Club Softball creates family on and off of the field
By Sofia Santiago
The journey to Rider Club Softball for many of its members has not been straightforward, just like the history of the team itself. A few years ago, the club was struggling with attendance, trying to stay afloat. Today, the team is sailing ahead thanks to the culture created by the players themselves, centered around a genuine love for the sport and for each other.
Junior acting major, catcher, Captain and President of the Club Softball team Lexi Vaksdal came to Rider for acting and stayed for softball.
Softball was Vaksdal’s life until she enrolled in a performing arts high school, after which she had to walk away from the sport.
“For the first time in my life, I wasn’t an athlete anymore,” she recalled. The club softball gave her the chance to reconnect with what had been a big part of her life for so long.
“I got here and I got softball back, so I was able to live the best of both worlds. Now I don’t have to choose anymore,” Vaksdal said.
Aviana Rissmiller, a sophomore sports management and marketing major, is a pitcher and the secretary of the club softball team. Similar to Vaksdal, Rissmiller grew up playing softball. Although she did not want to give it up, entering college meant putting academics first.
“When I came here, I thought I never was going to play softball again,” she said. Rissmiller discovered the team through meeting Vaksdal.
“I came to a practice, and I was like, ‘you know what? I don’t have to give it up. I get to do what I love, and it’s whatever you make of it,’” Rissmiller said.
Like Rissmiller, many of the members initially found out about the club from their friends who were already on the team and encouraged them to try it out. Even Vaksdal joined through this avenue.
“I brought my softball gear on a whim that I was gonna be able to play softball here, I didn’t know that we had club softball or anything, but I brought it just in case,” Vaksdal remembered.
On move-in day, one of the Bronc Buddy volunteers helping Vaksdal unpack was senior psychology major and now Vice President and shortstop of the team, Dayaniris Rivera.
Rivera has been playing softball for over 14 years and has been a part of the club team throughout all four years of her time at Rider.
“[Rivera] saw that I had softball gear in my car, and she was like, ‘Softball gear? We have club softball. You should come to practice.’ And then I went to the first practice, and I have never looked back,” Vaksdal said. Now the pair are close friends.
Composed of long-time players, like Rissmiller, Rivera and Vaksdal, complete newcomers and girls who have just been playing for fun, the team makes anyone of any skill level feel that they belong.
“We welcome girls. Let’s say tomorrow you were like, ‘Wow, I really like this. I want to come.’ You could come, not pay dues and just pop into practice,” Rissmiller explained.
Junior acting major Abby Bufis was introduced to the team through her already existing friendship with Vaksdal. Completely new to the sport, Bufis was hesitant to join the team before attending her first practice. However, after the practice was over, the team’s encouraging environment put her worries to rest.
With one year of club softball under her belt, this semester Bufis is on the starting line up of the team.
Bufis admitted, “I’m not athletic, whatsoever. And like I feel like you really couldn’t even tell that from [watching the practice today]. You would think that I’ve been playing for a couple years already. It was my dear friend and the want to be an athlete that made me come, but it was the community and the work that they put in that made me stay.”
Sophomore criminal justice major Taika Antoine’s story is yet another example of the success of the club’s positive environment. Antoine is completely new to softball and found the club after searching for more ways to get involved on campus. Trying a new sport was daunting for her, but she credits her teammates’ attitude as what convinced her to commit to learning.
“Honestly, [it’s] the girls. If they were mean, I would not come back every day,” Antoine said.
To officially join the team, members must pay $40 that go towards the team uniforms and the club’s budget for paying umpires, replacing equipment and booking fields.
Practices are located at the indoor practice facility in the back of campus and are two hours, two or three times a week, and the team plays around four doubleheader games throughout the semester. Recently, the group has also started to do optional team lifts at the gym once or twice a week.
At the end of the spring 2026 semester, Rissmiller injured her arm during the club’s last game of the season. Because of the tight-knit nature of the group, Rissmiller still attends practices and helps her teammates improve for game days.
Practices are directed by the captain and run by the experienced players on the team. They consist of drills focusing on the physical and mental aspects of the game, and every so often include a sit-down chat to reassure anxieties and boost morale.
“It’s consistent reinforcement of what we’re teaching, from the moment you walk into the door to the moment that you leave, as well as us building confidence in [new players] too, and being like, ‘Hey, you’re doing great. That time was better than last time,’” Vaksdal said.
The long-time players also usually have experience teaching the sport.
Outside of Rider, Rivera coaches travel softball for her town and also trains girls from seven to 14 years old one-on-one. But just because the experienced players often take on a teaching role, does not mean they do not learn more themselves.
“[Softball has] taught me so many things. It taught me trust, it taught me loyalty. It’s just taught me so many great life lessons that I try to hold on going through club softball and even through life,” Rivera said.
Rissmiller explained that she has helped coach her younger siblings’ T-ball teams, “Being a coach for younger kids, you really learn how to simplify things, so it has helped a lot. … You could be the best athlete in the world, but if you don’t know how to put it into words, you’re doing no good.”
The club is entirely student-run, and while the e-board communicates when needed with the director of campus recreation, the practice spaces, game locations and even umpires are all booked by members of the team.
Rider Club Softball plays against other club teams from schools in the area, and because travel time can take up to two hours, they make the most out of the trip by playing two consecutive games.
To schedule a game, Vaksdal and Rivera contact other teams on Instagram. If it is decided that Rider will be playing at home, they then reach out to local recreation departments, such as Hopewell Township’s, to reserve a field.
The team currently consists of around 12 women, and the e-board decides the positions of each player and the starting line up based on what they observe during practice.
Rivera recalled how during her freshman year, the club only had a few members consistently showing up for practices.
“As someone who’s played the sport, it was really sad. I wanted the team to grow,” Rivera said. She also credits the club’s previous e-board as the reason for the success of the team today.
“They did leave a good foundation, and it’s kind of up to me now to help keep that good foundation and keep the team growing. Freshman year was very much like an example of what happens to a club if it just breaks, but [since then] we’ve built it from the ground, truly,” Rivera said.
To get their name out there, the e-board has paid special attention to participating in events like Broncapalooza and hosting events like Pie a Softball Player to get further involved on campus.
Still, the biggest reason credited for the growth of the club is the relationships it provides its members with.
“For [Rider Club Softball] it’s more about building a community rather than being a super competitive high-level team, and I think that’s something that we always advocate … It’s always like wow, I get to show you my sport, and it’s exciting and it’s new, and I feel like that’s the biggest thing. It’s not toxic or competitive,” Rissmiller admitted. “It’s more about community and bringing people together and sharing something that you love.”
Rivera echoed this sentiment, “It’s kind of bittersweet because it’s my last year. But at the end of the day, these girls are definitely going to be at my wedding, and it’s because the sport didn’t just give me the yellow ball and the bat, it gave me friends that I know I’ll have till after college.”
