Intramural sports picking up fast

Flag football, volleyball and 5 vs. 5 basketball are just a few of the intramural sports offered at AASU. Intramural sports are exactly what students need to gain sportsmanship skills while having fun and being social in an athletic setting. Even the non-traditional sports like ultimate Frisbee and indoor soccer are available. Students yearning for grade school favorites such as kickball are at the right place. No matter what the sport, a simple e-mail is enough to get a team started or join a pre-existing team. If officiating the game sounds better than actually playing it, each sport has officials training. Intramural flag football is offered for men, women and co-rec. The men's and women's team are 7 vs. 7 while the co-rec is 8 vs. 8. Senior Eaneajia Armstrong has played intramural flag football since she arrived at AASU. Three years ago, the H.A.M team was created, which she is now captain and quarterback. Team H.A.M went undefeated last season and they hope to do the same this season. She said she enjoys playing intramural sports because it helps her to continue sports in college while going to classes and staying fit. "You put in a lot of effort but there's no scholarship involved, it's all you," Armstrong said. "Last year we went undefeated." Intramural sports give students an opportunity to practice the sports they love as if they were on a collegiate team. Although the deadlines for flag football and ultimate Frisbee have passed, volleyball, indoor soccer and kickball are approaching. The deadline for preseason 5 vs. 5 basketball is Oct. 21, and some students who have played before are really looking forward to it. Senior Ashley Hightower has played intramural basketball since she came to AASU in 2007. "I started my freshman year and that year my team went to state," she said. "I pretty much have been playing ever since. "We just went out to have fun. It wasn't a set practice with plays." Signing up for intramural sports is a simple process. To start a new team a captain must be chosen, and all the other players must fill out an entry form, but only during the registration period for that sport. Some students, such as sophomore Sean Buckley, join intramural teams as freshmen. A football player for team P.D.I., Buckley said he looks forward to this upcoming season. "We're going to go undefeated, and we're pretty excited," he said. "It's going to get rowdy."