Thinking of taking up a spring sport....help please?

So I go to college full time and in a fun-fitness-make-new-friends effort I think I'm going to sign up for an intramural sport in the spring. I'm kind of wondering which one to try! I've never played a sport before so I want to pick the one that's best for me and a good work out. My options are:

badmitton, basketball, squash, tennis, soccer, dodgeball, flag football, golf, softball, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, and wiffleball

I'm a proficient runner, I dislike baseball type sports (rules out softball and wiffleball), and I don't have any raquets or equipment, so I think I'm left with soccer and basketball - any advice on either? what should I do to condition myself?

I'd go with ultimate frisbee.

Yeah, I know it involves a frisbee, but that's really it, and frisbees are about $20. But, still, it's tons of fun! 

Ultimate frisbee or flag football fo sho!

Oh I actually wanted to do flag football first! I forgot to say, I can't do that one because there' no co-ed team, only boys (I'm not a boy).

I don't know anything about ultimate frisbee, is it hard? what does it entail?

Having played both at differents times of my life, I favor basketball.  Mainly because I tend to be better with my hands than my feet when it comes to ball handling. 

Basketball tends to be a little more physical than soccer.  I thought soccer was a better workout because you have to cover more ground.

For either sport, you will definitely needs endurance.  If I get away from basketball and don't keep up with my cardio, I will be sucking wind in the first 5 minutes.  If you're a proficient runner, either sport will work for you.

I guess it just comes down to whether you want to handle the ball with your hands, or your feet.

basketball or flag football, both involve a lot of running and work with hand and feet coordination. 

Actually, if there are no girls teams, the program will very likely let you play flag-football with the guys, and it's a good choice because so little skill is actually required (nothing like dribbling in either soccer or basketball).

I took up soccer at age 46 but I had played basketball and football (touch/coed, I'm a girl too!) and I think it may be a very good choice, too, because running is important. I think  you can get away without dribbling in soccer if you can become a good passer, but that's harder to do in basketball. Still, if it is intramural, maybe the level of competition in either soccer or basketball won't be too much.

Ultimate frisbee is totally wonderful (I've played with kids at school) if you can learn to catch the darn thing! It as all the running of soccer, too.

So, just jump in. No choice will be a bad one, truthfully. You'll have fun and get great exercise with most of the sports you are considering!

Basketball!!!

It does take a little skill but you are so focused and it is so fast pace that you wont think about being tired... Until the end. great sport!

I would choose the one that interests you the most. One that involves the most sprinting would be the best choice. HIIT is excellent for you.

i know badminton doesn't sound intense, but i played all through high school and it was INSANE!! we would do sprints, drills, and sometimes my matches would last well over an hour! I even passed out once! its a ton of fun, and when you get long rallies, it requires lots of agility and coordination! if your rec center has equipment to check out I HIGHLY SUGGEST IT!! its so much fun and it is NOT your normal backyard badminton.

All of these sports are going to be fun once you learn the skills to be good in them. Its up to you..what do you want to be good at? Think about a sport you'd like to do even after spring is over, something you'd truly be proud that you were a part of. If it comes down to more then one sport then choose the one that has better people in it (personality wise).

My personal favorites are volleyball and badminton

From personal experience I defientely have to recomend Ultimate Frisbee.

I'm on the team at University of Maryland and its unbelieveable. And defientely goes along with the "fun-fitness-make-new-friends effort" you seem to be looking for. The people are incredibly nice, and when we go to tournaments it's usually out of state, and travelling with a group of guys (or in your case gals) is definetely an experience. We're all pretty close because of it. And the parties are usually crazy.

Basically the sport is 7 vs. 7 and one frisbee. No ref's or anything, all the rules are self inforced. the jist of the game is that if you have the frisbee you cant run, you pivot on one foot and pass it to a team mate. To score your team has to catch the frisbee in the endzone. granted it gets alot more complicated, especially in organized frisbee which your college probably will be like. All in all its a great workout, and you have to run pretty hard.

It shouldnt be too hard to pick up and understand. But even if it's confusing at first the people on the teams are pretty understanding and chill. I know our team is always welcome to newcomers and we all have a blast.

Check out these websites:

http://www.upa.org/

http://www.studentorg.umd.edu/ultimate/

As far as weight loss goes, Ive played 1 semester so far, and lost about 12 pounds (without dieting all too seriously).

Ultimate is basically a combination of soccer and football (kinda at least), but SO much fun!

It CAN easily be really intense, or really easy, but it depends on how hard you push yourself! (I always get really into the game and am soaked with sweat by the end!) 

I'm thinking about ultimate but at the same time I'm scared I won't be able to catch the dang thing. I actually think I'm going to do soccer, it sounds the easiest to me based on my skills (I'm not too good with the hands, better with my feet) - I actually have to work on my aggressiveness, I have this tendency to not get in the game. I'm going to sign up and hopefully I'll be on a team soon enough! It's sort of to lose weight but also just to be active and make friends

I'd really like to take up tennis, there's a tennis court right near my house. I think for fathers day I'm going to buy a set of tennis rackets for my dad and I and we'll go play together.

I think I just like the idea of being an athlete, not just a person who exercises.

Soccer would have been my second choice. 

Seriously, just have fun with it. I've not played much of tennis, so I can't say anything about it. But, my BFF is an incrediable tennis player, and she loves it... and another friend is soccer obsessed. Both are 100% awesome!

Soccer is just an amazing sport! I cannot believe I never even learned to play as a kid; it definitely would have been "my" sport. And if you can play indoor, too, go for it. It is about twice as intense as outdoor!! The speed of the game is just amazing, like one long HIIT workout (because you sprint, sprint, sprint, then have to come out to breathe!! Then in you go, sprint, sprint, sprint some more!) Outdoor has lots of running, too, however; you won't be disapponted!

Best of luck.

Volleyball! It's fun, easy to learn and it gets you moving.

Good for you on getting out there and getting involved!!! 

 Just remember - anything worth doing is worth doing badly - until you get the hang of it and can do it with skill.

 As long as you're having fun, the skills to do it well will come in time ;)

Original Post by lafoutloud01:

I'm thinking about ultimate but at the same time I'm scared I won't be able to catch the dang thing. I actually think I'm going to do soccer, it sounds the easiest to me based on my skills (I'm not too good with the hands, better with my feet)

 If you don't mind me asking, why limit yourself to just one sport.  If intermurals at your school are anything like they were at mine, intermurals aren't really a big time commitment and someone could easily play on 3-4 intermural teams at once.  Being on a few teams at once also lessens the chance that you'll end up not getting a lot out of it because of scheduling conflicts or because one team doesn't bother to show up (I was on an intermural floor hockey team that finished forth in the school without actually playing a game, 3 strait wins by forfeit then 2 loses by forfeit).

I would like to do 2 sports but I mean, I'm a full time student (and a good one) at a really top notch university, I have a job, and I like to work out regularly. I want to be part of a team for the sake of being part of a team - this isn't going to be my only form of exercise, just a fun addition to running and weight lifting (and the occasional pilates class with my friends).

Thanks for all your advice everyone, I registered into the system as a "free agent" so now I'm just waiting to get picked up by a team :) I can't wait to try my hand at something new!