Growing up playing sports was one of my favorite things. I played softball since I was four up to the summer before my freshman year at Wichita State. When it came time to decide where I was going to college, I had to weigh my options between continuing to play softball or focusing on my academics. Knowing that I was going to study Elementary Education I wanted to get as much time in the classroom as possible, so I decided to hang up my cleats.

My first semester at Wichita State was the first time I didn’t have practice multiple times a week and tournaments on the weekend. I didn’t know what to do with the free time I had. I attended Welcomefest, an event that happens at the beginning of each semester to welcome students back to campus and promote different opportunities and activities that are available to students. At Welcomefest, I learned about all of the intramural sports WSU has to offer, and that there’s a softball league in the spring. I also learned about the WSU Campus Recreation app, which shows all the available intramural leagues and allows you to sign up or join a team all in the same app.

When it came time to register for softball, I met some people through classes who were creating a team, so I was able to go through the Campus Recreation app and join their team. What I love about intramurals is that you don’t have to have a team before you join. You can join as what is called a Free Agent and a team can pick you up and put you on their team. Intramurals are a low time commitment so they're perfect for someone with a busy schedule. Your team picks a day and time that works best for everyone, and you and your team will play 1 –2 games on the day you picked. At the end of the season, there’s a tournament where all the teams in the division compete to be intramural champions!

Being able to participate in intramural sports has allowed me to still play a sport that I love, without a huge time commitment. I’ve met some of my best friends because of participating in intramurals. It’s another great free opportunity that WSU provides for its students!