SPORTS
- Inside the Huddle
- Writer takes lacrosse challenge Ryan Clarke
- Volleyball spikes back Lori Bero
- Basketball brings wins back across the border Ryan Clarke
- Growing interest demands change Kaelena Incinelli
Inside the Huddle
 Ace Stryker Copy Editor |
 Beth Wittman Sophomore, Nursing |
 Ross Brooks Features Editor |
 Eric Fields Senior, Advertising |
 Pigskin Potanken Extreme Jaguars Fan |
| Question 1: What is your favorite part of football season? | ||||
| Definitely the playoffs. The teams prove themselves or crack and go home. | Watching the game with my parents. It's been something to look forward to since I was little. | College upsets. Nothing's sweeter than watching upper-echelon teams beaten by unranked teams. | Playoffs. | The smell of the Jaguars stadium! I live for the sweaty, drunken aroma of football season. |
| Question 2: What would you bet on the Jaguars winning the super bowl? | ||||
| I would bet Garrard that we'll win - that way we get another quarterback if we lose. | I would bet a candy bar that they would win - a Snickers. That way I could laugh at them when they lost. | I bet Peyton Manning's arm the Jags not only win the Super Bowl, but go 16-0 and have an injury free season. | Two weeks paid vacation. Not yet. | I actually bet my first born on it. |
| Question 3: What is your favorite snack to munch on while watching the game? | ||||
| Rice cakes. They're really macho, I promise! (Not to mention a delicious low-calorie source of soybean.) | Tostitos and nacho cheese dip. Who needs to be healthy when you're watching men twice your size? | Munch? I'm not the munching type, but I will gladly gulp down beer long into the post-game show. | Tostitos with chili cheese dip. | The other teams. They are dead meat when they face the Jags. |
| Question 4: What do you do to get decked out for your team on the big game day? | ||||
| Not much. One time I painted my chest to spell a message, but the paint got caked into my chest hairs. | I wear my team's jersey and cheer at home. | If the opponent's mascot is an animal, I kill the animal and wear its skin in the opposing family seating. | Throw darts at a Leftwich-faced dart board. | I don't do much, just paint my entire body in teal and black and superglue on a jaguar tail. |
| Question 5: Which team's mascot (or cheerleading squad) pumps you up the most? | ||||
| Since the reality show about the Dallas cheerleaders, I like to imagine the drama brewing under the fake smiles and pom-poms. | The jaguar is my favorite pro mascot, but my dad and I always roar with the Penn State nittany lion. | South Carolina. Who doesn't love a giant rooster named Cocky? | Jaxson De Ville is as entertaining as they get. | I wish I could be Jaxson De Ville. I have more spirit than he ever will. |
| Question 6: If you had to play football without one of the pads, which would you go without? | ||||
| I'd go without shoes before I lost a pad. | That's easy - a cup. I don't need it. I would prefer extra chest pads. | All of them. No pads equals greater speed. I'm surprised team analysts haven't cracked this equation yet. | Thigh pads. | I'd go without the seat cushion in the bleachers. I stand up anyway. |
Writer takes lacrosse challenge
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Ryan Clarke |
Editor's note: Ryan Clarke, a contributing writer for the Spinnaker, is trying out for some UNF fall sports teams. His columns will recap his tryout experiences.
The experience:
Before last week, my closest contact with lacrosse was the stick my father used when he played for the Western Maryland Green Terrors, which hangs on my wall at home. About 5 p.m. Sept. 5, that all changed.
I arrived for the workout to see if I had what it takes to be a University of North Florida lacrosse player, and ventured out onto the grassy plains of the intramural fields in my gym shorts and boat shoes. My contact was Matt Brennan, the president of the Lacrosse Club, who met me and introduced me to assistant coach Joey Clements. The three of us talked for the next half hour, giving me a crash course on the rules of lacrosse. The learning curve was steep. I was comforted to know that one of the team captains, Matt Williams, had been in my shoes.
"It's a very fast-paced sport," Williams said. "[Lacrosse] is one of the most skill-based sports I've ever played."
A big guy, Williams plays mostly defense. But as a 6-foot, 200-pound stick of dynamite, my body provided me with a bevy of options to be governed only by my speed.
Next, I had to get suited up. I donned wrist guards, gloves and a helmet (fast-moving balls can leave a mark or even a dent). The most crucial piece of the ensemble, however, is the stick. In lacrosse, the stick is each player's Holy Grail, and like the grail, you only have one. Williams was kind enough to lone me his stick, but only after some significant negotiating - he had a grip on my tape recorder that could strangle a goose while I went through my workout.
The dash:
It is a right of passage for skill-position players everywhere. The 40-yard dash is one of the cornerstones of evaluating a player. A good time can add a few zeroes to your paycheck, while a bad one can send you home looking for a summer job. The fastest time ever recorded electronically at the NFL combine was run by Fabian Washington when he clocked in at 4.25 seconds. As I stepped up to the chalk line in the grass, I began feeling the same emotion NFL hopefuls feel every year. It started inauspiciously enough, as I jumped out of the blocks a full 5 seconds before the whistle blew. My second attempt was gold, though, as I fired on all cylinders en route to a pathetic 5.45. The average time of one group of prospects I followed was 4.6. Clearly, I would be relegated to the net, as goalies don't need to have Maurice Green speed.
The shuttle:
The second measure of speed is the 20-yard shuttle. Simplicity is the name of the game. Run 10 yards one way, run 10 yards back. Professional scouts use this tool to evaluate a player's ability to change direction on a dime, and judging by my results I would need a dime the size of a dining-room table to execute a defensive shift. The final judgment: 4.38 seconds. That meant I would be an ideal candidate for the famed "left-out" or "benchwarmer" positions. But since this was for fun, I knew I had to do the one thing my father told me he had done just once: score a goal.
The goal:
Brennan was kind enough to stand in front of the net, so if I scored it would be legitimate. I started out 15 yards away from the net. I took two steps to my left, but kept the stick to my right. Then using my best Reggie Bush move, I charged right at the net, jumped to the right and flung my stick forward, releasing sphere at a velocity fast enough to just slip by Brennan's outstretched stick. I had done it. I, the least athletic scribe this side of the St. Johns, had scored my first - and likely only - goal.
The result:
So what did I learn? There's more to being an athlete than strapping on the pads for a few hours on game day. It's not enough to be built like Reggie Bush (6 feet, 200 pounds); you have to train year-round. The time spent on early-morning runs and late-night weight lifting sessions is often what makes the difference between the 20 percent of professional athletes who make 80 percent of the money and the other 80 percent who make 20 percent of the money.
Next stop:
I'll hit the hardwood in an attempt to earn a spot on the UNF men's basketball team.
Contact Ryan Clarke at sports@unfspinnaker.com -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE
Volleyball spikes back
The University of Central Florida Invitational was full of
records for the University of North Florida volleyball team's 2007 season.
After falling in four games to UCF Sept. 6 and in three games to the University of Central Michigan in the first match of the day, UNF (1-9) marked their first win of the season in the second match with a 19-30, 25-30, 30-19, 30-12, 15-12 win against Florida Atlantic University.
UNF dropped their last game of the Invitational to Montana State University Sept. 8, in a three game loss.
"I'm really proud of our team, because we've been working on playing together and playing under pressure," said head coach Kevin Campbell.
In the match against UCF, junior outside hitter Kavie Sturch led UNF with a season-high 11 kills. Freshman middle blocker Kaley Read, who was named to the UCF Invitational All-Tournament Team, and junior opposite hitter Claire Yonutas each contributed four blocks to help UNF record a season high of nine blocks.
Another season high for UNF was their .255 hitting percentage in the match against FAU. Read scored a season-high seven aces and tied her season-best 11 kills in the game against FAU.
The Ospreys topped their .255 season high with a .259 in the match against MSU. Yonutas led UNF in the match against MSU with a career-high 12 kills.
The UCF Knights outscored the Ospreys 13-4 to win game one.
The Ospreys had trouble defending UCF's serves, allowing four aces.
Although UNF cut the lead to 27-26, the Knights pulled through with the final three points to end the match with a 3-1 win.
"Even though we were pushing hard, there were times where we let multiple points rack up," Campbell said. "We were always with UCF, but once we got down four or five points, we couldn't make up the deficit."
In the first two games against FAU, UNF hit .200 but was not able to score enough points to win the games. In the third game, UNF took a 10-4 lead and won the game. Read scored three aces.
A 13-1 run gave UNF a 27-9 lead in game four. FAU cut the lead to 27-12, but a kill by Sturch and an ace by freshman defensive specialist Chelsea Rabe closed out the game and gave UNF their second win for the match.
In the final game, FAU took an early lead, but UNF went on a 12-4 run to win.
MSU defeated UNF in three consecutive games.
UNF will compete in the UNF/JU Classic against No. 8 University of Washington 7 p.m. Sept. 13 in the UNF Arena.
Contact Lori Bero at uspinnak@unf.edu -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE
Basketball brings wins back across the border
For the first time in the program's 15-year history, the University of North Florida men's basketball team ventured north of the border and into Ontario, Canada, for a three-game swing over Labor Day weekend, returning with a pair of victories and one defeat.
"The experience we got was invaluable," said head coach Matt Kilcullen.
The Ospreys began the Labor Day series with an 88-67 victory over the Canadian Military All-Stars. The 88 points scored were the most by the Ospreys since they defeated Jacksonville University Jan. 25, 2006.
Five UNF players scored in double figures, including freshman forward Justin Cecil (18) and sophomore guard transfer Stan Januska (13). The Ospreys out-rebounded the
All-stars 56-30.
After seeing his team come close to victory many times last year, Kilcullen said he liked what he saw.
The second test came against Brock University when the Ospreys struggled to keep pace with the Badgers as they dropped the second match, 81-72.
"It came down to execution," Kilcullen said. "We had some bright spots, but we just didn't make the plays we needed to. We learned a lot about ourselves."
Cecil again led the Ospreys in scoring, putting up 16 points. Januska added 12 points, and junior guard/forward transfer Tom Hammonds put up eight.
The finale pitted the Ospreys against the Southern Ontario All-stars. The Ospreys pulled out a 72-56 victory. Januska ended the weekend with the highest individual point total since Rashad Williams put up 24 against Lipscomb Feb. 9, 2006. Senior point guard Chris Timberlake scored 12.
Kilcullen said that the team has made some progress.
"We have a chance to be a good basketball team," he said. "How good remains to be seen."
Cecil, who led all freshmen this weekend with 36 points, thinks he has the answer: "20 wins,
at least."
The season tips off Nov. 7 with an exhibition match-up against Edward Waters College.
Contact Ryan Clarke at sports@unfspinnaker.com -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE
Growing interest demands change
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Each year hundreds of students join an intramural team at the University of North Florida.
Many students choose intramural sports due to less intensive schedules and time demands.
There is a wide range of skill level in each sport. The more popular sports are divided into two divisions of skill, blue and grey. For the athletes who want to have tougher competition and maybe even compete in a tournament outside UNF, there is the blue league. If a student just wants to get some exercise and have some fun, the Intramural Department provides the grey league.
"It is just a fun way to compete," intramural referee and senior public relations major Lucas Snyder said.
Justin Cato, who previously worked with intramural sports at the University of Arkansas, is taking the intramural coordinator position for 2007.
With the new coordinator, come a few changes to the intramural sign-up process. While at Arkansas, Cato experienced the issue of abundant interest from students and limited facilities. As UNF continues to grow, the existing facilities have to be used wisely. In order to provide everyone with an equal opportunity to play intramurals, Cato has instituted signing up by day and time.
"We are starting to exceed the amount of space we have in terms of field and court space,"
Cato said.
In 2006, each team would pick a day on which to play their sport during sign-ups, but now a time must be issued as well. Teams will play other teams from their day and time until the play-
offs come.
"Signing up for a day and time will make it easier to communicate with team members," Snyder said.
By signing up for a time slot, Cato also hopes the number of forfeits will decrease. Cato hopes to provide each team with as many games as he can.
"We are limited in how many games each team can play," Cato said. "We're getting so many more teams, which is a good thing."
Intramurals in 2007-08 will provide the same sports as 2006. The fall line-up consists of volleyball, soccer, 7-on-7 flag football and sand volleyball. One day events will include walleyball, BASEketball, a mini triathlon, punt/pass/kick and racquetball. The sand volleyball league was added in place of the traditional one-day event.
One additional change will be the rules concerning dropouts. If a team drops out of the league after the schedule has been made, instead of rescheduling, the teams scheduled to play them will be given an automatic win. Therefore, the schedule will not have to be revised mid-season.
"We're trying to simplify it," Cato said.
Volleyball and soccer intramurals begin the week of Sept. 9 and the first one day event will be walleyball Sept. 14 at 11 a.m.
Contact Kaelena Incinelli at sports@unfspinnaker.com -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE