When my club, Elm, merged with Campus Club to become the awkwardly named Elm-Campus Club, participation in intramurals was seen as a way to foster connections. My part in this was to be approached by members of the intramural hockey team to join them. I responded that I had been on ice skates exactly two times in my life. That was no deterrent — they anointed me the goalie.

The first game saw me needing help figuring out how to put on the pads and skates and use the stick and gloves. Our first opponent (I don’t remember which club — Tiger?) had several Canadians on its team, and they were fond of the slap shot. I managed to get in the way of a few of the shots, but my performance was rather like a sieve otherwise. After the game, I found bruises in places I didn’t know could be bruised, but fortunately I had been warned to wear a cup!

I eventually became semi-adept at staying on my skates and blocking shots. I grew to enjoy the game, but our team was not particularly successful.

Larry Phillips ’70
Charlottesville, Va.