Ben Oler, a third year mathematics major, is a member of the UCSB club tennis team, but also a familiar face in Intramural soccer. Oler, a deceptively gifted soccer player, has played Intramural soccer for three years and has made a name for himself.
“Freshman year, I went out for the Indy team and met a bunch of people through that,” Oler said. “Also, I played a lot with Ruby Slippers [pickup games].”
This past fall quarter, Oler won the Indoor Coed A championship with the Mysterious Dwarves and earned 2nd place in Outdoor Coed A with the Snowy Plovers. Winter Quarter, he continued indoor with the Dwarves, but chose to play outdoor with friends on rival Coed A team Big Yellow. The switch resulted in confusion between team captains and escalated the rivalry.
“No matter who I play for, they give me a hard time [for switching teams],” Oler said.
This spring quarter, Oler, a calm, easy-going individual, decided to cease the hostilities and forgo outdoor soccer.
“If I do play, they know I’m not doing playoffs,” Oler said. “Everyone needs players and doesn’t want a forfeit. When playoffs come around, I have to choose a team.”
Luckily, Oler prefers indoor Intramural soccer. With his quick bursts of speed and great foot skills, he’s the ideal indoor player.
“I like the speed of the game… It’s faster, you get more touches on the ball,” Oler said. “The field isn’t as wide, it’s more sprinting instead of actual running. I feel that I’m better at indoor, I can break away from players.”
When asked about his status as a highly coveted teammate, Oler replied, “It’s humbling… I’m not the best player, but I’m better as a teammate. I like people telling me they need me to do something for them. If they’re cool people, I’ll come through; it’s no big deal for me.”
