Faculty bond through friendly softball game

The warmth from the sun energized the faculty as they stretched in preparation for the tournament. There was a sensational energy in the air as children and spouses of faculty members rooted on their loved ones in a game of softball.

To give faculty on campus an opportunity to bond over a friendly game of softball, staff from the wellness center invited various staff around campus to participate in a softball tournament.

Angie Reay, director of wellness center, said, “We wanted to do something for the faculty and staff to get them out and be a little competitive and have something for us. We thought it would be a good way for faculty and staff to come together and get to know each other a little bit better. We always see each other at work and thought this would be more of a social, fun event to hang out with everybody.”

According to Mike Richardson, assistant director of the wellness center, the staff had this idea in their minds since last semester, just a few weeks after he had been hired.

“You get to know people on campus wherever you work, but some of the best ways to meet new people, bond and just have a good time is to come out and to participate in some kind of recreation,” Richardson said. “We just wanted a chance for some of the faculty and staff to come out and take a day or a few hours, have some fun and really just to have a good time out here.”

Those who participated divided themselves into three teams. Staff from the wellness center, the athletic departments, the political science department and housing joined forces to make a team while the staff from faculty services divided themselves into two additional teams.

“I love playing softball, and I haven’t been able to play much since I have kids because they play sports, so I have to go to their sports [games],” Jeremy Duff, associate professor of political science, said. “It’s a beautiful day and it’s good to be out and active.”

Kelvin Smith, groundskeeper at facility services, said he went to the event as a way to boost morale.

“[I came out today] for fun and [to boost] morale [with my coworkers]. You get to interact with your coworkers outside of work. It’s fun,” Smith said. “I told the guys [at work] yesterday at practice that this will be something that we’ll be talking about on Monday, how much fun we are going to have. That is what it is all about; it is about fun.”

To Duff, this was a fun way to bond with coworkers and to maintain his health.

“Everyone needs to at least do some kind of exercise to stay healthy and fit, plus softball is what we would call a ‘lifetime sport,’ so it’s something you can play throughout most of your life,” Duff said. “It’s good to get out and spend time with the other staff because most of the time we’re just in our offices. [It’s nice] to do stuff and have fun and get healthy.”