Chris Wheeler, cricket team co-captain

How did you get into your sport?

I got into it largely through my granddad. My granddad was a very keen cricketer, so whenever he came around to our house, I’d always play cricket with him. And then, in 2005, England had one of the best cricket series ever against Australia and I kind of got hooked on that through watching it with my granddad. From then, I just kept on going; I’ve been playing for about nine years now.

Why do you love your sport?

I love it because of the levels of tact and complexity that it has. I also love team sports in general, so I love how this is a team sport with also a very individual element to it. I think it has a nice mix. You also get to spend a lot of time socializing with your teammates.

How does your sport help you with other things in life?

I think it’s helped me a lot with leadership because I’ve had the opportunity to captain various cricket teams. It’s just a very good skill to learn to manage people, along with learning to think strategically. It has also taught me a lot of patience; it’s a very long game, and it’s something you have to persevere with a lot.

Emil Goldsmith, captain and coach of badminton

How did you get into your sport?

Well, it was when I was very young, maybe seven or eight. I had to find a sport, and since badminton is the third largest sport after football and handball in Denmark, I got interested in it. I started going to practices and I’ve been playing ever since.

Why do you love your sport?

It’s hard to explain. In general, I really love competition and how when you put effort into something, you can feel the outcome — that’s always awesome. This is what badminton has been for me. Playing singles, I also love how it’s just you on the court, and you have to take all the responsibility yourself.

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

I look up to a lot of the Danish badminton stars, because we do quite well internationally. Recently, I’ve been following a really young Danish player. His name is Viktor Axelsen and he’s about my age.

Ella Noll, basketball team co-captain

How did you get into your sport?

My older sister played, and she is two years older than me, so that was just enough time for me to watch her enjoy it. When I got to the sixth grade, I started playing too. That was when I was about 10 or 11.

Why do you love your sport?

I like the team aspect of basketball. In high school, I also ran cross-country but I really hated it, partly just because you’re on your own and it’s all dependent on yourself. Whereas with basketball, even if you’re having a bad day, your team can still do well and you’re always counting on each other. You also have this team atmosphere, which we’re slowly working on here.

How does your sport help you with other things in life?

It’s nice here because it gets me to wake up on time, even though I don’t always have classes in the mornings. I get up and feel more productive. Also, I guess being named the captain this year has made me more vocal and given me a chance to be a leader. I was not a leader in high school — at all — so it’s been kind of fun to take on that role.

Imtiyaz Hariyani, cricket team co-captain

How did you get into your sport?

It was back in 2003, during the time the Cricket World Cup was in South Africa. I was living in the United States and my dad had bought a subscription for the matches. We used to stay up late at night and watch them together. So I’d say it was my dad who got me interested, even though I did not understand much of the game at the time.

Why do you love your sport?

I love cricket mainly because of the the spirit of the game. It’s called the gentleman’s game, and I’ve gained a lot of true sportsman spirit from it.

How does your sport help you with other things in life?

Most importantly, it releases my stress. I look at it as a huge stress-buster, because I’m taking Foundations of Science, and there is quite a lot of stress. Secondly, it gives me a source of pleasure: even just watching M.S. Dhoni bat makes me happy.

Willem Cant, volleyball captain

Why do you love your sport?

I think the nice thing about volleyball is that there’s so many different aspects to the game. So we’ve got team spirit that’s so important, but there’s also lots of the technical aspects.

How does your sport help you with other things in life?

Something I really enjoy about volleyball sessions here is that we’ve got a great team and everyone is always having fun practicing. The games are also loads of fun.