The Bushwhacker Football Club

By Brandon Pichanick, MPIA 2014

Bush School students participate in Texas A&M intramurals for many different reasons. For some, it is simply a break from a long night of studying or a tedious assignment. For others, it is for pure enjoyment of the game, reminiscing on past experiences with the sport, or wishing to keep certain skills fresh and sharp. It is also a healthy and constructive avenue to take aggression and stress from the week out on an innocent stranger with a soccer ball. This third purpose is perhaps more common than one might think. Whatever the reason may be, Bush School students have entered into another season of indoor soccer intramurals at the Student Recreation Center.

For the 2013 Fall semester, the Bushwhacker FC (FC stands for football club for all you unfamiliar with soccer lingo – like FC Barcelona and Manchester United FC), started the season with two teams in the Texas A&M intramural recreational leagues. Both teams consist of a mixture of IA and SA candidates, first and second years, and are coed. The only difference between the two teams is skill level. One team is filled with players very familiar with competitive soccer and who have played extensively in high school and/or college. The other team is a much more casual and less-competitive group of students. The two teams were on separate brackets and had successful seasons, each reaching the playoffs. The competitive team’s first playoff game is Halloween night, October 31st at 7:45pm at the Student Recreation Center. Unfortunately, even though the other Bushwhackers team made it to the playoffs they recently lost in their first playoff game and are out for the season. Each one had a fun time playing together and looks forward to playing together again in the Spring season, which takes place outdoors.

It is important to note that the competitive team has been single handedly carried by the girls on the team this season. With very little substitutions and difficult class schedules to weave through, the women of the Bushwhackers FC have carried the team through the season and into the playoffs. The team is very confident that the women will put on yet another very promising and successful performance during their first playoff game on Halloween night. The team looks to carry the Bush School as far as they can throughout the playoffs and hopefully into the Championship game in December. The competitive team is fun to watch as they all possess clear eyes, play with full hearts and, based off their performances from recent games, assuredly cannot lose.