto College hopes to be a place for the community to be involved in throughout their entire lives.

"Once they [the students] graduate high school, it will be interesting to see if they come back to either attend classes, or even want to work here as a summer camp counselor or a lifeguard," said Moreno.

For more information on Campus Recreation and the Aquatic and Athletic Center at the College, visit healthydairyland.com/pac/athletics.