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Double Footlings claim fifth championship by Heather Woolwine Public Relations With a mean age of 30 in a league filled with those under 25, MUSC’s Double Footlings soccer team recently toasted its fifth Mount Pleasant Co-ed Soccer League championship crown after a year plagued with injuries. Started about eight years ago in the MUSC OB/GYN Department with the help of Roger Newman, M.D., professor and vice-chairman for academic affairs, the Double Footlings team was a true mix of veteran players and newcomers. “A guy in our department wanted to get a Mount Pleasant team going and asked if I’d play,” Newman said. “I’d never played before and was definitely not a runner, so I told him I’d be happy to play goalie. I’m too big and old to play anything else.” After the first year, the name Double Footlings was born, a play on the OB/GYN term describing a birth where the baby is breech, and both legs dangle from the womb. The team’s logo depicts a baby’s rear and legs over a soccer ball. An avid supporter of all intramural sports associated with MUSC, “Dancing Bear” Newman coaches the team which has become “feared” within the Mount Pleasant league, with four of their tournament wins running consecutively from 1998 through 2001. Newman encourages those on the intramural soccer, volleyball, and basketball teams to be competitive, as he believes participation in sports to be a testament to competition in the medical field. “A competitive nature is important to any health care professional or student because it drives people to put in more effort, practice harder, and become the best they can be at whatever is pursued,” Newman said. “Competitive people don’t like to lose, in anything.” Now comprised of players from other departments and schools, the Double Footlings’ co-ed team plays during the fall and spring seasons at the Patriot’s Point soccer fields in Mount Pleasant and remains true to its roots by supporting players of all skill levels. “Something that really sets us apart and makes us an excellent as opposed to a good team is the quality of our female players,” Newman said. “Our women are great…they are dedicated, very competitive, and play very hard.” While the Double Footlings currently have a full roster, MUSC Student Programs also supports a variety of soccer and other teams that participate in Mount Pleasant leagues. For more information, call 792-2693. Although it may be fun and games, Newman points to one more benefit of participating in an intramural sports program. “Medicine is demanding and stressful,” he said. “Athletic and intramural programs create a wonderful diversion from the long hours and stress of caring for sick people, and the demanding nature of many aspects of health care. Everyone, especially residents and students, really enjoy the release. It’s important to have enthusiasm outside the workday.”   Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.