For a school that does not particularly emphasize athletics, Wesleyan boasts a thriving intramural sports scene. As a new student last year I was surprised by the amount of enthusiasm and dedication across the teams and leagues in which I played. I was also equally impressed by the various levels of competition offered. The three most popular sports – soccer, basketball, and slow- pitch softball – consist of an A, B, and C league. So whether you are a student looking to try a sport for the first time, or the “captain” of your high school “varsity” team clinging to those glory days, the intramural scene has something for you!

Like varsity sports, the intramu- ral calendar is organized by season. Soccer and squash commence in the fall followed by basketball, dodge- ball, and broomball in the winter, with slow-pitch softball, indoor soccer, and squash again rounding things out in the spring. My foray into intramurals began last winter when I participated on the storied “impossible dream” Psi U dodgeball team. Unfortunately, the dream was, in fact, impossible as we lost all our matches on the last day of the regu- lar season and missed the playoffs by the slightest of margins. This har- rowing choke show prompted me to retreat into my dorm room for weeks of soul searching. Fortunately, with the help of my philosophy FYI I found solace in the writings of Albert Camus. “Freedom is noth- ing but a chance to be better….” I pondered, sent out some emails, and the “Ball Crushers” of spring squash were born. Sadly, tragedy struck as I tore a ligament in my thumb shortly thereafter, relegating me to the 60- day disabled list and effectively end- ing my season. But all this adversity has hardly been for naught; indeed it’s left me hungrier than ever. I’ve added 10 pounds of muscle and have managed to get my 40 yard dash down to 4.3 seconds.

Anyway, enough about me. If you are at all interested in playing an intramural sport you should defi- nitely go for it.

“But Adam, I can’t run a 40 in 4.3,” you might be thinking right now. “Are you sure I’m good enough for intramurals?”

Absolutely. As I said earlier there are several different levels of competition offered, and even with- in those levels there is a pretty wide variation of skill.

“But I don’t have any friends. How will I get a team together?”

Go to wesleyan.edu/athlet- ics/intramurals for instructions on either finding players or being matched with an existing team, but be sure to act quick, as the fall sea- son is set to commence in a couple weeks!