To many people, fall brings thoughts of going back to school, leaves changing colors, clocks turning back and cooler temperatures. To sports fans, the most important thing fall brings is football. Virginia Wesleyan College offers two leagues of intramural flag football.
Dean of Freshman and Director of the Jane P. Batten Student Center Jason Seward is responsible for setting up intramural leagues. Seward graduated in 2005 from Virginia Wesleyan College and played flag football all four years.
“Flag football is by far one of our most popular fall intramural sports. Intramural sports are a great way to get involved by making new friends and having a blast,” Seward said.
There are two flag football leagues, a men’s league and a coed league which all VWC students and faculty members are eligible to sign up to play. Though the teams get very competitive, the flag football teams do not compete against other schools. The competition stays within the community, which gives the players on each team a chance to talk a little smack in the days prior to the games. Senior Laura Robusto has played in the coed league for two years.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Throughout my two years on the team, it is more than playing a sport, I have met different students and have built personal relationships with many team members. I have also learned about their personalities on and off the field,” Robusto said.
Sophomores Logan Arnold, Brad Lill and Thomas Potts were members of last year’s league and are considering playing again this year.
“It has been an awesome experience. It is a great way to meet new friends in a competitive aspect. It is also a great opportunity to get involved back in a sport that the school does not offer as a regular fall sport,” Arnold said. For many students this gives them a chance to play a sport they enjoy and give them the chance to maybe Moss somebody or make an amazing catch.
Potts feels similarly. “It is a great experience to get involved on campus and I love the competition among the marlin community,” Potts said.
For many students, the feeling of winning is a thrill they look forward to every semester. “I really enjoyed playing in the men’s league last year. I like playing together to reach an objective such as winning the game,” Lill said.
One of the biggest controversies of the last years league was the argument over the fact that cleats could not be used. The games are played on Birdsong Field which last year was brand new and the athletics department did not want cleats being worn on the field. While the players always asked the question, Why can soccer wear cleats when they practice on the turf but we can’t? This question was never fully answered, but this year it will be. Jason Seward confirmed that cleat will be allowed to be worn on the turf, but they must be molded cleats. Metal cleats “spikes” are not allowed on the turf.
Intramural sports are a great way to make new friends and get involved on campus. Be a part of the Marlin community, join our flag football leagues and encourage your peers to attend the games.
The Marlin flag football leagues play at Birdsong Field on Tuesday and Thursday nights under the lights starting around 8 p.m. and ending around 11 p.m. Interested players should register at the reception desk inside the Batten Welcome Center next to the rock wall. Registration ends Sept. 16. The flag football season will begin the week of Oct. 1 and will continue through November.
Patrick Suttle
pjsuttle@vwc.edu
Corey King
ckking1@vwc.edu
(Photo: Thomas Mills | Marlin Chronicle)
