As Dartmouth's Assistant Director of Physical Education and Intramural Athletics, Stephen Erickson is the kind of Renaissance sports man perfectly cut out for his job. In fact, he likes so many sports that he refuses to choose one as his favorite.
In junior high and high school, Erickson lived according to the athletic season. He played football in the fall and basketball in the winter. He ran track in the spring and reserved his summers for baseball.
Interestingly, he enjoyed his most success in track as a hurdler and high jumper, but never won a single race because the state champion hurdler was his teammate.
"I had great form, but I just didn't have the speed," Erickson explained.
Erickson's love of athletics certainly gives him an edge on organizing the intramural sports programs. He cited his days as a basketball player as something that prepared him well for his present job.
"I was a skinny kid and used to get benched a lot," he said. "I'd be put in with 20 seconds left in the game. But I didn't care. I just wanted to play. That is why I like intramural sports so much -- you don't have to be a marquis player to participate. Everyone can play."
On top of his great attitude, Erickson has brought a lot of experience to the Dartmouth Athletic Department. As an intern in Iowa, he administered approximately 3,000 softball teams, of every type imaginable, including men's, women's, youth, slow pitch, fast pitch and modified pitch, under the aegis of the American Softball Association. In charge of softball tournament play, he also learned a lot about umpiring.
After that, Erickson taught 16 different physical education classes at Emory University. At Dartmouth, Erickson teaches two classes per term in addition to organizing the intramural programs. He usually focuses on racquetball and has taken on squash for this summer.
He uses many techniques to get students excited about the sport. For example, playing "King of the Mountain" and "Beat the Coach" make learning all the more fun.
"I've not only been able to work with him as a referee and supervisor but he was also my instructor for my racquetball gym class, so I have gotten to know him in a number of different atmospheres," Anne Peterson '98, who works for Erickson in the intramurals department, said. "What is most prevalent, though, is his great attitude toward the students -- teaching, having fun and playing competitive sports."
Along with physical education classes, Erickson has seen success in organizing the intramurals. In this term alone, softball, soccer, volleyball, three-on-three basketball and tennis (singles and doubles) were offered.
By far, the traditional team sport staples were the most popular. Softball and volleyball each had about 15 teams.
"These are basic sports that people already know how to play," he said.
"Dartmouth is a very lucky school because there is a core group of students on campus during the sophomore summer to fill up the intramural leagues. Other schools have a much tougher time filling programs," he said.
During the year, residence halls, and freshmen in particular, form a large contingency of the intramurals. But during the summer, affinity houses like the Coeds and the Greeks tend to pick up the slack. Faculty, staff and graduate student teams help out, too.
For example, Tuck teams are strong every season, especially in the winter.
"Tuck puts forth 10-12 teams out of 50 when it comes to hockey. It's incredible," Erickson said. "Dartmouth has more intramural hockey teams than any other school in the U.S. of this size."
A large part of the success of the intramural programs this summer is owed to the seven supervisors who go out to the fields. Well-versed in how to handle emergencies, they ensure that the fields and equipment are safe to use.
Peterson described working in the Intramural Sports Department as a "really great time. It has been a great way to meet new people, to learn new skills and to earn money and hang out with your friends at the same time."
Surprisingly, officials weren't used this term.
"In general, the summer is more social. Teams are scrambling to get players, and they just want to have fun. Sportsmanship is very good because the league is more relaxed. It's best when people participate and play for the right reason -- to have fun," Erickson said.
All in all, the intramural programs have run smoothly this summer. "As long as it runs like it normally does, things are going great. From time to time, we drop and add sports according to what is going on. But intramural competition works best when we have just enough teams for two leagues. That way different teams play each other in the playoffs," Erickson said.
While the programs have been successful, Erickson always has future goals on his mind.
"I hope that basketball officiating continues to improve," he said. "We had a lot of good freshmen from the football team who turned out to be great basketball supervisors. Football officials are tough to recruit though, even though it is easier to do than basketball."
Reffing "is a great job, because you get to be outside, or inside when it is cold, and get some physical exercise," Malia Bodhaine '98 said of working for Erickson. "It is a great experience to referee because it is a challenging and demanding job managing our own peers in this situation. Steve is great. He is really supportive and is pretty laid back so you can do your job well."
