In an open letter to the Whitman tennis team in 1998 Dr. George H. Ball, a former professor of religion at Whitman, said, “The tennis court is not simply a place for an athletic event. It is a stage on which a large part of what is to be the theme of one’s life is acted out. It is almost certain that what you are on the tennis court is what you will be as a friend, as a husband or wife and in your professional life.”

Varsity athletics at Whitman are some of many ways that the college provides experience beyond the intellectual. Through my sport I can observe how my attitude and decisions affect my own performance as well as my relationships with others.

There are several aspects of Whitman that make it the perfect place for such an idealistic view of athletics to exist, as a passion and a model for life, not as the obsession that it can become. Whitman, as a Division III NCAA school, offers no athletic scholarships and has stricter limits on the amount of time athletes are required to spend on their sport. Furthermore, Whitman doesn’t have a football team or a strong central mascot.

At Whitman there is no reason to play tennis except for the passion I feel for it and the acknowledgment that it has shaped my personality. As an athlete, I play because I want to, not because I rely on it for financial support or for my identity as I might at another, more athletically centered college.

Hadley Debree sees athletics as “a way to learn how to deal with certain situations…in a supportive, encouraging environment. I learn to overcome obstacles on the tennis court, that I will face in the rest of my life, and know I have a group of people supporting me,” the sophomore tennis player said. Yet the lack of athletic culture at Whitman creates a very different type of sports community from other colleges.

Students bring more to the athletic community that draws from different aspects of the college campus.

There isn’t a singular cultish unification around sport. Instead, the athletic community at Whitman focuses on how the common passion fits creatively into a variety of identities.

“Soccer is my passion, but I think Whitman has a responsibility to offer a variety of activities so that everyone can pursue their passion,” said first-year soccer player John Fleming. Whitman isn’t singularly focused on athletics financially or literally: look to the new art building or our award-winning literary magazine for the ways the school fosters other students’ passions at the college.

Varsity athletics are a crucial part of some students’ development as individuals. From it they practice focus, commitment and passion. Yet athletics are part of a variety of activities that a college should offer to its students. It is Whitman’s skepticism about athletics that makes it possible for athletics to exist as a part of a balanced college rather than an obsession.

Fleming described the balance: “It’s about head, heart and hands. The head is the academics; the heart, for me, is the soccer and the hands is going out into the world and applying what you’ve learned.”