It’s getting to that time when the majority of us are already dreading the weather that will be here soon. The days feel shorter with the sun setting so early. We can’t sit outside to study or be with friends and every day feels repetitive.

One great way to break up the winter and get involved is intramural sports.

I played a sport every season during my four years at high school, and when I went off to college I always thought I would join one but never fully committed to it. It was a combination of me worrying that it may take up too much time and worrying it would be too intense or competitive for me to play. I ended up joining my first intramural sport this fall and I had a great experience, and all of the things I was worrying about were never an issue.

I played a sport I have never practiced or played and it was not a problem at all. There are players of all skill levels who are there to just have a good time.

When it comes to time management it is so easy to find a time that works around your schedule. There is a combination of multiple days to choose from along with multiple time slots. Games are only played once a week so that they can truly be stress-free for all of the players. It fit perfectly into my schedule between school, clubs and work.

In addition, costs are very low and there are always discount codes and offers to lower the price for you even more. After using a discount, I only had a fee of four dollars to play sand volleyball for a season that lasted one month. You can always purchase a season pass that allows you to play as many sports as you want during a time period for one set cost.

Since games are only once per week, many people play two sports and have them on separate nights so they can play more often.

Getting involved with an intramural sport was a great decision and I am glad someone told me about all of these details so that I was not worried and finally committed to playing. It feels great to be back on a team after taking a few years off from sports, and it is so easy to try out any sport that I didn’t have the chance to in high school.

With winter coming up, I plan on joining two sports to really keep myself busy. In winter it is so easy to just stay in and watch Netflix or get caught up in schoolwork. 

Getting out of the house in winter is so good to keep yourself active and not get cabin fever. Last winter, I had a hard time staying focused on school work and I was always restless looking for something to do. I am not dreading winter half as much as I was last year, since I know I have something to look forward to every week.

Even though my season ended, my teammates and I still get together for dinner or to do homework during the week at the same time we would’ve been playing games. I have met so many new people that I now see every week and that is one of the best things I got out of my season.

If you are interested in any intramural sport, imleagues.com has all of the info you need after you search for Grand Valley State University on the website. It contains the times, lengths of seasons, sports offered and pass options for students.