PRESSURE....PUSHIN' DOWN ON ME, PUSHIN' DOWN ON YOU.

From my impatience and dreams of grandeur, I think I find myself expecting to make major leaps in my rugby playing when I truly need to remain patient in my progress. For many aspects of rugby, the number one ingredient it takes to develop them is time.

Simply wishing for it and wanting to get better obviously isn’t enough. Studying the game and practicing these skills will also help along the way, but won’t get me to that next level. In the end, there is no substitution for experience.

Because experience is so valuable and irreplaceable, that is also why it’s so important to practice how you play and make drills as close to the game time experience as possible. Being able to perform the same quality of skills under pressure and with fatigue almost cannot be taught. Fitness can be a huge help in both of these categories since maintaining a clear head with rational decision making becomes tougher when you’re tired. Knowledge of the game itself can also come in handy so you basically have a google search of options ready to go in your back pocket at all times.

But since there is still NO substitution for experience, it makes me all the more grateful that I have the opportunity once again to play at a competitive level with Stars Rugby and North Shore Women’s Rugby. Both teams provide me with opportunities to learn every single day, and no matter who I’m with I just need to keep on playing-playing-playing-PLAYING. Every practice, game, training camp, skills session, or workout is a HUGE opportunity missed to climb another step on the ladder of progress. That’s why if I REALLY want to go far, then those things HAVE to take priority over all whenever possible. It takes a lot of sacrifices, but none would be as big of a sacrifice as losing the chance at doing what I love best.

SO ANYWAYS, I’m having some struggles with things I specifically need to focus on improving in game play where they are put to the test the most. It takes a lot of simply being able to handle pressure and make the right decisions at the right time.

• Hesitation right before passing – when running in the back line and getting ready to pass to my teammate, I have a really bad habit of almost completely stopping in my tracks before sending off a pass. While I believe this is part of my brain assuring me that I am going to make an accurate and effective pass, I completely telegraph what I’m going to do and where the ball is going. Not only do I take myself completely out of the play, but I also set up my teammate for failure because the defense will pounce on her like white on rice! I know that communication from my teammates and with my teammates will help alleviate this, but trust will also be a huge factor. I need to have confidence that whoever I pass to is going to be there at the right time to receive it and not need so much reassurance that I am doing the right thing. At practices we've also worked on having your head on a swivel – it’s important to be assessing the defense in front of you and determining what you think their next move will be…are they cheating a little towards the rest of the line and leaving a gap or an opportunity for a dummy pass?...are they pressuring quickly?....are they clumping and leaving an overload out wide?
• Passing too quickly - especially when there's pressure from the defense involved, it's easy to feel the need to get a pass off to my teammate ASAP. But DON'T-FALL-FOR-IT. Passing too quickly is practically like asking the defense to take a break. It's easy as pie for the defense to shift down the line and see where the ball is clearly going ahead of time when you pass the ball immediately. But holding onto the ball, even for a step or two longer, can make all the difference....this is starting to sound ironic since I just talked about why hesitation before passing can be a bad thing. My coach made a good point at practice - any type of change in speed before passing can help throw off the defense. Whether you start at a lighter pace then have a sudden burst, or speed up then do a little side step/pause, simply mixing this up can keep the defense on your toes and not give them the opportunity to clearly know what's coming next. 

In the end, it just makes me all that more grateful for the opportunities I have been given to play on such wonderful teams in a variety of places. The more diverse and unique of a crowd I play with, the more universal this game becomes. The best rugby players can pick up a ball and be able to make magic happen with whoever is on their side.