SPORTS
Student athletes make the decision to quit or carry on
February 10, 2012
By Colleen Gonzalez
Staff Writer
As Coach Vince Lombardi once said, "Winners never quit
and quitters never win." However, this mainly applies to
those athletes that are driven towards success in their sport
no matter what. For others, especially college students, it is
not quite that simple.
Being an athlete requires reconciling studies with practice
and finding the time for each. College is a place to expand
your mind intellectually, but it also offers the opportunities
to those who choose to continue playing a game or running
in a meet.
"I did sports in high school and I thought I might as well
do it in college because that is what I'm passionate about,"
said sophomore Hilary Schultz.
Schultz ran on the Guilford cross country team last year
but decided not to participate in the track-and-field season.
"I decided to quit because ... there were not very many
people and it was hard to motivate yourself to go to
practice," said Schultz.
The transition from high school to collegiate sports is
difficult. The competition is more intense and the practices
take up more time than one would think.
"For me, participating in collegiate athletics was simply
taking too much time," said sophomore University of Illinois
student Manu Kumar. "I wanted to have the chance to take
advantage of all the opportunities offered on campus and I
simply couldn't while I was spending around four hours a
day at practice."
Kumar was a star cross country and track-and-field
athlete in high school, acquiring many accolades, and
decided to continue once he graduated.
"I wanted to attend a school with a competitive team,"
said Kumar. "I wanted to be around other talented
"Since leaving, I've had the opportunity
to join other oraanizotions on campus and
really start exploring other interests."
Manu Kumar, University of Illinois sophomore
individuals who would help push me to become a better
athlete."
Of course, not only is it time management that comes
into play, but other factors as well. Teammates become
close comrades and the team can feel like a second family.
Unfortunately, sometimes this sense of family is not felt.
"I liked running, but I didn't have something I was used
to," said Schultz. "In high school, our cross country team
was a family and when I came to college, it was five girls on
a team and it was hard to make it seem like before."
"I think that collegiate athletics is just so much more
involved and intense than high school athletics that passion
alone isn't enough to keep you motivated," said Kumar.
However, many others decide to continue running
or playing a certain sport. What is the reason for their
continued commitment?
"Most of the people who are on the team are there because
they love their sport and want to keep doing it hopefully,"
said Kumar. "It was definitely difficult making the decision
to quit. But the entire situation helped me figure out that, as
much as I loved running, it wasn't what I wanted to spend
my time doing."
There are a number of reasons why athletes leave teams,
such as recurrent injuries or the need to focus on schoolwork,
and why others decide to stay.
In the end it is a personal choice.
However, this does not mean that the athletes who leave
are less passionate about what they do, it was just not the
right fit for them.
"I miss (running) for the competition," said Schultz.
"Since leaving. I've had the opportunity to join other
organizations on campus and really start exploring other
interests," said Kumar.
Experiences leave imprints on everyone, no matter how
brief the meeting. They aid in helping people move one step
closer to finding what exactly it is they are looking for.
Men's rugby team gets dewn and dirty as seasen begins
By Natalie Sutton
Staff Writer
Blood, sweat, tears and testosterone. Add
them all up and what do you get? The men's
rugby team.
Rugby is a sport full of lots of running,
tackling, mud and — most importantly —
teamwork.
Sophomore Zachary Kronisch values the
teamwork aspect of the sport.
"We are very much a team family and
no matter how good or bad we play, we all
support each other and have a blast, which
is what everyone really looks for in a team,"
said Kronisch.
David Watters '11 played rugby all four
years at Guilford and was president of the
team his junior and senior seasons.
Watters enjoyed the combination of the
hard work and team camaraderie.
"Everybody has to come together to get
anything done," said Watters in a phone
interview. "There are individual plays in
rugby, but you really don't get anything
done unless everyone is doing their job at the
same time. We always play hard, but we all
genuinely love each other."
Rugby is a very physically exerting sport.
With the eighty-minute long games of non
stop running and tackling, rugby requires a
lot of endurance and physical strength from
its players.
"I enjoy the combination of physicality
and endurance," said sophomore William
Dobbins in an email interview.
'The biggest challenge is the combination
of football-like physicality and demands of
soccer-like endurance. Rugby only allows
three player substitutions a game, we play
for 80 minutes and the ball is live all the
time."
Whether the team is at the gym lifting
weights or on the field performing running
drills, there is rarely a dull moment at
practice.
"It takes a different kind of athlete to
motivate themselves to come out and play
such a high-contact sport with no pads on for
a non-varsity team," said Kronisch.
"We definitely have a lot of heart and
motivation for working towards success.
Nobody wants to lose, especially after 80
minutes of putting your hearts out on the
field."
Erin Fox, director of student leadership
and engagement, enjoys supervising all club
sports, including the rugby team. She helps
manage their budget and provides overall
organization and support to the team.
Fox, who appreciates the fun atmosphere
of the rugby games, uses the word
"charismatic" to describe the team.
"I've worked with a bunch of different
treasurers and leaders, and they always
come in and have big personalities," said
Fox. "They definitely have the 'woo' factor...
'woo' means winning others over. I like that
about them.
"I like that they're enjoying their
experience and that they're happy about
what they're doing, and that they, tongue-in-
cheek — as with their calendar project from
a couple of years ago — aren't afraid to let it
all hang out there."
The rugby team is enthusiastic about
encouraging people to learn more about
the sport and come out and enjoy the
competition.
"The people that are willing to come out
and support us are the best fans ever and
are loud and fun ... but there is definitely a
lack of attendance," Kronisch said. 'The only
thing that frustrates me is that people don't
come out and give it a chance because they
are unfamiliar with it. If only people knew
how amazing rugby is."
Watters finds that even those who don't
know much about the sport can still have a
great time watching.
"If more people heard about the sport.
then more people would come," Watters
said. "It's cool to watch. Nobody really
knows what's going on, but it's really cool to
see a bunch of dudes run at each other and
get all dirty and disgusting and beat the crap
out of each other."
While the dirt and physical brutality
of the sport certainly make it appealing,
Watters finds rugby to be an important part
of personal growth.
"Playing rugby is a cool way of testing
yourself, of seeing what you have inside,"
Watters said.
"If you want to know how tough you
are and if you want to know how to work
together with people and function as part
of a unit ... It's a good way of seeing what
you've got."
Come check out the next rugby match on
Feb. 18 at home to see what all the hype is
about.
(Above) Senior Max MacClennen waits to ruck over and secure the ball as Duke defense knocks
down a running attempt; this is why we hate Duke.
(Top Left) junior Aaron Craig boldly stiff-arms a Duke opponent while ignoring the feeble attempts
of number four around his waistThe Quakers fought hard to the end, with a final score of 0-11, Duke.