By Kaleel Stewart
Contributor
Josh Gee grew up playing several positions on his middle and high school football teams. While it didn’t work out for him to be a college athlete, he’s found a way to make sure about 220 Trevecca students have an outlet for athletic competition on campus.
“Running for intramural director and getting voted on for the position means a lot to me actually. It is a great way for me to stay close to the sports I love in a competitive way. It also is great to be able to be in charge of a community, and to be able to see groups of students come together and play the sports that they love, and to have fun, and enjoy themselves is just something different in itself,” said Gee.
Gee, in his first year as intramural director, spends about 30 hours a week overseeing 70 teams across five different sports so far this year.
“As far as preparation goes, it can vary from sport to sport, but the general idea is the same. It requires having all of the referees trained, scheduling of the games, getting the field/gym reserved, and having as many students as we can show up and compete for the sports,” said Gee.
Softball, ultimate frisbee, cornhole, spikeball, and sand volleyball have wrapped up and he is ready for the beginning of flag football season.
“It just comes down to time management, just making sure I have all my homework done before all of the intramural activities, and even if I have too much homework or something else going on, on the rare occasion that I cannot be there, they can still play the sports without me there,” said Gee.
Some of the requirements for Gee include showing up to every intramural event, every meeting, and referee training.
“My favorite part of this job is definitely being able to foster a community of people that are able to come together, and just kinda take their minds off of school work, or anything that may be bothering them, and allow them to have fun, while being active,” said Gee.
Despite the fun times, there are also struggles at times. Gee, being able to overcome some of the struggles are just part of the challenge that comes with this job.
“To name a few, reserving and scheduling the games, making sure we have enough people to compete for certain sports, usually the ones that are less popular, and the storage of some of the game equipment, but other than that it has not been too bad.”
As a freshman, Gee played in multiple intramural sports. With the fun he had here and the people he met, it inspired him to run for the job.
“The friends and connections I made last year during intramurals was probably one of the most enjoyable things of my freshman year,” said Gee.
Sophomore Shawn McKenzie met Gee last year through intramural sports. McKenzie was a referee for basketball last season, and is now currently a referee for flag football this season, and plans on refereeing for basketball again in the spring semester of 2023.
“Being a referee this year is a great thing for me this year because while being on the track team, my coach does not let me compete in intramurals, so refereeing is a way for me to be around the game of football, and also make some extra money as a struggling college student,” said McKenzie.
Sophomore Jenna Ralston has also been involved in a number of intramurals. Last year she competed in flag football, volleyball, and dodgeball. This year she plans to compete in the same sports.
No matter if we win or lose, I like playing with the team because it was always something to look forward to,” said Ralston.
As far as intramurals go this season, there has been a lot more participation this year than last year, which always makes things more fun for students.
“One of the biggest struggles during flag football season last year was not having enough girls that were willing to compete on the other teams. So we did not have as many games as I wanted, and we won by forfeit a few times. So I think if we can get as many girls involved this year, we shouldn’t have to cancel or win by forfeit this season,” said Ralston.
