When Julio Aguilar moved from Guatemala to Hamilton in 2010, he didn’t have a lot of time to socialize. After attending Daylight/Twilight Alternative High School in Trenton for a short time before graduating, he got married and had a son. Between working and raising a family, Aguilar didn’t have an opportunity to get out and meet new people—until he discovered Mercer County Club Sports.
Aguilar said the responsibilities that come along with having a child and working at an early age left him with little time for himself, so when he saw a Facebook post advertising Mercer County Club Sports, he decided to sign up.
“Even if it’s doing exercise and I’m getting tired, I enjoy getting out of the routine of working and being at home and watching the baby—it’s something different to do,” he said.
Aguilar is now one of roughly 25 people who get together every Wednesday to play dodgeball. As he plays, his wife and son are in the crowd cheering him on to show their support.
“Everybody’s been really friendly, that’s something I was missing from not being with my friends back home,” he said. “I was here in high school, but for a short time and I didn’t get to meet people my age—or close to my age—so I decided to join and meet new people.”
After having such a positive experience playing dodgeball with his new friends, Aguilar convinced his younger sister Consuela to join the club as well. Consuela always enjoyed playing sports, but was nervous joining Mercer County Club Sports since she didn’t know anyone besides her brother.
However, during her first game of dodgeball she said all of the players made her feel as if she had been in the league since the beginning.
“I was having fun with everybody, no one was left outside just standing there,” she said.
For Mercer County Club Sports co-founder Andy Maskell, stories like the Aguilars are what inspired him to initially start the club.
“What we’re trying to do is build a community as much as anything else,” Maskell said. “It’s as much about getting to know each other, having a good time after and outside of the game, as it is about coming home with a trophy.”
Mercer County Club Sports officially launched in January, but Maskell, a Lawrenceville resident, and his friends Elysia Price, of Pennington, and Khurrum Sheikh, of Princeton, have wanted to create an adult, multi-sport rec club for years.
Maskell said roughly four years ago he was going through a divorce, and he decided to join adult sports leagues with Price and Sheikh to get out and meet new people. They joined kickball, dodgeball and volleyball leagues together, but each league was disjointed. Rather than playing different sports, in separate leagues with new people, they were looking for one club that offered people the chance to play different sports together year-round.
When they couldn’t find the league they were looking for, Maskell, Price and Sheikh created Mercer County Club Sports.
“We were looking to create a more consistent offering of sports, a one-stop-shop where local adult athletes could always go to find a new league and maybe try a sport they were unfamiliar with,” Maskell said.
Like many sports clubs, their goal was to provide a place for people to get together and promote an active, social and healthy lifestyle. However, since they were also looking to create a strong bond between local players, they decided to utilize and support local businesses.
T-shirts for the club were printed by Aztec Graphics in Trenton, Crown Trophy in Hamilton made championship medals and their “Club Cup” trophy, and Maskell said players go to local bars for food and drinks after each game.
In addition to supporting local businesses, Maskell said he’s currently working with local yoga and fitness studios to have their promoters come discuss the benefits of their programs with Mercer County Club Sports athletes, a group that has more than doubled since January.
Maskell said 10 people showed up to the first dodgeball game. Now, they have 33 people signed up to play, with about 25 people showing up each week. In January, the club offered just two sports—flag football and dodgeball—but Maskell hopes to have soccer, kickball, table tennis and volleyball up and running later this spring.
Since Mercer County Club Sports doesn’t own its own space, the league rents out space wherever available. They currently have locations at Mercer County Park, PEAC Health and Fitness Turf Field, the Cranbury School and Princeton Pong. The price to register is dependent upon how much it costs the club to rent the space, however Maskell said an eight-week session of dodgeball is currently $50 — a price many players say is well worth the cost.
Allie Pungello played soccer at West Windsor-Plainsboro South High School and in college at The College of New Jersey, and once she graduated she missed playing organized sports. Pungello, who lives in Princeton, was interested in joining Mercer County Club Sports, but like Consuela, she was nervous during her first day because she didn’t know anyone else in the club.
“I was hesitant because I didn’t know anybody, but I [joined] and it was the best decision ever,” Pungello said.
Pungello’s story is similar to many others who joined Mercer County Club Sports. While a few of the players joined with a small group of friends, many decided to join solo. Ryan Winnick of Robbinsville and Sarung Modi of Plainsboro are just a few of the players who joined on their own. They both joined as a way to break up the 40-hour work week, and they encourage others to do the same.
“I would say come try it out for one week,” Winnick said. “We’re all very friendly here. It’s all different skill levels.”
Modi echoed Winnick’s statement, saying, “I think the biggest hesitation someone might have is skill level or not knowing anyone. No one picks on you or anything like that. It’s not like those middle or high school days where there are bullies.”
During the dodgeball games, the style of play represents the league’s goal of building a community over building a tough athletic competition. The teams are different each week, with players getting randomly paired together. If a team wins multiple games in a row, players will be “traded” to other teams to make them more balanced.
“You don’t need to be that athletic to be on the team, you just have to be able to get along with people and have fun,” Consuela said.
Maskell said that Mercer County Club Sports is “exercising by accident.” People are getting a good workout, but they often don’t notice because they’re laughing and having fun with friends.
“I look forward to it every week,” Modi said. “This makes the week go by so fast.”
For more information about Mercer County Club Sports visit mercerclubsports.leagueapps.com.
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