As the school year begins to unwind so do Intramural events

With only two weeks of regular classes remaining the campus recreation staff is beginning to close out the 2010-2011 intramural season. Currently, only one intramural is still being played.

Last week the first ever spring four on four volleyball intramural league kicked off its inaugural season with a weather postponement due to wet sand, and dangerous playing conditions. Games were pushed to Monday and every game that was scheduled for that night was completed as planned.

Unlike other intramural events beach volleyball starts earlier in the evening. The first games are always played at 5 p.m. so that students can take advantage of the weather, and to avoid poor lighting conditions. The rules of beach volleyball are exactly the same of indoor volleyball. Each team plays with four people. If that team has an extra player on their roster then they must rotate them in accordingly. It is a best of five games format, if the two teams are forty five minutes into their match and have yet to play the fourth or fifth sets then the games are shortened to fifteen. Each game must be won by two points. If the net is touched by any player at any time during a volley then the play is stopped and the opposing team is rewarded with the point.

As the month of April slows down the staff hopes that all of the upcoming games will take place as scheduled without any weather delays. "The first night everyone was excited to play, we all play beach together outside of the intramural during our free time and its too bad we had to cancel because of the bad court conditions. Hopefully from now on we can get all of the teams to their matches on time, and complete each match before the playoffs start", said Intramural Supervisor Nate Goralnik.

The final intramural event of the school is the annual spring softball tournament that will take place on a Saturday. The exact date has yet to be determined but students can expect to receive an email notifying them of the event in the next couple of days. 

Avoiding the freshman fifteen

As high school seniors prepare for graduation and look ahead to their lives in college, one health related question seems to be of major concern. What is the best way to avoid the dreaded “freshman fifteen?” For those of you who don’t know, the freshman fifteen refers to the excessive weight gained during a student’s freshman year. Fifteen pounds has become a suspected average and some students gain a lot less or a lot more weight. The reasons for this weight gain are simple. College is typically the first time students are expected to make their own health and nutrition decisions on their own. With buffet style cafeterias all across the country, students are opting for fattier and greasier foods. These comfort foods often help students deal with home sickness as well as the stress that goes along with transition to a new atmosphere.

In spite of all this, there is still hope. Students can take a few easy steps towards keeping themselves fit and healthy. The first step actually encourages more frequent eating.

1. Eat small snacks: The school day for a college student is typically long and drawn out. The reason for this relates directly to the amount of clubs and activities on campus, as well as the way many students’ schedule are spread throughout an entire day. As a result, many students find themselves binging at the cafeteria. This means that since they only eat two or three times a day, they are forced to fill up when they hit the caf. As a result, the body doesn’t have ample time to metabolize and students in turn gain excess weight. By keeping yourself nourished throughout the day you deny the temptation to binge. Constantly having food in your stomach will actually help you to lose weight as it keeps your metabolism going.

2. Eat smart: Everyday, the cafeteria offers burgers, pizza, cake and French fries. Having these delicious fatty foods available all the time is certainly difficult. If the dining hall doesn’t offer something you like then you’ll be even more likely to indulge in these fatty foods, which are provided every day. It is important to recognize and utilize your campus’ salad and sandwich bars. If there aren’t any main courses that appeal to you. Have a sandwich soup and salad. These three things are offered just as often as pizza and burgers and they’ll definitely be better for you.

3. Stay conscious, even late: When the cafeteria is closed and the options become limited, it’s easy to order take-out. In doing so, you expose yourself to late night calories and carbohydrates that your body can’t burn, they are then stored as fat. To avoid this, keep your refrigerator stocked with healthy snacks. If you have healthy food around you’ll be much less likely to call for something fatty.

4. Manage your alcohol consumption: Alcohol is full of empty calories. Students often forget that consuming alcohol frequently results in massive weight gains. In order to avoid this one must manage their intake. Only have a few drinks. Binging on alcohol is just as detrimental as binging on food as far as your metabolism is concerned. Simply don’t forget that alcohol packs on the pounds.

5. Join and Intramural: Intramural sports are a great way to stay active. When the body exercises, metabolism dramatically increases. By joining intramurals, you commit yourself to exercise on a fixed schedule. These organized events will also encourage you to stay active when you aren’t participating.

Pool is cool

Billiards are ancient games that date all the way back to the 15th century. There are multiple types of of billiard games also known as cue sports but pool is the most well known in America. Eight ball and nine ball are the two most popular and nine ball is what the pros play on TV. Pool is a game of angles, patience, touch, positioning and strategy (as in looking ahead to the next shot). There are a lot of different things that a person needs to be a good pool player. There are different types of ways to hit the cue ball to make it spin a certain dircetion, known as "putting english one it", you have to know how to jam the cue ball to make it stop in a certain spot, you have to know how to jump the cue ball and you have to know how hard/where you want to hit the cue ball so you can make the current shot and then have the cue ball lined up to make the next shot after it. If you have ever watched pool on TV then you know that one mistake can make you lose the match. Pro's like Jeannette Lee (the black widow) sit around waiting for their openent to make that one mistake so they can takeover and run the table. Pool intramurals started on April 5, but if you're ever bored and are looking for something fun to do with a bunch of friends and just want to hang out and socialize, head down to the bubble and shoot some pool.

Stretch and stay hydrated

As the weather improves and we spend more and more time outside, we need to remember these two important things before we leave it all on the field or in the back yard.

1. Stretch: Even if you’re going for a slow jog you can never be too careful. Be sure to stretch before and after physical activity to prevent serious injury. April Johnson of Yahoo.com puts it best, “When you lift weight, your muscles exert force in order to overcome the stress. When you exert more force than what your muscles are used to exerting in daily activities, they develop micro tears in the fibers.” This is natural. However, in order to benefit from physical activity you need to gain elasticity. Without stretching, these muscles and fibers will remain stiff and greatly increase any chance of injury.

2. Remain Hydrated: As the days heat up and the sun burns brighter, it is important to keep hydrated. According to ExtremeNutrition.com, “75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. (Likely applies to half the world population) In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger. Even mild dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as much as 3%. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study.” So if you’re out tossing the ball around with friends or shooting some hoops at your local park, bring water. In many cases, people know they are dehydrating before they suffer exhaustion. If you aren’t near a water source you need to know your limits. Just because your friends seem all right doesn’t mean you can go on forever without a break or a drink.

You’ve probably been hearing this advice your entire life. Don’t take it for granted. Every year, muscles are torn and athletes collapse due to a sheer stubbornness and naivety. These spring and summer months are what New Englanders look forward to all year. Make them count, but don’t forget to stretch and remember to keep water with you wherever you go.

We Need Your Help!

Traffic has been increasing and more and more intramural athletes have been drawn to our site. However, we need more readership. We need your teammates, your friends, your parents and anyone else who might be interested in intramural sports. So here is where you come in.... What can we do to improve our site? Let us know, check out the contacts section and don’t be shy about sending us emails. We want to hear from you!

Spring weather is here...and so is beach volleyball

The snow at Franklin Pierce has finally stopped...or so we think. As the temperatures continue to climb into the upper forties and low fifties the campus recreation department has announced that the outdoor volleyball court will be set up on April 7th.
As most students know last year the trailers housing units were knocked down due to poor building conditions. This left a large vacant lot on far side of campus. Campus recreation director Doug Carty decided to build an outdoor beach volleyball court for the students. The new court not only provided students with a new pass time activity but it paved the way to a new, fall intramural event. The fall four verse four beach volleyball intramural was a highly successful event which lasted deep into the month of October. Students were still seen on the court in frigid weather conditions, adamant about wrapping their seasons up with an intramural championship tee-shirt.
Once the court is re-opened, and the sand is tampered with and loosened a new spring event will take place. The schools first spring four verse four and two verse two tournaments will take place. The dates have yet to be determined but there is already a buzz about the event circulating throughout the campus.
The court will be open to everyone on campus and students will have the opportunity to rent volleyballs from the bubble in exchange for their Franklin Pierce I.D.'s
"I am really excited to get out on the court. The last time I played on it the weather was miserable but my team stuck it out in nothing but shorts to capture the first ever beach volleyball championship, said Senior Justin Wiener."
One of Weiner's teammates from that championship team fellow Senior Brandon Burton added, " Volleyball is probably my favorite intramural on campus. Over spring break my friends and I traveled to Florida and played everyday. I think this years tournament will be a huge success and I look forward to seeing the turn out."
For more information on the upcoming event you can stop by the bubble. You can also email Doug Carty or Brad Avenia.

Summer is around the corner...

With summer vacation just a month away, the opportunities to join Franklin Pierce Intramurals is slowly fading away. There is still time to sign up for a few events that will take place over the next couple weeks, but if you are a returning student or an incoming freshman reading this, then here are some times to follow for the fall semester.

Over the course of the summer, stay active by participating in some of your favorite sporting games within your local town. Whether it is baseball, basketball, football, volleyball, soccer, etc, just get out there and play because as Nick mentioned last week, staying active is a great way to meet new people, keep in touch with old friends, and stay in shape. If your town does not offer such activities that Franklin Pierce Intramurals, then be proactive by getting people together and forming groups/ teams that can play against each other once a week at your local park.

Don't feel down if you missed out on not participating in any intramurals this past year as in the fall semester flag football and softball will be starting up a couple of weeks into the year. Get people from your hallway or dormitory complex and come out and play. As we have mentioned, it is a great way to meet new people or introduce yourself to people that you would not ordinarily talk to in the first place.

Don't complain about having nothing to do when intramural sports is being held every Monday through Thursday both semesters.