Clusterball is a winter-term recreational sport for Uppers and Seniors. Around 70 to 75 students, across eight teams, participate in competitive basketball games in the Snyder Center. This week, athletes competed in Clusterball playoffs and finals. Ultimately, the Green Team, captained by John Bancone ’25 and Denzil Pierre ’25, emerged victorious in a 17-16 overtime win.
Thomas Fritz, a Instructor in History, works alongside María Martinez, Troy Turick, and Cesar Dominique-Santos to keep track of game scores and break up fouls and altercations. Fritz expressed his appreciation for Clusterball because of his joy for both basketball and interacting with students.
“Because we’re with the older students and there’s the need for an adult present on each of the four courts, we time the quarters, keep score, and step in if there’s any controversy that can’t be settled. That’s been minimal all season. Then, just try to get to know more students than you already know in a different context. Have fun with them, cheer them on. Be encouraging when students make good plays or fun shots. I know basketball, I played basketball in high school, I’ve coached. It’s an opportunity to do something,” said Fritz.
Fritz explained that eight teams of eight to ten players are formed, then games with eight four-minute periods take place every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.
“We spend two weeks before January just letting the teams play and trying to sort out as best we can a balanced league of eight teams while still keeping in mind some friends wanting to be together. Then a round-robin season determines seeding for us. It was 1-8, we went into the playoff round of one through eight, and now the winners will play today in the semifinals and tomorrow for the finals. It’s all for exercise and fun but there’s structure to it, at least in terms of teams, keeping score, and having a schedule,” said Fritz.
Michael Williamson ’25 has participated in Clusterball since Upper year and enjoys the sport’s competitive yet low-stakes and enjoyable nature.
“Last year I did Clusterball. I had a lot of fun. There’s a lot of energy around it. It wasn’t exactly what I expected. It was solely upperclassmen, which I think made it feel a little bit more exclusive and brought a lot more energy towards the sport. When it came to the playoffs, everyone was taking it very seriously. We had warmups every time before practice. Overall, the competitive environment with very low stakes is something that is extremely fun. I enjoy the irony and how competitive the sport is. It’s a rec sport, so there are no real stakes, like I said earlier. Yet, at the same time, you have injuries, people taking the sport extremely seriously, lots of trash talking. Also, you have a team that is built throughout the entirety of the term, and you grow really close together,” said Williamson.
On Monday, the fourth-seeded Orange Team battled the first-seeded Red Team in the Clusterball semi-finals. Ultimately, the Red Team won in a narrow 32-31 overtime victory. Orange Team player Cameron Marnoto ’25 commented on the Orange Team’s unfortunate loss and praised his teammate Luke Gallo ’25 for skill on the court.
“It was a tough loss. We had a good fight, but it came down to overtime and the Red Team got the first point. There was a bit of an unfortunate call at the very end of the regular period with a toe on the line from Luke’s three. Unfortunately, the coaches thought it was a one, which only tied the game. I thought it could have been called our way, it wasn’t, and we had a tough loss because of that. Luke had a great game, as he was hitting many heavily contested deep three point shots and it was quite impressive. We deserved it, it was a tough way to go, but ultimately it was a good game where we tried our best and I had a great time in my two years in rec ball,” Marnoto.
