Giving up your high school sport to solely pursue college academics can be a difficult and daunting task for a senior. Sports have an interesting way of grabbing our hearts and gripping tight until we completely fall in love with them. You start as a young kid, maybe because your parents forced you to, or you were sitting around the house bored. Whatever it is, the bonds and memories formed during the participation of that sport hold near and dear to your heart. However, God did not create every high school athlete to go on and play Division 1 or professional football, so like me, you go to college and those exciting sporting events become distant memories.
Going to college and deciding not to play soccer was a difficult decision for me. I constantly weighed the pros and cons of joining the Grove City Men’s Soccer team with my parents, coaches, and teammates. In the end, I decided that sticking to just academics and hanging up the soccer cleats was the best decision for me. This was truly a bummer because I had been playing soccer since I was 3 and felt that a part of me going to be lost. This could not have been further from the truth.
Within my first week at Grove City College, I had multiple friends, upperclassmen, and hall-mates excitedly describe and inform me about various intramural sports that happened on our campus! They explained to me that intramural sports, or IM’s, are a great way to continue playing your favorite sports competitively at a lesser than collegiate level, form new relationships with people, and take a study break from exams and homework. I was instantly intrigued and decided to form various IM teams myself. Everything I heard about IM’s was spot on. They were very competitive, made for a great study break, and helped me to make a ton of new friends. This was the perfect place for a washed-up high school athlete, like me, to go.
Grove City College proudly offers over 20 IM sports that any student can participate in. A few of these sports include but are not limited to soccer, football, basketball, ultimate Frisbee, spike-ball, softball, rocket league (e-sports), and tennis. Almost all of the IM sports offered have a men’s, women’s, and co-ed section. Within these sections, there are different leagues, such as A-League, B-League, and C-League to monitor the level of competition. Winning an IM championship means more than bragging rights over your fellow competition, as each member of the winning team receives a free t-shirt that you design. Grove City College has recently switched over to a fully functional website and app called IMLeagues, which allows for easy signups, game reminders, and stat recording availability. Participating in intramural sports has been one of my best college decisions, and I would highly recommend any incoming freshman looking for fun to give them a try.
This is a picture of my freshman year IM Soccer team winning our first championship. We have played together for four consecutive years now and the bonds could not be stronger.
