Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Simon Reynolds and college sport changed my life.
That may sound dramatic, I will admit. However, the collegiate sport system at the University of York has had a defining impact on my time here. When I first started three years ago, if you had told me that my entire existence at university would have almost been entirely dependent on a football club, I would have thought you were completely nuts.
Let’s rewind. In my Freshers’ Week, I was convinced by a second year to try out for football. I knew I was rubbish, I knew I couldn’t play football and I knew my hand foot coordination was terrible. And yet, this second year told me that all abilities were welcome – that really I could not be that bad and there would probably be worse than me. Oh, how naïve he was.
Trials arrived, and for the most uncomfortable two hours of my life, I awkwardly trundled around a football pitch feeling more out of my comfort zone than I ever had before. In one shining moment – I genuinely kicked a ball in despite the fact it was meant to be a throw in. Despite this embarrassment, I was placed into the Halifax 5s.
I started going to training, I met friends and quite frankly the highlight of my week in first year was going to the football social – something which was quite inconceivable to me a year before university. In one moment that will stay with me forever, I was brought on to take a free kick on the JLD in the middle of a promotion match. In what was termed a “Rocket from Reynolds” I quite literally pea rolled the ball to a point where it did not even make it past the first defender on the wall.
Fast forward two years, and I have served on the committee of Halifax Men’s Football twice. Once as a Social Secretary and now as Social Media Secretary. My footballing ability might still be incomprehensibly bad, but college sport has become intertwined into my existence.
From my experience, sport has a unique capacity to create a close-knit community. It truly is open to all abilities.It has a unique capacity to create a close-knit community, is open to all abilities, and, embodies the spirit of sport, forming both relationships and encouraging competitiveness.The fact that I could go from hating football two years ago to loving it now is a testament to just how unique college sport is.
The point is this: at a time when the University is experiencing well-documented financial issues - as Nouse has reported - the college sport system must be protected. As my story shows, it embodies the ‘just try it’ freedom which is needed for students to truly become involved in sport. That has to be cherished.
