Students enrolled on the San Jacinto College North Campus looking for exercise and fun can turn to the new and improved Recreational (Rec) Sports department.

North Campus Rec Sports Director Aishah Elhommoud said the recreation program went through a revitalization process bringing students new equipment and activities never before available to them. 

When hired as the director a year ago, Elhommoud said she had one goal in mind and that was to bolster student involvement in Rec Sports activities, which suffered low participation rates in recent years. But she points to her part-time employment status as one of the reasons the department is not reaching its full potential.

“If I had full-time hours or if I had an assistant like the other campuses do, then I could offer more hours for the students here,” she said. “But I feel like some students are missing out on an opportunity to participate in Rec Sports because there’s only so few hours during the week that I am available.”

However, Elhommoud does have her supporters. She thanks her husband for lending a hand by serving as kickboxing and martial arts instructor during his free time.

Also, she said, “He helps me out a lot by taking my teams to tournaments and stuff.”

Furthermore, Elhommoud points to Gators baseball Head Coach Tom Arrington with pushing for much-needed updates to the weight and cardio rooms to the benefit of the Rec Sports program.

Although faced with challenges, the department sees successes. The flag football team competes in tournaments against other college teams and brings back many awards to the North Campus. Both flag football and volleyball have seen steady participation growth.

At the moment, the North Campus offers indoor soccer, basketball, volleyball, and flag football. Elhommoud said she hopes to add more sports next semester, and perhaps with the help of a few student assistants, the revitalization of North Campus Rec Sports is just getting started.