Intramural sports have become increasingly popular at Christopher Newport University, giving students the opportunity to play competitively in a more relaxed environment. There are many intramural sports offered on campus, including kickball, softball, flag football and soccer. The regular season for coed outdoor soccer began on Sept. 23, with ten teams competing each week. As each team prepared for this week’s round of playoff games, The Captain’s Log had the chance to speak to team Razzmatazz about their experience playing an intramural sport.
The team name came from a silly search on the internet by junior Piper Palmer, who sent the name to their group chat not expecting everyone to agree to it. Last season, the players on team Razzmatazz were on two separate teams and while they loved playing against each other, they decided to form a team together this season. Team Razzmatazz practices once a week on the JR field, where they get ready for games by doing kicking drills and listening to music to get hyped up.
Team captain, junior Janelle Pineda, shared that the best thing about being on an intramural team is playing in a less stressful environment between other CNU students. “I feel like it’s more fun, because you’re playing against other teams who don’t take the sport too seriously,” Pineda said.
“It’s not as strenuous and more laid back,” junior Lindsay Deyton said.
With varying degrees of skill level, the members of this team have been able to learn from each other and improve throughout the season.
“The more we practice with each other and the more we’ve gotten to know how the other teams play, the better our team chemistry has become,” Deyton said.
“I feel like we’ve definitely bonded and gotten better as a team and learned how to play together and communicate better,” Palmer said.
A challenge that comes with playing any kind of sport is maintaining a healthy balance between having fun and being competitive. Pineda explained that she keeps the mindset of going out and having fun, rather than feeling the need to win every single game. Other players shared similar thoughts.
“We’re all friends, so we can let loose and have fun,” Deyton said.
“We’re all just happy to be here with no pressure,” Palmer said.
As the team took the field for the first half of their last game, everyone on the field was ready to have fun. Watching both teams support their teammates was fun to watch. Shortly after the second half began, Palmer got struck in the face by the ball.
“I was standing there going to block it and I was prepared to get it, but it hit me in the face instead,” Palmer said while being checked for a concussion.
A unique challenge that comes with playing an intramural sport is not having a coach. However, team Razzmatazz feels that their relaxed environment gives them the chance to handle disputes or difficulties civilly.
“We all know that it’s not too serious so we can speak freely without having any disputes,” junior Norah Sheldon said.
