Running around a field while wearing a five-foot diameter plastic bubble is a new way to earn college credit. “Try it; you’ll love it,” said Nathaniel Buttel, an engineering major. This semester, Amarillo College is offering bubble soccer for both continuing education and physical education credit. Offering the class for a physical education credit gives students more interesting options, said Trent Oneal, a fitness and life services instructor. Students also can come play just for fun. “Every person involved in the game wears a giant ball and tries to get the soccer ball in the goal,” Oneal said. “It’s kind of experimental. We’re excited to see how far it will go as far as popularity and all that we can do with it.” Each team consists of up to six players, and the game consists of four quarters, 8 to 12 minutes long. A goal counts as one point, and the team with the most points at the end of the last quarter wins. Players say they enjoy wearing the giant bubble ball because it allows them to run into each other and fall down without getting hurt. “I like how they hit and they fly,” said Holly Clark, a player and general studies major. Practices take place at 7 p.m. Wednesdays at the Memorial Park soccer field next to the Washington Street Campus. If weather conditions are bad, players move inside Carter Fitness Center. “You won’t regret it,” said Intramural Coordinator Calee Follins. “It will be the best couple of hours of your week.”
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