[dropcap]D[/dropcap]reading every second of standing out in the field and waiting for the batter to hit, or anticipating where the ball will land and hoping to make the big play are two perspectives of students in Team Games classes.

Team Games takes on these two stereotypes. Students either end up hating the class or loving it. Team games is a Co-Ed PE class where students get separated into teams and play sports or activities. Team Games has 126 students enrolled this semester and many are recurring students. Many enrolled in the PE elective this semester have taken the class more than once.

Despite the attempt to make the games entertaining and the scoring even, just like in every class there are always students who don’t participate as actively as others and slow the whole team down.

“I think it slows the whole class down when only two people aren’t trying or just walking around. You don’t even have to be good at what we’re playing as long as you try,” junior David Leichty said.

Some sports require that a girl have an impact on each possession, whether throwing a football at least once every four downs or catching the disc before the other team can score in ultimate frisbee. When a girl scores in any game, the points are worth double than they would be if a guy scored.

“A lot of the girls just stand around while the guys get really into it, but I don’t really care. You’re always going to have people who try hard and people who don’t try at all,” senior Clayton Pearce said.

Students who take Team Games seriously and have displayed their anger after a loss or with their teammates. Junior Casey Lee experienced the intense competitiveness when she blacked out after a student hit the ball at her face.

Why people take Team Games so seriously is a question that many students ask. Players are encouraged by pure competition and coaches who persuade them to try to achieve their absolute best.

“I like the sports that we do. When we play football or basketball then I’ll try pretty hard because I like winning,” sophomore Sean Novak said.

Even though coaches do not reward any teams with a prize or trophy, athletes say that it’s just the feeling of competition that pushes them to strive to play their best.

“Because it’s Team Games and no matter what game you play, you got to win,” Leichty said

Athletes who play sports outside of Team Games seem to particularly excel in the class.

“I played basketball for our [school] team, and my team just won the basketball championship. So it does help when we play some sports; it doesn’t apply to all of them, but some of them,” Novak said

To most students’ surprise, Team Games actually ends up having meaning beyond the sports.

“[It’s] like working together and building bonds. It helps build skills even bigger than sports,” Pearce said.

Just as Pearce said other students, like Leichty agree

“[Team Games helps] getting along with other people,” Leichty said, “and realizing that you don’t have to be a superstar to go have fun playing sports.”