Intramural sports have been a part of many of our lives, probably since many of us were children. One of the oldest memories I have is of playing soccer when I was about six or seven years old, until I was in about sixth grade.
Sure, I didn’t stick with the sport forever and was never any good, but I remember making friends on the team, and was able to feel like I was a part of something (as cheesy as it sounds). Those feelings of confidence and belonging were what was really important for kids to get out of those teams.
Intramural sports are still pretty important in college but not quite for the same reasons.
Having the option to go play a game you enjoy but don’t necessarily excel at is a huge part of getting involved on campus. College athletics are selective and sometimes require a level of skill that one could only acquire by playing a game for years and continuous practice.
After playing a sport for a few years, some skills become reflex because they are so frequently used in a game. If you haven’t played a sport for a really long time, sometimes it’s hard to keep up with people who have been doing it for a good majority of their lives.
That’s where intramural-level sports come in. They allow you to just grab a group of your friends, sign up and go have some fun without a huge level of pressure.
There’s something about being able to go out and just mess around while playing that (in my opinion) makes it a lot more fun.
Every little mistake doesn’t feel like it just cost you the game, and every second of the game doesn’t feel like a high-pressure situation. Even though the pressure can sometimes add an edge to the game, it can really stress someone out. With intramural sports, there’s none of that.
Another great thing about intramural sports is how they have sports that aren’t necessarily mainstream. Floor hockey, dodgeball, water polo and table tennis are all sports that aren’t known for being huge college sporting events.
However, they are all really fun, interesting sports to play. Having an option for a non-competitive version allows these sports to actually be enjoyed. Many times, people never would have gotten a chance to play these sports otherwise.
One last reason intramural sports are so fun is the sense of nostalgia provided from playing them. A lot of the offered games were games that many people played in high school and elementary school gym class. I play on a dodgeball intramural team here at Keene State College and every game just reminds me of what it was like in high school gym class playing dodgeball.
It was always exciting knowing that we would be playing dodgeball in class, and it is a good reminder every time I play here of the good times back in high school.
Overall, intramural teams are just a good option for schools and colleges to have for their students.
Having the option to play sports is always a good motivator for people to want to get involved with extra events at KSC.
David Padrazo can be contacted at
dpadrazo@keene-equinox.com.