As part of our efforts to preview all 80 teams competing in USQ World Cup 8, the Quidditch Post is chatting with representatives from each team. Today we spoke with Chandler Smith, captain of Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU).
Quidditch Post: Last year, OBU made the trip to its first World Cup. What impact do you think that experience will have on this year's team?
Chandler: If anything, going to World Cup last season kept our roster from turning over. We have a hard time retaining players every season, so it always feels like we have a fresh batch of players with each new season. The impact of attending World Cup is insurmountable. For my players, having the opportunity to experience such a massive event does wonders for submersing them in the community and sport. It also allows us to grow as a team in the long run.
Chandler: If anything, going to World Cup last season kept our roster from turning over. We have a hard time retaining players every season, so it always feels like we have a fresh batch of players with each new season. The impact of attending World Cup is insurmountable. For my players, having the opportunity to experience such a massive event does wonders for submersing them in the community and sport. It also allows us to grow as a team in the long run.
QP: Who would you say are some of the team's key players?
Chandler: Me, Tylor Mclaren, Amy Bartel, and Blake Spradlin. Know who they are?
QP: What would you say makes each of them stars?
Chandler: Each has the potential to make big plays and carry our team when we aren't connecting. Amy has glue for hands and is always open for the quick pass under the hoops, Tylor and Blake both lay the hurt on defense and at times hero ball with consistency, and then me, I guess I beat. I’m not one to talk myself up.
QP:What are your goals for World Cup?
Chandler: To win...one game. You know, more than we won last year. It's my last season with my team, so I want to have a good time and keep the fire going so this legacy lives on.
QP: What do you hope the team takes away from the experience?
Chandler: A deeper passion and love for the sport. World Cup provides a unique experience in itself that you won't find anywhere else.
QP: I don't know for sure, but I'd venture that OBU is likely the smallest school attending World Cup with under 2,000 students. How does the team feel about accomplishing something that literally schools 10 times its size failed to do?
Chandler: It's funny you ask that because we don't even hold tryouts. We want anyone who enjoys the sport to play, and we take even the most unathletic people to tournaments. Tylor and I founded this team three years ago. Because we have been the only two consistent variables, we have shaped our strategies to fit our styles and strengths. Three years of working on the same tactics creates results.
QP: How would you describe that style?
Chandler: Wouldn't describing our style make it too easy for teams to scout us?
QP: That depends whether you think your opponents are reading this.
Chandler: To put it plain and simple, it's a hard man with unorthodox beating.
QP: I take it you won't go into more detail about what makes the beating unorthodox?
Chandler: It's adaptable. A lot of beating corps do the same thing over and over again, showing the same tendencies and weaknesses. I like to change things up on the fly. I usually never play the same style from game to game. My other beaters do, but I play in 80 percent of our games.
QP: Are there any teams you want to face?
Chandler: Hmmm. Macaulay Honors College Marauders. I'd secretly rip my jersey off and be repping theirs underneath. Have to say, best Northeast jersey by far. I would also like to play the Lost Boys. I'd like to have at least one lopsided game where I can learn a lot from the other team's beaters wrecking my defense.
QP: Is there anything else you think our readers should know about OBU?
Chandler: We have no pre-game chant. That's solid scouting information.
QP:What are your goals for World Cup?
Chandler: To win...one game. You know, more than we won last year. It's my last season with my team, so I want to have a good time and keep the fire going so this legacy lives on.
QP: What do you hope the team takes away from the experience?
Chandler: A deeper passion and love for the sport. World Cup provides a unique experience in itself that you won't find anywhere else.
QP: I don't know for sure, but I'd venture that OBU is likely the smallest school attending World Cup with under 2,000 students. How does the team feel about accomplishing something that literally schools 10 times its size failed to do?
Chandler: It's funny you ask that because we don't even hold tryouts. We want anyone who enjoys the sport to play, and we take even the most unathletic people to tournaments. Tylor and I founded this team three years ago. Because we have been the only two consistent variables, we have shaped our strategies to fit our styles and strengths. Three years of working on the same tactics creates results.
QP: How would you describe that style?
Chandler: Wouldn't describing our style make it too easy for teams to scout us?
QP: That depends whether you think your opponents are reading this.
Chandler: To put it plain and simple, it's a hard man with unorthodox beating.
QP: I take it you won't go into more detail about what makes the beating unorthodox?
Chandler: It's adaptable. A lot of beating corps do the same thing over and over again, showing the same tendencies and weaknesses. I like to change things up on the fly. I usually never play the same style from game to game. My other beaters do, but I play in 80 percent of our games.
QP: Are there any teams you want to face?
Chandler: Hmmm. Macaulay Honors College Marauders. I'd secretly rip my jersey off and be repping theirs underneath. Have to say, best Northeast jersey by far. I would also like to play the Lost Boys. I'd like to have at least one lopsided game where I can learn a lot from the other team's beaters wrecking my defense.
QP: Is there anything else you think our readers should know about OBU?
Chandler: We have no pre-game chant. That's solid scouting information.
QP: Thanks, Chandler; we appreciate it.
Chandler: Thank you for taking the time to do this!
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