By Jon Munshaw
When college students come to campus, many play a sport, whether it be dodge ball, basketball or soccer.
But Towson University sophomore Skyler Jenkins has set out to create a club on campus that offers a mix of three different sports.
Jenkins started a Kronum club at Towson, a sport that combines elements of basketball, soccer and handball.
“I had heard of it and seen people play it by my house, but I never really knew what it was until I started researching it,” Jenkins said.
Kronum was founded in 2008 by Bill Gibson. According to Kronum’s website, the game expanded over the course of two years out of Villanova, Penn., and is now an official sport.
The Kronum club at Towson has 20 members and competes against other colleges on the East Coast.
The field is round, with four goals around the edge of the field. Players are allowed to pass, dribble and kick the ball, which is round but smaller than a soccer ball, to get it to their teammates. Ten players are on the field for each team and substitutes are allowed during timeouts.
There are two rings painted onto the field. Any goal scored within the outer ring in one of the goals is worth one point, while anything scored from the inner ring is worth two points.
While the concept of the game is much different, Jenkins said he has been able to attract other students to the game.
“It started out as a couple guys out on a field, looking silly because they were tossing a ‘soccer ball’ back and forth with their hands,” Jenkins said. “Now, we have one or two new guys, or ever girls, every practice. “We have about 20 dedicated players and another 20 to 30 people that have been to a few practices.”
Dylan Kiser, an accounting major at Towson, was one of the people that Jenkins was able to attract.
“One day I was playing soccer in the gym, and I saw the Kronum team in the gym next door,” Kiser said. “I was intrigued by the sport because I’ve never seen it before. [Jenkins] gave me the layout of the game and I was instantly hooked.”
Towson is not the only university to pick up on the little-known game.
The Towson team recently traveled to Philadelphia to play in a collegiate tournament against other colleges, including West Chester University, Widner College, York College, Duquesne University and North Penn University.
At that tournament, Towson finished last, but Jenkins said it was one of the more memorable weekends of his life.
“At that tournament we got to play with and against Kronum pros,” he said. “I couldn’t be happier.”
The club has also traveled to St. Joseph’s College in New York to play in a tournament.
However, these tournaments come at a cost. Since Towson Student Government Association policy prevents student organizations from being budgeted during their first year, Jenkins and the rest of the team have had to pay out-of-pocket for everything.
“[The tournaments] have been $30 a person, which includes a free shirt, the ref, as well as pictures and videos of us playing,” Jenkins said. “And clearly we have been carpooling to these, paying whoever offered to drive.”
Despite the cost, Towson student Hunter Polanskey said he wouldn’t give up being on the team for anything.
“I fell in love with the sport,” Polanskey said. “All of these tournaments have been very exciting, and I love to see how creative some of the other players get.”
Next school year, Jenkins said the team will be budgeted by the SGA, and the group plans to use that money to host its own tournaments at Towson.
In addition to college play, Kronum has also been growing at the professional level. There are now seven professional teams, all of which are based out of Pennsylvania. The sport has also gained a following in Europe, with professional leagues popping up in England and France.
A spokesperson from Kronum could not be reached for comment in response to the growth of the sport.
If the sport is going to grow in the United States, Jenkins said more clubs like Towson’s need to start on college campuses.
“We’re focusing on making people that not only show up to a few [practices], but to become more dedicated,” he said. “But we are growing nonetheless, and I couldn’t be happier because I will still have random people stopping me around school or sending me messages asking about the sport.”
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