If you’re reading this, our last edition of the spring 2018 semester newspaper is in your hands, meaning this will be the last athletic terms column that you will have the honor of reading. 
With so many sports and phrases, it’s hard to cover everything. However, to end the year right, I want to cover at least one term from a few of my favorite sports.
So, why not start with my all time favorite sport, soccer? I’ve played soccer since I was in first grade, so my love and knowledge of soccer terms is quite high. Some phrases that are especially funny to me are head and transfer fee.
Head means to play the ball with your forehead, whether the intention is to pass, shoot or clear. A transfer fee is when a player who is under contract to a club is traded to another team. The new club has to purchase the contract, usually paying a huge amount of money for it. This is the transfer fee, it goes to the selling club, not to the player.
My next favorite sport to watch, but definitely not play, is hockey. I can’t skate to save my life, so I’m better on the sideline. Two terms from hockey people may not know are apple and bar down. Apple is another way of referring to an assist. Bar down is when a shot hits the crossbar and goes down into the net for a goal.
Next up is fencing, yes, strange, but strangely interesting to me. The rules always trick me, which is probably why I find it so interesting. Two terms to know in the world of fencing are bout and feint.
A bout is a match that is only between two fencers. A feint is a false attack that is designed to force an opponent into a reaction, which opens the way into a genuine attack. Fencing is one of those sports that I’ll always wish I tried.
Lacrosse is another sport I would’ve liked to try out if I hadn’t played spring soccer. Lacrosse is like hockey — exciting and rough — which is great to watch! Two terms from lacrosse are ride and crosse. Ride is when a team tries to prevent the opposing team from clearing the ball. Crosse is just a another fancy word for lacrosse stick, which assists in throwing, catching and carrying the ball.
And finally, some terms from skiing, which has just recently become a favorite of mine.
Some fun terms found in the skiing world are apres-ski, balaclava and a dump. Apres-ski means that the day is over, time for some drinks and swapping war stories from the slopes.
Balaclava is a fancy way of saying a facemask, which helps protect your face from wind and snow. Dump is a great way of saying there was a snowfall, providing fresh powder.
Caroline Perry can be contacted at cperry@kscequinox.com
