Tufts Blogs

Soccer and basketball are my favorite sports. In soccer, I have always loved midfield players. There is something special about watching them control the game, create chances out of nowhere, and deliver passes that leave everyone wondering how they even saw the opening. At Tufts, I watched every single home game our men's soccer team played and every home game our Men's basketball team played as well plus a couple of other games. Watching those teams compete made me appreciate the sports even more and, at one point, even made me consider trying out for the soccer team myself.

Although I was interested in playing varsity soccer, I could not make the time commitment that comes with being a student-athlete. Instead, I found my place in intramural sports, which turned out to be one of the best decisions I have made at Tufts. Intramurals are a great way to stay active, compete, and have fun with friends. You simply gather your people, create a team, and see what happens. Our team, Intore, had a fantastic regular season, and I spent most of it playing midfield, where I felt comfortable and could actually help the team.

Then the finals arrived. For some reason, my teammates decided that I should play goalkeeper. Let us just say that decision did not age well. I conceded a generous number of goals, enough that the opposing team probably still remembers me fondly. While it was not my finest sporting moment, it was definitely one of my most memorable. To be clear, I am not a bad soccer player, I am simply a bad goalie. There is a difference. During the season, I scored some good goals and had some great moments, but unfortunately none of those talents seemed useful once I was standing between the posts.

Despite the result, I had a great time playing alongside my boys. The experience taught me two important lessons: first, I will never play goalkeeper again; second, I will be playing intramurals for as long as I am at Tufts. One thing I have learned from the Tufts community is that failing is not a bad thing. My teammates have been supportive, and I am pretty sure they have forgiven me. Either way, we will be back next season, stronger, wiser, and hopefully with an actual goalkeeper next season, determined to compete for another championship.

Our next challenge will be basketball. My teammates want me to play center because I am a little taller than most of them, but I am slightly concerned that this may become another goalkeeper situation. I am not the most aggressive player, and I am definitely not the strongest, but I will have fun trying this new role. And if basketball does not work out, there is always volleyball, tennis, pickleball, flag football, or dodgeball. At this point, no intramural sport is safe. So if you are planning to play intramural soccer or basketball, be warned: Intore will be there. We are coming back for redemption.

To my fellow sports fans, I hope you will/are enjoying the World Cup or, if you are reading this after it is over, I hope you enjoyed it. I will see you on the court, on the pitch, or wherever intramurals take us next. More importantly, I hope I will see you there because intramurals have helped me build a community at Tufts, meet incredible people, and create memories that I will carry long after graduation. Hopefully they will help me meet you too, and we can have some fun together.