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Volume CXXXII, Number 3 |
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For the love of the game
REBEKAH METZLER
COLUMNIST
JV Soccer - nope it's definitely not played for the glory. In a world dominated by male sports where you can't find any channel broadcasting a women's event if you tried all day, the men's JV team has ceased to exist and the women's team is sporting almost 40 members.
Proud three-year member Jenny Harvey exclaimed, "When I arrived as a freshman, JV was just starting to get going. Now it has doubled in size and is a sport that is popular throughout all grades."
It truly is a season that is played from game to game-all five of them. JV soccer fills a specific niche in the Bowdoin College landscape. Maybe you go to practice three times a week or maybe you can't make it to the game until twenty minutes into it. But the deal is, when you're there, you're there.
It's your time to play - you don't bicker about playing time and you're not depressed because you were off that day. Harvey claimed, "JV soccer is one of the best things that ever happened to me. It's soccer the way it should be, just for fun, with no pressure or huge time commitment."
It's not that the team lacks competitive spirit, but that it's played at its purest on the field where friendship prevails above all. You go to JV for a smile, a rush, or to pick you up, but it's never a chore.
An anonymous source raved, "When I first came to Bowdoin, I was not sure of what to expect. Then I began JV soccer and all of a sudden, I had a new family. We ate together, played together, laughed together, and partied together. Over everyday activities we bonded into an unstoppable force.
Clearly the most powerful aspect of JV soccer is not that it's convenient for school or that it's better than the workout room - the most powerful aspect is the family that comes with it. One member claims when asked to, she "wanted to offer a helping hand to another moose - that's what JV soccer means."
That attitude helped spark, in a matter of two or three years, a lightening quick transition in the program transforming from an unknown athletic team into a complete social entity.
Commitment to JV soccer brings a lifetime membership. Seniors, juniors, and first-years are linked together in a network of society whose heart lies in the class of 2005. These girls possess an energy and love for the sport and each other that is contagious.
The same anonymous source stated, "My favorite thing about JV soccer is, without a doubt, the people. We have such an eclectic group of girls, who when we come together, make an environment in which everyone has an incredible time."
For the record, the gatherings of these ladies do not end with the season. There are continued celebrations for everything and everyone. And trust me - these girls party with full intensity.
Another anonymous source hinted, "As long as there is T-shirt making involved, you know it'll be a good party." In fact, you may be turned from the door or invited to be re-dressed if you don't fit the established code.
However, when on the prowl, the team mentality takes over. They own a campus-wide as if it were their playground (and perhaps that's just what it is). JV pride? Don't mistake them for varsity.
"When it comes to JV soccer I can only say this-we are never at a loss for booyah. And to those who think they can match us I say, bring your own BOOYAH," boasts yet another anonymous source. Harvey added, "For JV soccer, the sky's the limit!"
Everything that encompasses "sport" - passion, joy, competition, intensity, laughter, and balance are all at the center of the JV soccer philosophy. It all began with a coaching mantra, "Rock the party" and it built on the enthusiastic attitudes of original members such as Gloria Shen ('03), Kate McCalmont ('04), and Jenny Harvey ('04).
They love life and they love the game. Their passion seeped into and infected the entire system. This translated into a group of girls who have found sport, found friends; found Bowdoin.
One insider marveled, "JV soccer is an outlet, a place to feel absolutely comfortable with people who you could goof around with and just be natural." No doubt turnout is high for the team because people want to be there, thanks in large part to the environment created by the veterans.
Oddly enough, some honestly consider themselves lucky to be a part of the B squad. After a couple of weeks, you realize all the opportunities Bowdoin College does offer. JV offers a flexibility that counters the limits placed on a member of the varsity squad.
From 4p.m. - 6p.m. you are on the field, but then you are free for Miscellenia or BOCA, Obvious or Vague, you can go to a campus job, or you can be a mentor or a tutor, or any combination of the endless outside activities that Bowdoin avails you. Life is full, but balanced.
Senior member Shen announces, "The words 'Bowdoin JV Soccer' have really come to be synonymous with domination. Over the past few years, we have built a team, an empire, nay, a Mecca, of athletic greatness. Booyah!"
So watch out for these girls-they sing, they dance, they teach, they eat, they party, and all the while they are capable of playing a pretty mean game of soccer.