The sound of shoes squeaking on the court fills the air, victorious yells ring out when a point is scored, and there is the loud hum of chatter from students in the packed gym who are patiently waiting for their turn on the court. Every evening, the Texas Woman’s University courts come alive as Pioneers rush to participate in open recreation sports.
Robbie Hamann, intramural supervisor, presides as head of open rec sports. Hamann strives to provide an inclusive environment. Here, both athletic and non-athletic students can meet during the week and bond over their love for sports and engage in friendly competition.
“I use the term ‘positive stress,’” said Hamann. “Let’s say you had a bad day at school or work or something is going on in your life. You get to come out here, smack the ball as hard as you can a few times, and try to get the bad stress out of your body.”
As the attention and love for open recreation sports has grown tremendously with up to 40 students coming to play at one time, Hamann’s team of supervisors and officials help him with the more hands-on aspect of the sports. These dedicated individuals help maintain safe play, referee the games, ensure equal playing time for attendees and keep the environment friendly.
“Everyone is always welcome to be at open rec,” said supervisor Fabian Perez. “I like to think the community we have built is very welcoming. Regardless of skill or age, everyone is here for the same reason.
Even students with no experience in sports will attend the open rec. It is an opportunity for them to practice their sports skills and learn tips and tricks from more experienced players.
“I actually first came to open rec for volleyball,” said supervisor Emma Michaud. “I’m not the greatest but the more I practiced, the more I wanted to go, and the more I had fun. It really helped and I definitely suggest attending. It is going to be a little intimidating but we try to make it so that it’s not. We have an open community and are all very welcoming.”
Junior Olamide Akinrotimi has been coming to open rec basketball for three years. He discovered open rec during his first year at TWU and has met many new people and made close friendships. Akinrotimi spent most of his early life in Nigeria, where basketball is not a very popular sport. When he came to TWU, he grew an interest in the sport and since attending open rec basketball has improved his skills tremendously.
“My freshman year, I was in my room most of the time but I wanted to go out more and see places and people,” said Akinrotimi. “I was walking around campus, checked out the gym, and saw people playing so I decided to join.”
Junior Endia Smith began attending open rec volleyball two years ago and has been playing the sport since she was in middle school. She enjoys being able to workout in a fun environment that is more exciting than running on a treadmill or lifting weights.
“It’s an easy way to start getting into the gym and also into the community,” said Smith. “So many people here are pretty cool and it’s a good way to have fun, get your exercise in, and it’s on campus so you can literally walk here, it’s not far at all.”
Junior Lynsay Thomley has been attending open rec pickleball since the first week of class this year. She has fun being able to play with new people every time she comes and uses the sport as a way for her to relieve stress from the workload of her classes.
“Getting out, moving with other people, physical activity. It all helps to relieve some of the stress,” said Thomley. “It’s really good social interaction and also physical activity. Social interaction is really important to me and open rec forces you to be social because you want to come and play games but, in order to do that you have to be open to talking to people.”
Open rec occurs Monday through Thursday in the Fitness and Recreation Center. Volleyball is on Mondays and Thursdays from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., basketball is on Tuesdays from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and pickleball is on Tuesdays from 1p.m. to 3 p.m. and Wednesdays from 1p.m. to 6:30 p.m. . No matter what sport you chose to participate in, be ready for an afternoon of excitement, friendship, and a sense of family.
“I still see the same people I saw when I started this job coming every night. It’s very welcoming, people are alway giving tips and tricks on how to get better and it’s a big community that helps the students.” said Hamann. “That’s my big thing with intramural sports in general, just trying to provide a community for students on campus through sports and being active.”
Bella Castillo can be reached via email at icastillo4@twu.edu
Check out Bella’s previous story HERE
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