RIVALRY THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A TEAM AND D TEAM CLUB SPORTS WORKING FOR THE WIN The A and Bteam sports counted toward club sports points, and at the end of the year, those points were tallied to determine who won the all-club sports trophy. Since each A team game mattered in regards to all-club points, there were rivalries, memories and expectations, all contributing to a unique A team perspective. Pressure was a major aspect of A team sports for some athletes. Senior Chelsea Essary played A team basketball, softball, flag football and soccer for Zeta Rho and appreciated her teammates' serious approach to their sports. "The main difference between A team and other lower-level teams has to be the personalities of the people you're playing with,'' Essary said. "I always seem to have a more enjoyable experience when I'm playing with girls who take the game seriously and try their best to win." The A team club sports brought large numbers of fans out to the Ganus Athletic Center and to the intramural fields two nights a week. Senior Luke Hoffman, who played for Knights A team volleyball, said the energy from the crowd was his favorite part of playing for A team sports. "The enjoyment I get from playing A team sports comes from the competition and from the energy our crowd usually gives by being involved at the games,'' Hoffman said. Senior Kevin Betts' time playing A team football, basketball and softball for Knights left him with many memories. According to Betts, the ultimate rewards of playing A team club sports were due to the people he played with. "[I love] just getting to play with the guys,'' Betts said. "Especially for basketball, since we work more on it than others. We would get pretty close." Delta Nu senior Allison Ritchie played A team for three sports from 2010-2014. One of her favorite elements of A team club sports were the rivalries, and she witnessed how these rivalries formed. "Rivalries are prevalent in any sport, and Harding clubs are not an exception,'' Ritchie said. "They motivate players to try their best." In the end, even though A team club sports had high competition, they still revolved around fun. The skill level, the rivalries, the pressure and the crowds were all based on the fun of community and competition. Reid Belew ALONG FOR THE RIDE Club sports often had an atmosphere of rivalry, competition and club pride. That was true of almost all teams except Dteam and below. Instead, Dteam sports had an atmosphere of fun without the pressure of technical skill. Zeta Rho member junior Mallory Sword was involved in every sport offered and always played on Dteam. Sword said she enjoyed being on D team because she had fun with her friends without trying to be good at the sports. "I did win an award because I dressed the most sports-like,'' Sword said. "I wear my Nike shorts, my tennis shoes and my sweatbands. I even wear my cleats on occasion." Sophomore Molly Helton was a member of Delta Gamma Rho. Helton said she loved playing D team sports because of the pride she had for her club and the overall laid-back nature. "Club sports are one of the best parts of being in a club, so if you are in a club you should at least give it a try,'' Helton said. "And the plus is there is a team for everyone: those with talent and those that know nothing about sports." Knights member junior Connor Merry played on D team, despite being an avid and talented athlete. Merry was on the track team his first two years at Harding, but chose to play D team club sports for fun. "I like the mentality of knowing that I'm going into the game, not to win, but to make as many people as I can laugh,'' Merry said. According to Merry, there was much more competition involved in A and Bteams than there was on D team. He said it was pretty unanimous that Dteamers were there especially to have fun. Merry thought that was especially true of Knights. "I think if the lower teams were to get more competitive, it would take away from the fun,'' Merry said. "I like to think we kind of take the extreme approach to that. That might include our wardrobe or our style of play, and I like to think that our crowd is a little bit bigger than some of the other crowds because people know that we like to be goofy and have fun." Students signed up for club sports for a number of reasons: the competition, the crowds and the challenge. For those playing D team athletics, it was the low-key environment, the laughs and the chance to play sports with no pressure that brought them out to the GAC and the intramural fields. Kristin Baldwin 69
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