On Oct. 13, The Armory held its first intramural sports event at the softball field —  a staff vs. student kickball game. After school, teachers faced off against the Peer Leaders Unite Students team in the ultimate kickball showdown.

“We’ve been working with the Armory to get more staff-student participation — different fun things to kind of build moral between staff and students,” Athletic Director Mrs. Waters said. “There’s nothing better to do than something fun like that. My teammates were rockstars; they did a great job.”

This was an example of what intramural sports through the Armory will be like in the future.

“We have a few more games planned using different groups throughout CHS; we’re looking at tentatively having AVID play and some other groups as well,” Armory representative Nicole Bianchini said. “In the future, we hope to also have teams of students who aren’t necessarily a part of other clubs get involved with the Armory as well. Right now, what we are doing during our introductory period is having specific clubs or groups play one another.”

Overall, both students, teachers and the Armory program benefited from the experience. The game intensified with healthy competition between the teams.

“I had a blast,” Bianchini said. “I think that the turnout was fabulous. Seeing all the staff out there supporting what we do — it’s amazing to have that kind of support, and it’s only going to make our program more successful as it goes on. Having the students out there as well, it’s just a ton of fun.”

The kickball game remained close in score throughout the event, keeping both teams on their toes.

“I think the game was fun,” sophomore Vanessa Garcia said. “It was exciting. This is my first time in PLUS, and PLUS is mostly all about teamwork and working together. Abby, the director of the Armory, told me about the kickball game, and I wanted to participate.”

The PLUS team worked its way into the lead; however, when extra innings were added, the staff team made a come-back.

“The kickball game was a great time,” junior Trevor Yerton said. “We were able to run around, make connections with other people and have a great time with the teachers. I hope that we can do that again next time.”

In the end, the staff team pulled out with a 12-7 win. The teachers and staff earned the golden kickball trophy, marking their win and the kick-off of the Armory’s intramural sports program.

“It was fun, and that’s really all that matters,” Mrs. Waters said. “I think both teams had a good time, and it doesn’t really matter who wins — it matters that we get out there and have fun with each other. It’s just fun, it’s relaxing and it gets teachers and students in a different realm other than the classroom, which is always nice.”