Bobby Martinez – Staff Writer –
Nerves tingling through their body, sweat dripping onto the floor, fans rooting for both teams as the game is underway. Spring 2013 Athleague Intramurals are giving students the feeling of being a part of a team trying to win a championship.
“We’re playing for one thing,” said Jesus Sanchez. “I hate the feeling of losing.”
Sanchez, junior sociology major said he enjoys the basketball intramurals mainly because he likes to play a team sport with all his friends.
“We all love to play together and build a tighter bond together as friends,” Sanchez said.
The Athleague Intramurals at S.C.S.U. occurs every year for both semesters. This spring semester there are numerous sports that students are participating in. The spring intramurals include: basketball, volleyball and floor hockey.
For the 2013 spring intramural basketball league, students play two 17-minute halves. The two teams who make it to the championship games get to enjoy the opportunity of playing on the official Southern Connecticut Basketball court.
Sophomore biology major Andrew Wallman, plays in the floor hockey league for the first time as a student at Southern. Wallman didn’t expect this league to be so competitive to the point where people actually become so emotional after certain plays.
“There are players who start swearing at the referee if they don’t get a penalty call,” said Wallman. “I thought one time a player was going to hit the referee.”
Floor hockey requires six to 12 players on each team with at least two males and two females. There are three ten-minute periods with a continuous clock until the last two minutes of the third period.
Wallman likes how the fairness of including both genders on a team because it shows the fairness to both genders.
“Including females and males on all the teams shows that this league wants both genders to become involved which is pretty cool,” Wallman said. “Other leagues I played in before would have separate leagues for both genders.”
The intramurals have numerous referees for all the sports who know about the game and rules. Sophomore business major Daryl Deguire referees the five-on-five basketball games and enjoys seeing competitive basketball.
“At times when I call a foul, you should see their reactions and how upset they get,” Deguire said. “I’m just trying to be fair and honest.”
Sophomore public health major Maria Ortiz is a part of the volleyball league. Ortiz played high school volleyball but didn’t get the chance to play for S.C.S.U. Volleyball has always been a part of her life and she had dreams of one day playing d-1 volleyball.
Pictured above are the 2012 fall semester softball intramural champions, “The Waffles”
“I always wanted to play d-1 volleyball and I could’ve played if I never slacked in training I believe,” said Ortiz. “But I enjoy these intramural games because it brings back memories of me playing in high school again.”
Students can sign up on the official Athleague website and create a team through their Southern email. There are other sports Athleague provides that include flag football, dodgeball and indoor soccer, that occurs in the fall. Wallman enjoys the opportunity to play numerous sports as a hobby outside of schoolwork.
“As long as I’m a Southern student,” Wallman said. “My goal is to play all the sports I can because these games make me feel like I’m an actual athlete.”
