For many, the shift towards post-secondary life means hanging up the skates or cleats and shelving the competitive spirit so many of us fostered throughout our childhoods. I’m here to say that that doesn’t have to be the case.
Managing your time at Queen’s can be a huge obstacle for many students, but that doesn’t mean the solution is to dedicate 100 per cent of your time to work or school.
Finding a balance is incredibly important when in university, and the departure of the major organized sports leagues you grew up playing in makes it difficult to find enjoyable and reliable ways to feed that competitive bug.
From softball to soccer, organizations like LUG and IMLeagues offer weekly games across various sports. While these organizations are great, they lack a few things that genuinely replicate what it felt like to play sports when you were young.
Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t sign up for the previously mentioned leagues—they’re great. They solve many problems you’d have to solve for yourself if you wanted to play hockey, for example. They’ll book you the ice, and find you players to play with, and against.
While weekly games, a lack of adequate refereeing, and poor organization leave many dissatisfied, there are other ways to tackle the problem of losing that burning passion to compete.
Truthfully, you’ll have to figure it out for yourself. At Queen’s, there are countless facilities, programs, and spaces for you to continue to express yourself athletically and in competitive ways.
Primarily, the ARC which offers a wide variety of programs, whether drop-in or scheduled that can help you find spaces where you can compete against other students.
Drop-in basketball, badminton, volleyball, and wheelchair basketball are just a few of the drop-in programs offered by the ARC, and they’re all great ways to destress and exercise during a stressful work week.
One of the most overlooked parts of participating in organized sport during your youth is the fact that you’re constantly learning and pushing yourself. With the departure of coaches from casual university sport, it’s hard to push ourselves to continue to get better, but it’s imperative to replicate the landscape of organized sport.
There are a couple of ways to solve the problem of stagnancy. Firstly, play or compete against people who are better than you. If you’re constantly doing the same things to win games in casual games, you’ll never need to adapt or learn a new skill to win—this breeds complacency and makes whatever you’re playing boring.
For example, when playing basketball against people who can’t shoot, there’s no need to play defence—the same goes for hockey or soccer. On the other hand, if you’re playing against people who are significantly or slightly better than you, you’ll be forced to try harder to keep up.
Not only will this result in better exercise, but mentally, the feeling of accomplishment that comes with doing something you might have previously thought you were incapable of pays dividends in terms of building your sense of self and satisfying your competitive spirit.
If you’re ever struggling to find spaces to express your athletic or competitive desires, there are countless fields on and around Queen’s campus. There are seemingly innumerable courts and exercise rooms within the ARC that house any sporting desire you could possibly have.
If the resources offered by Queen’s and on campus aren’t enough for you, the City of Kingston provides its own sets of programs and spaces for you to take advantage of. Indoor or outdoor pickleball and tennis courts, badminton courts, and drop-in hockey programs are hidden gems more students should take advantage of if they want to reignite their competitive or athletic spirit.
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