Intramural sports: comfortable and competitive
More stories from Sam Johnson
Photo Courtesy By Ellie Speedling – One team waits to see who they will compete with at the final match. Austin Dowdall said he and his team go into the locker room and mentally prepares before every match.
Intramural season is among us and many students are creating teams with their friends and entering the fun. There is a wide variety of athletic activity options for the students year round.
Intramural sports is a fun way for students of any skill level to participate in a sporting event with their friends after school. Students are given the opportunity to create an after school intramural sport if they would like, or join one that has already been approved and organized. Some of the sports include dodgeball, basketball, volleyball and ultimate frisbee, but others can be added.
The intramural dodgeball team is among one of the most popular intramural sports being offered right now, having more than 100 students signed up to play. This intramural sport just ended, but after asking students who participated, proved to be a big hit, with only positive responses and eagerness to play again next year.
It’s also very different from some of the organized sports, and you focus more on having fun and messing around with your friends, than winning.
— Dylan Andres
Senior Dylan Andres explained, “The intramural dodgeball league is a great way to take a break from schoolwork after school and go be active, and hang out with my friends. It’s also very different from some of the organized sports, and you focus more on having fun and messing around with your friends, than winning.”
Another highly popular intramural sport at school is the intramural basketball team. Whether a student is being recruited to the NBA, or has never shot a basket in your entire life, students still manage to have a great time shooting hoops after school in intramural basketball. One reason students love playing intramural basketball is you have just as much, if not more fun than an organized sport, but at the same time, they do not have a large time commitment and practices.
“I like how intramural sports, and more specifically basketball are super fun and competitive, but at the same time don’t require a large time commitment. It’s nice because there are no required practices, and going is optional so it fits well into basically anybody’s schedule,” junior athlete Tommy McGuire said.
Intramural sports is a way for students to create connections with each other through common interest in certain sports. The fact that anyone is allowed to play and everyone plays together despite age, gender or skill level makes intramural sports special. It encourages students to give something new a try and takes away the pressure to do well and focuses more on having fun.
“I play both organized and intramural sports, and I always love going to play intramural because I’m always comfortable, even when I mess up,” sophomore Peter Markert said. “The whole point of intramural sports is to give students, whether they are athletes or not, a chance to play a sport that they have never tried before, want to try, or may not be able to make the organized team, and I think that’s an opportunity that should be given to anyone and everyone.” McGuire added.
Sam Johnson is in 11th grade, he is a sports photographer for the Pony Express Newspaper. He enjoys playing hockey and lacrosse here for the high school...
