Milton’s intramural sports offer an experience different from the expected drills and games on courts and fields. However, these non-traditional sports credits can be appealing, especially during senior year, because it provides a more laid back option than other sports, allowing students to foster connections without competitive pressure.
Sarina Miller ‘26 highlighted how students participating in yoga, like herself, have much more flexibility in comparison to the athletes participating in interscholastic sports. She describes the sport as “a nice time commitment for someone who has a lot of other extracurricular work.” Yoga does not take up any time with games on the weekends, and it “is really relaxing and a nice way to end the day,” she explained. For Miller, a veteran of the theatre tech crew, choosing to do an intramural sport was the best option to ensure that she gets to participate in a sports community without the level of commitment most sports teams require.
Leah Li ‘26, who participates in yoga with Miller, sees intramural sports as “more convenient for students who are looking to get their sports credits out of the way while still getting some exercise.” Especially as a senior, Li commented that “yoga was much needed to relax,” highlighting that sports do not necessarily require physical intensity.
Similarly, Sasha Westerfield ’26 shared that intramural sports are considered “less serious because there are no competitions.” The difference in competition level often leads to “practice fewer times a week…[and] way fewer people who sign up.” Because of the small team sizes, “everybody becomes friends with everybody,” creating a closer knit community than some other teams might have. Westerfield chose Outdoor Program because of its rock climbing opportunity, and ODP “was the only form that rock climbing was offered in.”
Catherine Wang ’28, on the other hand, is taking Darling’s— the Strength and Conditioning course led by Steve Darling— “to get stronger, faster…[and to] prepare for the ice hockey season in the winter.” Many of the other students in Darling’s are off-season Varsity athletes. Wang recalled that her “old school or sports teams didn't really do proper weight training,” so the experience of participating in Darling’s is a learning experience for her.
Emilia Raviola ‘26 is considering Darling’s for the winter season, commenting on how “Darling’s [fits] better in [her] schedule than a competitive sport because it meets just a few times a week.” As a winter track runner outside of school for the past two years, Raviola took P.E. to fulfill her sports credit. However, she believes that “[Darling’s is] a really cool opportunity to meet new people and … learn something new in a more relaxed environment.”
Another intramural some students consider is weight training. Adrienne Webb ‘26, who is participating in it this season, explained that she “prefer[s] having [her] weekends free rather than playing sports games and having [her] weekday free time cut in half.” For Webb, the main motive behind choosing an intramural sport is to have more time for herself. She decided to do weight training over PE for the same reason and mentioned that she “[prefers] to have more free periods.”
For these students, choosing an intramural sport is a good way to incorporate some activity into their after-school routine when they have other commitments. All intramural opportunities offer a looser schedule while also maintaining a similar environment to the traditional sport teams and allowing students to have more time for themselves. Because of the smaller sizes of the intramural sport teams, they describe their community often feels more tight-knit, fostering connections in a non-competitive environment.