[quote]By Drew Danko
Online Editor
Photo courtesy of Grant Bolle[/quote]

The intramural program is looking to build and attract new students with new sport offerings and incentives for this school year.

Intramural director Matt Fehrmann is hoping to include a more diverse student population than it has in past school years. “We’re trying to reach everybody. We want to have co-ed teams to include the whole school. Sometimes people, girls and guys, feel discouraged, so we are trying to get more people involved,” Fehrmann said. Fehrmann hopes to have around 500 participants for this school year, and continue to build it to be as large as programs like Neuqua Valley, which includes nearly 1,000 students.

New sports for the fall include: volleyball, floor hockey on the tennis courts, powder puff football, and Ultimate Frisbee; Table tennis and badminton are also available during the fall. With the new sports, athletes will be charged a $5 fee that will go toward equipment and t-shirts to improve the experience for students.

Intramurals provide a way for students to play a sport who did not make an athletic team, cannot commit to a full season, or would like to play in a less competitive atmosphere. “I played intramurals in college, and it is a way to stay competitive if you cannot join a sports’ team. It’s a great, fun way to play a sport,” Fehrmann added.

Senior Harry Alappat was involved with intramural soccer and basketball last year, and has also signed up for Ultimate Frisbee for this school year. “I joined because it was something fun to do with my friends. Also, compared to recreational sports outside of school, it wasn’t as big a time commitment,” Alappat said.

Something else that has changed for this year is the scheduling of intramural sports outside of their IHSA seasons. For example, volleyball will begin near the end of the girls’ season, in order to provide the opportunity for IHSA athletes to also compete in their sport at the intramural level. Senior varsity soccer player Ryan Donovan enjoyed the less competitive atmosphere and smaller time commitment, being able to play indoor soccer during the winter season. “You just played games a couple of days after schoool with your friends. It was a good time,” Donovan said.

This year’s changes have already sparked interest for Mustangs. “The new options for sports give everyone the opportunity to play something they enjoy. I played volleyball freshman year, and I love to play, so I think I would be interested in trying that,” senior Maryrose Ghassan said.

Students can register their teams for fall sports now at www.mvintramurals.com.