It’s no secret that we as college students are in the midst of what many call the glory days. Twenty years from now, our memories of this time will be faded and worn, but treasured all the same. Though intramurals are a phenomenon on all college campuses, creating bonds through friendly competition across the country, the CC intramural league still feels pretty special. Now, before I get ahead of myself, I know what you’re thinking. How would the NARP know anything about intramural sports? Well haters, this week I’m here to tell my truth as a NARP that did the impossible; here is how I became the MVP of my intramural softball team (kind of): a step-by-step guide.
Step one is, of course, to get on a team. If you identify as a woman like I do, this is the easiest step. Begin by doing any activity, and wait for a call from a male friend telling you that if you don’t immediately come to Armstrong quad, their team will be disqualified. It’s that simple! The rules for intramural sports at CC, and all colleges, create quotas for the underrepresented gender on the team. According to Chris Starr, the Director of Campus Rec and the AFP Fitness Center, a majority female team occasionally happens in intramural volleyball, however it is very rare. During my stint in softball, I did not experience any teams that included over two women: the minimum allowed in the sport. This rule seems to be both strange and necessary in the world of co-ed sports. Sophomore Izzy Steucek, a two-year inner tube water polo competitor, finds the rule comforting.
“If there wasn’t a need for girls on the team, I would feel guilty taking the spot of someone that could probably play better than me,” Steucek explained. “I know I’m not the best player, but I also know that because of the rules, they couldn’t play without me.”
This athlete’s commentary leads me into my second step: feign confidence. Being one of the token females on your team doesn’t necessarily imbue a sense of talent, rather one of existence. A student and player who felt opinionated on this effect of the quotas was sophomore Marcela Onate-Trules.
“When they tell you they need you just because you’re a girl, you stop thinking of yourself as an outlet of talent for the team,” she explained. “We begin to take on the role of just a body rather than a player and subconsciously decide to leave the role of winning to our male teammates. We come to believe the men are more than just necessary in the way that we are.”
While she may have a point, my patented step two is sure to help avoid this trope. One surefire way to feign confidence is to name yourself the MVP during the first or second inning of your first game. After this, continue insisting on the team’s use of the title for the remainder of the season.
Step three is to stay at the game. This step is harder than it sounds. During my time on a softball team, I witnessed many female players on both teams leave halfway through the game. In our final game, one of our opponent’s female players decided to leave mid-game; this is what began Gillian Dohrn’s brief career on a softball team. When it came time for a second female batter, the team was able to coax Dohrn off the sidewalk into taking a single swing. Though it seemed rather rushed and impersonal, Dohrn didn’t seem to mind.
“Softball’s not my passion or anything so it’s not really a big deal to me if I’m not the star player,” Dohrn explained. “I guess I kind of think guys are more competitive than girls a lot of the time, which leads them to be a lot more invested in the team and the sport.”
Whether this lack of passion from female participants is created by the quotas or not, it does seem to be one of the biggest reasons for the low female participation. According to Starr, even when testing out new rules that involved a necessary 50/50 participation from both genders, female participation was too low to even create enough teams.
The fourth step is to do it for more than just the shirt. As some players have mentioned, many appear to play for the love of competition. It is this aspect of the league that many women attributed their fear of intramurals to. When asked about the level of competition that these games sometimes get elevated to, Starr attributed it to nothing but the students.
“I pay 5 dollars for a shirt, you guys create the competition,” Starr said.
And so, it seems we are the answer to all of our intramural mysteries. We create the competition or lack thereof in women, we decide who will be the star players, and we are the ones who are choosing to wait for calls instead of creating our own female dominant teams. If you really want to become the MVP of your team, I urge you to stop being afraid to play like a girl. And when the guys get too competitive and upset, remind them, there’s no crying in softball.