The Collegian
Intramural Sports

by Masahiro Suzuki

Index:
April 13, 2005
April 27, 2005
September 28, 2005
October 19, 2005
November 2, 2005
November 30, 2005

April 27, 2005
Captains reflect on IM Ultimate season

Today I’d like to write about Ultimate Frisbee. This IM sport is in the final stage now. There are four teams participating in this recreation sport, which has taken place since March 31. Each team played six league games on the Sparks soccer field, and they started the postseason playoffs last Thursday Apr. 21. I watched the games and asked some team captains some questions. Here are my questions and the captains’ answers.

Michael Kakuk, captain of the Classified:

What is your feeling about the last game?
Kakuk: We were happy to at least score once during the last game. The other team was very, very good, and the outcome of the game was never a question.

What do you think was the cause of a defeat?
Kakuk: Our opponents were all good athletes, who have obviously played Ultimate before. They were very skillful and organized. We, in contrast, had mostly not played Ultimate before.

What do you think is attractive about “Ultimate Frisbee”?
Kakuk: Ultimate is a good way to get outside and get some exercise. The game is usually more laid back than other sports, and I highly recommend it.

Mark Banscay, captain of the team Future Supermodels of America:

What is your feeling about the last game?
Banscay: For our previous game, I thought it was representative of every game we've played so far. It was well played, it was fun, and the weather was excellent. I think we all gave our best and it showed with our resulting win.

What do you think was the cause of victory?
Banscay: We won our last game because I think our team is extremely talented and we look extraordinarily good. We play every game with a positive mindset and we go out and have fun. We also have a lot of players that have never played ultimate Frisbee before, and I think their ability to learn quickly and adapt to the game has given us an upper hand when they play with others with the same amount of experience. We've also got a bunch of guys on the team that is just plain good.

Could you tell me about your eagerness for the championship?
Banscay: T-shirts. We won the IM championship t-shirts, it's that simple.

What do you think is attractive about Ultimate Frisbee?
Banscay: Ultimate Frisbee, unlike other sports, is a very laid back and easy to learn sport but it has a degree of difficulty, enough so that people become motivated to play better. I think learning the game is extremely fun and fun to watch. I enjoy "bidding" which is basically diving for the Frisbee not to mention, ultimate Frisbee is one of the few sports that anyone, including men, can wear dresses or skirts to play.

Cole Ingraham, captain of the team Irish Car bombs:

What is your feeling about the last game?
Ingraham: I am looking forward to playing my best with my teammates.

What do you think was the cause of victory?
Ingraham: I think that winning is important, but that most of all one should have fun and enjoy playing, whether it is ultimate Frisbee or another sport.

Could you tell me about your eagerness for championship?
Ingraham: I am looking forward to the championship game, and I hope to win because my teammates and I all want to win the IM Champion shirts.

What do you think is attractive about Ultimate Frisbee?
Ingraham: I like ultimate Frisbee because of all the different ways that one throws a Frisbee, and the fact that it is a fast paced and fluid game.

In my opinion, Ultimate Frisbee is a really fun sport. If you get a little technique then everyone can play Ultimate Frisbee. Watching these games was a new experience for me because Japan doesn’t have Ultimate Frisbee. Actually we know Frisbee, and some people play Frisbee. But it is just to hang out. I hope Ultimate Frisbee will be a more popular sport all over the world.

September 28 , 2005
Intramural Sports Update

Today, I would like to write about one student who works as IM supervisor from the Atkinson school. This is the first time he has worked as the IM supervisor from the Atkinson school. His name is Michael Robinson. He graduated from the Willamette Undergraduate program this past year ('05) and is currently enrolled in the MBA program. He is from Honolulu, HI. When he graduates he hopes to work in marketing, specifically in retail, and possibly in a sports-related industry.

When asked why he decided to work as an IM supervisor this year, Robinson said, “I have worked in the IM program for 5 years, working as both a referee and supervisor. It is very satisfying to give back to the program and help it to both grow and develop through the hard work I put in. The job helps me to develop my skills as a supervisor/manager and helps me to grow for my future profession.”

I asked Robinson to describe his job as a supervisor and he stated, “As a supervisor I feel that I help to make the program run. We hire and train referees specifically for each sport. Additionally, we plan out the schedule for the entire campus recreation calendar year. In addition to league IM, we also put on one-day tournaments which students have enjoyed very much in past years.”

I then asked Robinson how it feels to be the first person to work as an IM supervisor from The Atkinson School. “I feel that it is necessary to bring a bond between the undergraduate and graduate campuses. There is usually tension between the various schools, so acting as the liaison between the two should be very rewarding.” Robinson said.

Robinson commented about IM sports in general stating, “IMs are great because they allow you to meet new people, have a fun time, and enjoy a sport that you love to play at any competitive level. Students that no longer have the time to commit to a varsity level sport can have a great time playing at a high level.”

I think IM sports are grate too. IM sports are fun for all students. I have already taken part in IM sports; I had a fun time and made many friends. So I hope many Willamette, Atkinson and TIUA students stay interested in the IM sports event. Also, I am glad if my articles get the word out about IM sports.

I am Masahiro Suzuki. I am one of the TIUA students. I have worked as the Intramural (IM) sports journalist since I came to Willamette in February. This is my first article to appear in The Collegian this year, although I already wrote twice last semester. I will keep writing about IM sports for The Collegian until I will go back to Japan in December.

October 19, 2005
Law, TIUA Students Ref Intramurals

Now that many Willamette and TIUA students are playing IM outdoor soccer and IM indoor volleyball, I would like to write about four soccer referees: one law School student, James Cleavenger, and three TIUA students, Yohei Arai, Shimpei Namba and Yohsuke Mizukami. I focused on these referees because it is the first time both law and TIUA students have been IM referees. Usually Willamette students who signed up to be referees or IM supervisors referee IM sports.

When asked why they decided to participate as referees, James said, “For the last year I lived in Liverpool, England while earning a degree (an LLM) in International Law from the University of Liverpool. While I was a student I played goalkeeper for the international team that consisted of players from 12 countries and I simply fell in love with ‘the beautiful game.’

In fact, Liverpool FC won the European Cup (AKA The Champions League), which turned an already soccer-crazed city into a madhouse for a month. In the final game, Liverpool came back from being down 0-3 against Milan to win in a shoot-out double overtime. (This was as unlikely and as incredible as the Boston Red Sox coming back from 3 games down to the New York Yankees to win the World Series last year.) I also lived a year in Sheffield, England for a year, but their soccer team (Sheffield United) is crap. Anyway, I got the soccer bug and now I just want to be around the game as much as possible. Being a ref at Willamette allows me to be involved with the game that I love.”

Yohei said, “I just wanted to help Bryan (Director of Campus Recreation), running the event for anything, and I'm familiar with soccer rules, and he suggested to me. So I decided to be a referee.”

Shimpei said, “I thought to want to be pioneer when I heard it had never happened to referee IM sports from TIUA students.”

I asked them about some enjoyable things and difficult things when they referee. James said, “Enjoyable things are seeing the many great players Willamette has, especially some of the internationals. ‘T’ of the team ‘We Are Good’ is incredible, one of the best I've seen, anywhere. The women’s games on Sundays are also very good and usually a lot more fun because it seems the women’s teams are out there to actually have a good time as opposed to a lot of men’s teams that tend to play the game a bit too seriously at times."

One TIUA referee said, “And there is a lot of talent in the women's division as well.... Difficult things are that making sure people understand my English accent when I make calls. You see, I only speak in ‘English’ when I am around soccer because for me you cannot have one without the other. Soccer is English, and I feel we need a little British touch to the games to make them legit.

Otherwise, it can be hard not to go over and tell the team that is losing at half-time what they should do to improve their game. I want to help out, but I realize that is not my roll as a ref. Perhaps I'll try coaching next.”

TIUA referees discussed, “We can feel that we are like Willamette members, and to enjoy watching the games. Also if there are some TIUA students in that game, we can enjoy it more. On the other hand, difficult things are to recognize whether it is a foul or not, because that rules are little difficult from real soccer.”

Then I asked them how it feels to be the first person to referee from the law school and or TIUA students. James said, “ As far as the first law school ref goes, I am just surprised that is true. It would seem natural for a future lawyer to want to get out there and ‘lay down the law’ on the pitch. Besides, if there is some foul play that goes on above and beyond the usual minor penalties, a law student might be able to scoop up some clients for a future tort claim and thus some business!!”

TIUA students said, “We are really proud of that. We were surprised that is first time having the referees from TIUA. We hope that it is going to lead for having referees from TIUA.”

All sports need referees and referees must be fair. I can say that the same goes for IM sports. IM sports have original rules, but there is referee training, so everybody can referee. So please notice not only players but also referees next IM games.

November 2, 2005
Somos La Leche battles the "A" Team for the coed championship title

The intramural soccer and volleyball league playoffs finished two weeks ago. All games were going grate and there was much excitement. I would like to write about some men ’s and coed IM soccer playoff games.

I interviewed IM supervisor, Erik Brudvig. He said, “The soccer league this year was, in a word, competitive. The level of talent, both from the players and the referees was really impressive. The games were always hard fought and fun to watch, especially the playoffs.” I think the best game was the coed semifinal match between Somos La Leche and OTOD (One Team, One Dream). OTOD was ahead 3-1 in the final minutes of the game and Somos La Leche pulled their keeper and scored two last minute goals to send the game to overtime. Then, in the first six seconds of overtime, Somos La Leche scored to win the game 4-3 and advance to the final match.

When asked how awesome the game was, Jaime Mata Miguez of the team Somos La Leche, said, “The semifinal was one of the most fun games I have ever played.” Michael Miller, also of Somos La Leche, said, “The semifinal game was perhaps one of the most exciting soccer games I have ever been involved in.” They also commented that they appreciate there supporters. Miquez said, “It was awesome because many international students were beside the field supporting us, and in every goal we got they shouted a lot and the atmosphere was great.”

The coed final game was between Somos La Leche and The "A" Team. The "A" Team ended with a win of 2-0. I interviewed to Benjamin Decherd, a member of The "A" Team. I asked him about what his feeling was when he finished the game. He said, “It was great to win the game since this was the last year at Willamette for some of us. However, I was sorry that the international team did not win because they all played very well and they too will not have another chance next year.” Also I asked w hat he thought was the cause of victory. He said, “I think that we just played hard and had some good luck on our side. My only comment is that if I could have chosen another team to win, it would have been the international team.”

The men's final game was between Malice and Studfinder. Studfinder won with a 3-0 victory. Tyler Helbach, a member of Studfinder said, “I thought we played well as a team and we won because we followed Owen's firm but fair coaching philosophy.” Owen Gabbert, a senior history major, is the team captain of Studfinder. He was also captain in the "A" team, so he left with two champions. Owen commented on the two teams, “We won both championships last year, so I was optimistic that we could win both this year, but there were a lot of quality teams so it was not easy. It was nice to see so many people come out and play, including a TIUA team and a team made of international students. It is a great way for people to stay active and have fun,” Owen said. I asked how he felt about getting both champions, and he said, “I'm just glad to be going out on top. I won't be back next year and it would have been disappointing to go out on a bad note.”

Soccer is one of the largest international sports and I’m looking forward to the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Congratulations to all the members of the champion teams!

November 30, 2005
Who will wear the IM champioship tee?

The Intramural flag football and 3v3 basketball league games finished before Thanksgiving break. The final teams will now begin the playoffs. I’d like to write about two teams. They were defending champion from last year. The “Wingbats” were the defending champions of coed flag football, and the “Phoenix Foundation” were the defending champions of men’s 3v3 basketball. Now they are trying to win two consecutive championships in IM sports. Danea Watson is captain of the Wingbats, and Jeffrey Auxier is captain of the Phoenix Foundation.

First I asked them about last year. Danea said, “Our team won probably because of our deep commitment and intense dedication to each other and to sport of flag football. We had great team spirit, and we practiced whenever we made time into our busy schedules. We had some great games, but the most memorable game was our win in the championship game. Some people might call it luck, but I call it hard work meeting opportunity.”

Jeffrey said, “We won last year because we played really well as a team. At the start of the season we were pretty sloppy, but we realized soon that we nobody could stop us and we could beat anyone. Tyler was a monster defender, so nobody could beat us offensively, Steve was a great outside shooter and passer, and I was able to use get a lot of shots inside. Plus, we're law school students, and this was the only thing we did besides study, so we probably took it more seriously than anyone else.”

When asked about the league games this year, Denea said, “League games this year have been much more competitive than last year. The teams have really "brought it" this year as far as skills, athleticism, and heart of course. Coed flag football is becoming mainstream on this fine Willamette campus.”

Jeffrey said, “League games were a little rocky to begin with, since we added two new guys to the team - John Powell and Eddy Impert. But we have definitely meshed now. John Powell is an eyes-in-the-back-of-his-head passer, and Eddy is a massive brute who doesn't take crap from anyone inside. I guarantee victory against any team we play.”

Then I asked them if they have confidence in winning two consecutive titles, Deana said, “To win again this year, we are going to have to work extra hard. One particular team, jealous of our glory no doubt, has been recruiting since last November for coed flag football. But I believe in our team, and we believe in ourselves. We've got some tricks up our sleeves and hopefully we can pull another championship win.”

Jeffrey said, “Like I said, it doesn't matter who we play: I guarantee victory. We may have lost some games in league, but like the mighty phoenix that is our namesake, we will rise again!”

It is really difficult to win two consecutive in sports world. But both teams have put in the time and dedication and have the heart. So I’m looking forward to watch the competition and see if they can repeat their title. Good luck!