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REXBURG, Idaho--Just three weeks into the semester, the
new Brigham Young University-Idaho Activities Program is up and running–and
so far, has been a huge success.
The
athletic level of the sports division is no exception. With more than 500
students attending an informational meeting Sept. 5 and 500 students
attending sport-specific meetings throughout the following week, students
are showing their eagerness to be involved.
“We
were hopeful that students would want to participate, but we just did not
know how many would,” said Devin Shaum, activities program director. “We
thought that students would want to be involved, and they see that this is
a great opportunity for them to be involved.”
With
most of the teams selected in the five sports that are offered this
semester (baseball, softball, cross country, soccer and volleyball), games
have already begun or will do so within the next two weeks.
Many
agree that under the new program, it’s easier for student athletes to be
involved with a sport than it was in the intercollegiate program.
“It’s
much easier on a student’s schedule,” said Doug Stutz, cross country
competitive program director. “It’s about half the practice time, and
there’s travel on the weekends, so they’re free to do other things, excel
in their studies, and be involved in other activities of interest at
BYU-Idaho.”
At
the heart of the activity program are the student coaches. Under the
direction of the competitive sports program directors, these student
coaches spend time training athletes, planning game strategy, running
practices, enforcing discipline and reviewing past games.
Kari
Hess, a freshman from Dayton, Ohio, majoring in photography, has been
playing soccer since first grade. She planned to play soccer, but when she
heard about the coaching opportunity, she decided to try out. Hess says she
spends approximately six hours working in her position, and that it takes a
lot more than playing.
“I have to come up with
practices and figure out methods I’m going to teach and the lineup for who
is going to start and who is going to sub in what positions. . . . I have
to know a lot of strategies and how to manage a team well. But it’s a
really good experience to do something new, to get involved, to be active,
. . . and to grow in a different way.”
It’s given the program directors a different
position as well.
“We’re more in the role of a mentor instead
of directly the coach,” Stutz said. “We’re working more with the student
coaches who will be working more directly with the athletes. In that
respect, it’s a little more challenging because we’ve got to get a feel for
what the coaches are doing and helping them learn.”
BASEBALL
Four teams of 15 players have
been selected for men’s baseball, about half of those who tried out.
“This is our first year, and
we’ve been pleasantly surprised with the response,” said Philip Crane,
baseball and softball competitive program director. “We had 120 guys who
came out to play, and we’ve allowed 60. We never expected that big of a
response. Next year, we’ll try for more teams, 90 or 120 players, depending
on if we get the same response. Traditionally, the college only had one
intercollegiate team, so only 15-20 guys would have made the team. This is
allowing a lot more people to be involved than ever before. It’s one of the
great benefits of this program.”
Two games are played every Friday afternoon
and Saturday in the late morning/early afternoon and will be played on the
baseball diamond near the intramural fields. A tournament is scheduled for
the season’s end, with an all-star team chosen after.
Baseball will run fall and summer.
CROSS COUNTRY
While the cross country turnout was lower
than anticipated, 33 women and 25 men have tried out, and Stutz said
they’re still adding to the four women’s teams and four men’s teams.
“Other sports are limited by courts and
fields, but we can train just about anywhere,” he said.
Cross country will run all fall semester and
the first block of winter. Track will be held during the second winter
block and summer. The first cross country meet will be held Sept. 27 at 5
p.m. at the campus outdoor learning center near the arboretum.
SOCCER
Soccer, directed by Peter Stilling, began
the weekend of September 13. Four women’s teams of 14 and four men’s teams
of 16 have been formed.
Stilling says the program offers
opportunities not only for student participation but also for community
involvement. In the first weekend’s games, children from Idaho Falls who
participated in the American Youth Soccer Organization were the ball kids
for the evening match. He also plans to use other divisions of the
Activities Program for halftime shows.
“The BYU-Idaho activities program is about
integrated activity use. . . . All activities, not just athletics, are
trying to bring the community back in.”
Soccer is scheduled to run summer and fall,
and most games will be held in the stadium.
SOFTBALL
This semester women’s fast-pitch softball is
offered and consists of four teams of 12. As in baseball, the teams are
directed by Philip Crane.
Two games will be played Friday afternoon
and two games will be played Saturday late morning/early afternoon and will
be played on the field behind the Hart Building. A tournament is scheduled
for the season’s end, with an all-star team chosen after.
Softball is planned to run fall
and summer.
VOLLEYBALL
Volleyball, which features five
teams of approximately eight men and six teams of approximately 10 women,
is directed by Troy Dougherty and runs in the fall and summer to
accommodate students on all tracks.
A preseason jamboree was held
the weekend of Sept. 20 in which every team had the chance to play the
other teams in the league, get a feel for the competition, and get a feel
for one another as a team, Dougherty said.
The season’s opening game will
be Friday at 6 p.m. in the auxiliary gym. Games will be played every Friday
and Saturday in the auxiliary gym and the Hart Fieldhouse.
“We get young men and young
women who come to BYU-Idaho looking for competition, and for many of these
students, intramurals or free play just don’t satisfy those competitive
juices,” Dougherty said. “They’re looking for something on a higher level.
That’s what this league will provide.”
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