SO, today at work (I work with kids ages 11-12), I brought my rugby ball and kicking tee because we had a field trip to a national park that had really big open fields to play on. I didn't think that the kids were going to be that interested because of the complexity of the sport, but they actually loved it. I think that what I did with the kids today for over three hours people should try and do for newcomers to the sport, during practices on various teams, and especially children to expose them to the idea of rugby. Today we actually pulled off a flag rugby game, and it worked beautifully! I thought it was going to be such a fail, because I had to think of a way to play it with the kids while minimizing the amount of contact but still making the sport as fun and lively as it is.
I even think this could be better than the touch rugby that we usually do at practices (except we could instill a little more contact that the amount I had to subtract for the kids); I've always hated touch rugby because I think it's so unrealistic and doesn't practice certain skills that you need. Tagging someone in rugby just by tapping them almost throws away half of the offensive opportunities you're given in rugby, and I'd say almost 100% of the time there is contact involved on offense anyway (hence the touch rugby making offense almost useless, way to long, and practically needing breakaways to score). I think that the flags around the waist is much more realistic, and closer to the area that a person aims for to tackle someone anyway. It also leaves room on offense for players to make moves, break through the defense more, and actually go into contact. So many epiphanies!!
Here are some rules for flag rugby I came up with on the fly that worked well:
- The kids wore a belt with two flags that were attached by a velcro. When someone pulled one of their flags, it was considered a tackle.
- Instead of rucking, the person who got tackled would put the ball between their legs, as if they were rucking over the ball. That team on offense had four seconds to get the ball off the ground (I figured that was the most logical amount of time that a scrumhalf usually has to get the ball out of a ruck), and if they didn't after four seconds then the team on defense could attempt to take it.
- With the kids, there weren't really set positions for simplicity purposes; I didn't want to bombard them with a ton of rules at once. So anyone could take the ball out of a ruck, and I didn't really go over rules of obstruction, but the rules of offsides and no forward passes were still well alive and active.
- I couldn't figure out how to do scrums without any contact, but we still did line outs which I was surprised worked! One person would throw the ball out of bounds and over their head, like normal, but the two teams would line up in two lines the same width as a regular line out. Instead of lifting anyone in the air though, the ball would be thrown in right down the middle (not necessarily all the way to the end of the line out) and both teams would try and grab it. They really liked the line outs, and they were always really excited to try throwing in the ball!
They also really loved trying all the different kinds of kicks and passes. And some of the girls got really hot and asked if they could still play rugby but with water balloons, which at first I thought was a ridiculous idea but then realized could actually be beneficial! If you play with water balloons as a rugby ball, you obviously have to take serious care of the ball so that it doesn't explode, and you almost need to catch the ball/balloon with two hands or else it'll blow up or hit the ground and blow up. People should always catch with two hands in rugby anyway, so it would be really cool to play that sort of version where it's legit vital! It sounds like super good practice for hands and passing in general!
So anyways, it kind of drove me insane that the younger generation does not know at lot about rugby at all. Today was the first exposure to the sport that some kids had ever seen, and a lot of them wanted to keep playing and play on a team! I wish that rugby was more popular here, and that kids got a chance to play it more (even just a CHANCE! There are literally almost ZERO opportunities for kids to play rugby...but a ton to play football....which makes no sense). It would improve a person's game SO much. I hope I can continue to do what I can to contribute to rugby in the United States in very little ways :)
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
PHEW! Boy has it been a long run...literally. Now that I work about 40 hours a week, I've had to bend over backwards to find the time and strength for rugby training. It's been really hard to drag myself to the gym after working 9 hours in a row. But, there's no way that I can let up for a second. I may not be able to give my 100% best effort all the time right now, and I may not be doing as much as I possibly can to get ready for rugby, but I just need to get through this part of the season and come out of it in at least some sort of decent shape. This is by far the hardest part of the season, because sometimes my will power and my body's exhaustion want to tell me that rugby season is over and that I don't need to worry about working out as hard or as frequently. But that couldn't be any farther from the truth; if anything it's actually the complete opposite. It's most important for me to work out as much as I can right now so that I don't come back into the fall unprepared and behind. These are the overtime hours that will really put me one step ahead. Like I have always said and believed, rugby season is never over.
I'm happy that I can still maintain under an 8 minute mile though, that's still a decent speed to have under my belt. But obviously there is still immense amounts of room for improvement. I hope that I can still maintain some good endurance in running; it's been a little harder to work on endurance with my time restraints, but I have to try harder to make sure it's not completely ignored. I have also really started to utilize various exercise machines at the gym to work out every main muscle group in my body. What's funny is that not only did I used to overlook almost all of the machines, but there were different muscles that I always ignored and thought of as sort of silly to work out. For instance, I always thought it was sort of funny that people worked out their back muscles, unless they were super old and weak since that sounded like the only legitimate purpose to it. But now when I think about it, every single muscle is needed in rugby. There isn't one that you don't use! And, I think it's actually really important to work out your back for rugby, especially when you think about how many times you're hit there, you land on it, and how much you truly use it for almost everything you do. Realizing how the seemingly silly back muscle work out proved to be important for rugby, I decided to make sure that I give the same, undivided attention to every other piece of my body since they're all equally important for rugby. I can definitely notice my arms growing in size, because now instead of doing a few dumbbell work outs I have been working out my biceps, triceps, wrists (even more important now since I broke my left one, so it's weaker than usual), chest, and deltoids all separately and all getting the same amount of attention. I have even gotten into doing leg workouts outside of just running, because I'm sure that there are certain things various exercises and machines can do to strengthen my leg muscles that running can't. As much as I catch myself on a regular basis questioning my work ethic and efforts for rugby and whether or not I'm doing enough, I'm at least putting in a decent amount of thought to this and trying to get on a good regimen based around the circumstances I am given.
Also, I have come across a rugby video game! It is called Rugby 2006 from EA Sports (bahaha), and I think it's hysterical. I can't play any "real matches" yet because I'm super unfamiliar with video games and lose virtual matches against South Africa at least 70 - 0, and I can't help but get disappointed, upset, and feeling like crying since it's still my little cyber rugby team getting crushed. But I think it's so much fun and really funny to practice kicking, tackling, and the "side step, shoulder charge, and hand off (a stiff arm, haha)." I think in a way it's actually somewhat helpful to remember all these little tactics and specifics to rugby, because sometimes they can be overlooked (especially in the heat of a game moment). That's why you need to know all these little things almost like they're on the back of your palm, because they're all the little things that count and matter so much in a rugby game. And the practice drills that you play on the side to learn the controls of the game are actually drills that I think would be really cool to do in real life! There was even a practice drill for drop kicking for points, and it made me realize how much I should practice that more. I guess in general I would say any sort of exposure to rugby, whether watching it or playing it (in real life or virtually, ha ha) is extremely beneficial to someone's rugby game. I'd love to use this video game for chalk talks with the team....my real human rugby team, that is, haha.
I'm happy that I can still maintain under an 8 minute mile though, that's still a decent speed to have under my belt. But obviously there is still immense amounts of room for improvement. I hope that I can still maintain some good endurance in running; it's been a little harder to work on endurance with my time restraints, but I have to try harder to make sure it's not completely ignored. I have also really started to utilize various exercise machines at the gym to work out every main muscle group in my body. What's funny is that not only did I used to overlook almost all of the machines, but there were different muscles that I always ignored and thought of as sort of silly to work out. For instance, I always thought it was sort of funny that people worked out their back muscles, unless they were super old and weak since that sounded like the only legitimate purpose to it. But now when I think about it, every single muscle is needed in rugby. There isn't one that you don't use! And, I think it's actually really important to work out your back for rugby, especially when you think about how many times you're hit there, you land on it, and how much you truly use it for almost everything you do. Realizing how the seemingly silly back muscle work out proved to be important for rugby, I decided to make sure that I give the same, undivided attention to every other piece of my body since they're all equally important for rugby. I can definitely notice my arms growing in size, because now instead of doing a few dumbbell work outs I have been working out my biceps, triceps, wrists (even more important now since I broke my left one, so it's weaker than usual), chest, and deltoids all separately and all getting the same amount of attention. I have even gotten into doing leg workouts outside of just running, because I'm sure that there are certain things various exercises and machines can do to strengthen my leg muscles that running can't. As much as I catch myself on a regular basis questioning my work ethic and efforts for rugby and whether or not I'm doing enough, I'm at least putting in a decent amount of thought to this and trying to get on a good regimen based around the circumstances I am given.
Also, I have come across a rugby video game! It is called Rugby 2006 from EA Sports (bahaha), and I think it's hysterical. I can't play any "real matches" yet because I'm super unfamiliar with video games and lose virtual matches against South Africa at least 70 - 0, and I can't help but get disappointed, upset, and feeling like crying since it's still my little cyber rugby team getting crushed. But I think it's so much fun and really funny to practice kicking, tackling, and the "side step, shoulder charge, and hand off (a stiff arm, haha)." I think in a way it's actually somewhat helpful to remember all these little tactics and specifics to rugby, because sometimes they can be overlooked (especially in the heat of a game moment). That's why you need to know all these little things almost like they're on the back of your palm, because they're all the little things that count and matter so much in a rugby game. And the practice drills that you play on the side to learn the controls of the game are actually drills that I think would be really cool to do in real life! There was even a practice drill for drop kicking for points, and it made me realize how much I should practice that more. I guess in general I would say any sort of exposure to rugby, whether watching it or playing it (in real life or virtually, ha ha) is extremely beneficial to someone's rugby game. I'd love to use this video game for chalk talks with the team....my real human rugby team, that is, haha.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
AND...
I found out today that the sweet documentary about the real Springboks team that the movie Invictus is based off of is called The 16th Man Education, and narrated by Morgan Freeman (so you can't go wrong). But what an awesome title!! It's funny that I even get excited over the awesome depth I see in just the title, which I could be totally making up, but I like thinking about the "16th man" in rugby - the person that isn't necessarily on the field playing but still a major contributor.
Teeny tiny pat on the shoulder.
YES. Today I practiced kicking again for a few hours and I had quite the turnaround since the mental breakdown I had a little while ago with it. Not only did I see some improvement, but I definitely realized something I was doing wrong which I consider a HUGE success. Ha ha, I absolutely love it when I am able to point out my own faults and mistakes! Now I know exactly what to work on, and when my kicking doesn't go right I know what I can fix. Before kicking a field goal, I usually try and calculate in my head exactly how many steps I should take back, what angle I should be at, and the number and size of strides I need to take before kicking the ball so I build up enough momentum and have enough power to accurately kick the ball. Sometimes, in this calculation I've finally noticed that I am overestimating where to position myself so I end up way too far away from the ball. Today I tried to focus a little more and be a little more exact as to where I should position myself, and it made all the difference. I even started playing "around the world" field goal kicking style and had success in it! I'd say I made over ten field goals today, which is a nice progress compared to the negative amounts I have made in the past.
I need to remember where I began in this journey to learn how to kick field goals. First of all, before any sort of practice with this, I haven't even had much experience with kicking in general; I played soccer until I was about 10 years old and then completely dropped it (although it seems like a really fun sport...I wish I played it more!). When I first took a shot at practicing any sort of kicking, I could barely get the ball off the ground. HA, I remember when I first tried to attempt drop kicking, I ended up flat on my back...Charlie Brown style. I practiced in all sorts of conditions. I don't think I'll ever forget kicking the ball around (horribly, it was an ugly sight) in the middle of my school's quad and in the middle of pouring rain, and hearing people laugh and holler at me from different dorm windows. Totally embarrassing, but I still ran around in the mud practicing kicking anyway. And drop kicking in the snow was almost impossible, but for some reason I thought if I practiced it enough times I would see some sort of improvement. But I did one heck of a lot of research for all sorts of rugby kicking, just like I did when I wanted to play scrumhalf and researched tips and drills for passing, and I think that really helped. I also had some help from a few teammates who are really great at kicking, and I think with these two knowledgeable sources and a ton of practice I made baby steps. My first successful drop kick was like a miracle, and now I do all the drop kicks for our team! I definitely have an incredibly long way to go, but even getting the ball off the ground is progress from where I began. And the same goes for field goals; they have taken me even longer than drop kicking to see progress in. Even up until our first game last fall season, I could not make it ANYWHERE NEAR the posts even if you lined me up right in front of them super close. It kills me that we lost that game by a very very small amount, an amount that could have been made up if I had made my field goals. I did not make a single field goal the entire season, and even in the spring I never made one. But I still continued to practice-practice-practice-practice-practice-practice-practice. I even marked out a tree behind one of our school's buildings that was the perfect high of rugby posts and aimed over that (probably killed a few birds in the process...it's fine). I got some books with really fine tune details about where and how to position your foot in field goal kicking, and I started making progress. I one day had a freak accident field goal that turned out being perfect, and from there I at least thought that it was even possible for me to make a field goal. But after that I started to really get into the calculating part of field goal kicking, and focusing on every aspect of it. And that's when I started to get almost 50-50 with my kicking. I was able to make a decent amount of field goals, but it was definitely a gamble and not consistent. But from the constant amount of practice I put into it, I FINALLY had some success with it in the alumni game. I made all three of my field goals in a game situation, and I'm really proud of myself even though it means nothing at all and most of the kicks were fairly easy and near the posts. So a little while ago when my kicks went back to being dismal, it was infuriating because of the past amount of effort I have put into it! But I guess it shows that no matter how much practice I have put in before, does not mean I can suddenly stop and put it to rest. Today was great, but I can't think that it's okay for me to take a break from practicing kicking. Especially since my wrist is still bummed out and I have no time to play on a real team, it really is one of the only things I am still capable of practicing that is rugby related.
I need to remember where I began in this journey to learn how to kick field goals. First of all, before any sort of practice with this, I haven't even had much experience with kicking in general; I played soccer until I was about 10 years old and then completely dropped it (although it seems like a really fun sport...I wish I played it more!). When I first took a shot at practicing any sort of kicking, I could barely get the ball off the ground. HA, I remember when I first tried to attempt drop kicking, I ended up flat on my back...Charlie Brown style. I practiced in all sorts of conditions. I don't think I'll ever forget kicking the ball around (horribly, it was an ugly sight) in the middle of my school's quad and in the middle of pouring rain, and hearing people laugh and holler at me from different dorm windows. Totally embarrassing, but I still ran around in the mud practicing kicking anyway. And drop kicking in the snow was almost impossible, but for some reason I thought if I practiced it enough times I would see some sort of improvement. But I did one heck of a lot of research for all sorts of rugby kicking, just like I did when I wanted to play scrumhalf and researched tips and drills for passing, and I think that really helped. I also had some help from a few teammates who are really great at kicking, and I think with these two knowledgeable sources and a ton of practice I made baby steps. My first successful drop kick was like a miracle, and now I do all the drop kicks for our team! I definitely have an incredibly long way to go, but even getting the ball off the ground is progress from where I began. And the same goes for field goals; they have taken me even longer than drop kicking to see progress in. Even up until our first game last fall season, I could not make it ANYWHERE NEAR the posts even if you lined me up right in front of them super close. It kills me that we lost that game by a very very small amount, an amount that could have been made up if I had made my field goals. I did not make a single field goal the entire season, and even in the spring I never made one. But I still continued to practice-practice-practice-practice-practice-practice-practice. I even marked out a tree behind one of our school's buildings that was the perfect high of rugby posts and aimed over that (probably killed a few birds in the process...it's fine). I got some books with really fine tune details about where and how to position your foot in field goal kicking, and I started making progress. I one day had a freak accident field goal that turned out being perfect, and from there I at least thought that it was even possible for me to make a field goal. But after that I started to really get into the calculating part of field goal kicking, and focusing on every aspect of it. And that's when I started to get almost 50-50 with my kicking. I was able to make a decent amount of field goals, but it was definitely a gamble and not consistent. But from the constant amount of practice I put into it, I FINALLY had some success with it in the alumni game. I made all three of my field goals in a game situation, and I'm really proud of myself even though it means nothing at all and most of the kicks were fairly easy and near the posts. So a little while ago when my kicks went back to being dismal, it was infuriating because of the past amount of effort I have put into it! But I guess it shows that no matter how much practice I have put in before, does not mean I can suddenly stop and put it to rest. Today was great, but I can't think that it's okay for me to take a break from practicing kicking. Especially since my wrist is still bummed out and I have no time to play on a real team, it really is one of the only things I am still capable of practicing that is rugby related.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
At the root of it all.
My schedule is getting busier and busier, which means that it's going to get harder for me to figure out a work out plan and I'm going to have to plan a lot more around fitting time in to adequately train for rugby. Just because I'm developing more priorities over this summer, doesn't mean that rugby stops becoming one. This wouldn't be so difficult if it was during rugby season, because the reasons to stay in shape are clearly right in front of me during practices and games where I utilize what I'm building up. But the "off-season" (although in my rugby philosophy, this does not exist), it is sometimes harder to discipline yourself.
The other day I was thinking about why it is so important that I make sure I don't slow down my progress in training and make sure that I continue to push myself just as hard, and deep down I know there is no better reason I can think of than for my team. The reasons of working hard for rugby in order to stay in shape/lose weight or become a superstar just end up being so fickle. They absolutely do not last. Sure, they're great things that can also develop from training really hard, but no goal will push me more than the thought that I am helping my team. I want to get better for them so that I can contribute to my team, and any other team I may play on, as much as possible. As much as I always depend on my team to help me and back me up on the field, I want everyone else to rely just as much, if not more, on me too.
It also drives me up the wall that everyone who knew me in the past as being athletic in other sports still cannot grasp why I have completely transferred over to rugby. While playing softball last weekend with an old teammate, I heard a comment from her that I've heard so many times before that always drives me up the wall: "I'm just really shocked that you ended up not playing softball in college. I never really thought you could stop playing, especially since there were teams that wanted you to play for them." People keep talking like I "gave up" on my old sports and picked up rugby as a "runner up" to those sports. It's not that I didn't like my other sports any less, I just liked rugby more. Even tonight my dad asked me, "Do they have flag football at your school? How come you didn't decide to play that?" I didn't decide to do flag football because I WANTED TO DO RUGBY! Everyone keeps giving me these different options, asking me if I've heard of this league and that league and if I've ever played tennis or tried this sport. Some people have even asked me if I still plan on trying out for my school's softball team, or if I plan on looking for a different college that I can play softball at. What is everyone's problem with rugby?! The thing that drives me insane is that about 99% of these people have no idea what rugby is, no idea what they are talking about, and have never seen a rugby game in their lives. The thickness of these people's logic is almost unbearable.
And it really seems foreign to me that a person can see a rugby game or play a rugby game and not instantaneously fall in love with the sport and the culture. I always tell myself that the people who don't like rugby have just never seen or played it. But when someone has seen/played rugby and still doesn't like it...that person seems almost inhumane to me. I've come across some of these cases personally, but two really stick out in my mind. One was a guy who began going to practices but ended up with a cracked rib from being tackled. He immediately stopped going to practices and bitched forever (and still does) about the fact that his school doesn't have a football team. But the sports have a decent amount of similarities, especially in the things that many guys look for when picking a sport (aggressiveness, being able to hit people, etc...), that I can't imagine someone being sooo obsessed with one and not liking the other at all. And the things that rugby has seem to just make it an even better version of football! You don't have to stop after every single play, the fun goes on forever (sort of, ha ha)!! The other person played for a few months and then completely threw rugby out the window. I think he described an injury he got as well happening right before he quit, but I would have thought that the months of awesomeness in playing rugby that he experienced first would have prevailed! I gave the first case a teensy little benefit of the doubt, telling myself he was unfortunate to experience a serious injury so early in his rugby career and not being able to learn that these injuries are not common in rugby. But this second guy....has no excuse in my book. None. I just don't get it!! I also remember meeting a perfectly random stranger that came up to me and started talking about rugby when he saw my sweatshirt from the team. He called rugby "polite violence" which I think is hysterical and I love using it on a regular basis. But he told me that he played one game of rugby and then decided he would never play it again. For some reason I feel like he also had an injury story to go along with the ending of his rugby career, which makes me ponder about the percentage of people who experience an injury (broken bone, concussion, etc.) and never play rugby again. I sure as hell hope this number is not high because I hope that my rugby game is not hindered at all when I go back to playing after this injury of mine. Luckily I don't think I'll ever have to worry about not wanting to play after an injury; the only thing I have to worry about is if a day ever comes when I'm physically taken out of commission (KNOCK-ON-WOOD). And when my father came to watch me play for the all star team, I couldn't stop thinking about how all the confusion in his head over why I stopped pursuing my Division 1 softball opportunities for rugby would come to an end. I thought that once he saw me play, he would immediately realize what it is that I love to do so much. But his comment tonight really threw me off; I totally thought that he had comprehended why I love rugby so much. I thought the interrogations from him would be over because he finally witnessed the greatness of rugby right in front of his face.
I guess this all just sounds so weird to me because I never experienced the problem of developing a love for rugby; I literally liked rugby IMMEDIATELY. It took me absolutely no time to fall in love with the sport, and I kick myself every day thinking about how blind and oblivious and unknowing of rugby I was until college. Another part of my rugby philosophy is that I truly believe absolutely anyone can play rugby because the sport is so accepting of all people. So it's strange to me that the opportunity exists for everyone to play rugby, and that not everyone takes advantage of it...mind boggling!
The other day I was thinking about why it is so important that I make sure I don't slow down my progress in training and make sure that I continue to push myself just as hard, and deep down I know there is no better reason I can think of than for my team. The reasons of working hard for rugby in order to stay in shape/lose weight or become a superstar just end up being so fickle. They absolutely do not last. Sure, they're great things that can also develop from training really hard, but no goal will push me more than the thought that I am helping my team. I want to get better for them so that I can contribute to my team, and any other team I may play on, as much as possible. As much as I always depend on my team to help me and back me up on the field, I want everyone else to rely just as much, if not more, on me too.
It also drives me up the wall that everyone who knew me in the past as being athletic in other sports still cannot grasp why I have completely transferred over to rugby. While playing softball last weekend with an old teammate, I heard a comment from her that I've heard so many times before that always drives me up the wall: "I'm just really shocked that you ended up not playing softball in college. I never really thought you could stop playing, especially since there were teams that wanted you to play for them." People keep talking like I "gave up" on my old sports and picked up rugby as a "runner up" to those sports. It's not that I didn't like my other sports any less, I just liked rugby more. Even tonight my dad asked me, "Do they have flag football at your school? How come you didn't decide to play that?" I didn't decide to do flag football because I WANTED TO DO RUGBY! Everyone keeps giving me these different options, asking me if I've heard of this league and that league and if I've ever played tennis or tried this sport. Some people have even asked me if I still plan on trying out for my school's softball team, or if I plan on looking for a different college that I can play softball at. What is everyone's problem with rugby?! The thing that drives me insane is that about 99% of these people have no idea what rugby is, no idea what they are talking about, and have never seen a rugby game in their lives. The thickness of these people's logic is almost unbearable.
And it really seems foreign to me that a person can see a rugby game or play a rugby game and not instantaneously fall in love with the sport and the culture. I always tell myself that the people who don't like rugby have just never seen or played it. But when someone has seen/played rugby and still doesn't like it...that person seems almost inhumane to me. I've come across some of these cases personally, but two really stick out in my mind. One was a guy who began going to practices but ended up with a cracked rib from being tackled. He immediately stopped going to practices and bitched forever (and still does) about the fact that his school doesn't have a football team. But the sports have a decent amount of similarities, especially in the things that many guys look for when picking a sport (aggressiveness, being able to hit people, etc...), that I can't imagine someone being sooo obsessed with one and not liking the other at all. And the things that rugby has seem to just make it an even better version of football! You don't have to stop after every single play, the fun goes on forever (sort of, ha ha)!! The other person played for a few months and then completely threw rugby out the window. I think he described an injury he got as well happening right before he quit, but I would have thought that the months of awesomeness in playing rugby that he experienced first would have prevailed! I gave the first case a teensy little benefit of the doubt, telling myself he was unfortunate to experience a serious injury so early in his rugby career and not being able to learn that these injuries are not common in rugby. But this second guy....has no excuse in my book. None. I just don't get it!! I also remember meeting a perfectly random stranger that came up to me and started talking about rugby when he saw my sweatshirt from the team. He called rugby "polite violence" which I think is hysterical and I love using it on a regular basis. But he told me that he played one game of rugby and then decided he would never play it again. For some reason I feel like he also had an injury story to go along with the ending of his rugby career, which makes me ponder about the percentage of people who experience an injury (broken bone, concussion, etc.) and never play rugby again. I sure as hell hope this number is not high because I hope that my rugby game is not hindered at all when I go back to playing after this injury of mine. Luckily I don't think I'll ever have to worry about not wanting to play after an injury; the only thing I have to worry about is if a day ever comes when I'm physically taken out of commission (KNOCK-ON-WOOD). And when my father came to watch me play for the all star team, I couldn't stop thinking about how all the confusion in his head over why I stopped pursuing my Division 1 softball opportunities for rugby would come to an end. I thought that once he saw me play, he would immediately realize what it is that I love to do so much. But his comment tonight really threw me off; I totally thought that he had comprehended why I love rugby so much. I thought the interrogations from him would be over because he finally witnessed the greatness of rugby right in front of his face.
I guess this all just sounds so weird to me because I never experienced the problem of developing a love for rugby; I literally liked rugby IMMEDIATELY. It took me absolutely no time to fall in love with the sport, and I kick myself every day thinking about how blind and oblivious and unknowing of rugby I was until college. Another part of my rugby philosophy is that I truly believe absolutely anyone can play rugby because the sport is so accepting of all people. So it's strange to me that the opportunity exists for everyone to play rugby, and that not everyone takes advantage of it...mind boggling!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
The more you suffer, the more it shows you really care.
Woooooooooo, I literally almost blew major chunks after my 5 mile run today. I know normally that's not really something that people get excited about, but I obviously wasn't aiming at some sort of weight loss goal or something. The only reason why I feel a sense of excitement and relief at the same time when I feel like I'm literally going to throw up after running is because it is physical proof that I worked my hardest and pushed my body to its ultimate limit. Sometimes I have a really tough time being satisfied with my training and work in rugby, and I feel like I never ever do enough and that there is more I could be doing. But when I almost throw up, then there really is nothing more I could have done to make me reach that point, no matter what point that is. Whether or not it's the level I want to be at, it's either at the level I'm currently at or almost past it because my body is that exhausted. Before rugby season last year, I would actually go through with the throwing up and not stop running/training until I did....it was almost like a necessity that I needed to check off before completing any training. But looking back on it I obviously realized how unhealthy that is (though once rugby season comes around again, that logic may not be there again and it may show back up on the check list...). I hope that I can keep pushing myself and not let myself fall off track. And I really hope that sooner or later I can convince myself that I am actually making progress and not behind like I always do. The only thing that I can do though is never give up!
Also my cast is officially off! In a strange way I'm going to slightly miss my highlighter yellow sleeve, but hence the SLIGHTLY. The doctor said that he could still see a crack in my wrist though, so I'm in a splint for at least two weeks. But this doctor doesn't know me...and he doesn't know that if it's removable I'm going to take it off and break every single rule given about wearing it. I already played softball with it on, which is a ton of wrist usage that I am sure I'm 100% not supposed to do, and if I had the time to do rugby I would have been on a rugby pitch directly after leaving the doctor's office. I'm pretty good I think at ignoring injuries and being super oblivious to their severity.
I also heard about a documentary existing that's about rugby in the United States.....WHAT?! How did this masterpiece of an idea of a film slip by me without me knowing about it?! It's called "A Giant Awakens, the Rise of American Rugby." Helloooooooo that sounds AWESOME! Already have it in my shopping cart at amazon.com, and the minute I'm not broke or once school and rugby season starts up again (whichever comes first) I am buying it in a heartbeat.
Also my cast is officially off! In a strange way I'm going to slightly miss my highlighter yellow sleeve, but hence the SLIGHTLY. The doctor said that he could still see a crack in my wrist though, so I'm in a splint for at least two weeks. But this doctor doesn't know me...and he doesn't know that if it's removable I'm going to take it off and break every single rule given about wearing it. I already played softball with it on, which is a ton of wrist usage that I am sure I'm 100% not supposed to do, and if I had the time to do rugby I would have been on a rugby pitch directly after leaving the doctor's office. I'm pretty good I think at ignoring injuries and being super oblivious to their severity.
I also heard about a documentary existing that's about rugby in the United States.....WHAT?! How did this masterpiece of an idea of a film slip by me without me knowing about it?! It's called "A Giant Awakens, the Rise of American Rugby." Helloooooooo that sounds AWESOME! Already have it in my shopping cart at amazon.com, and the minute I'm not broke or once school and rugby season starts up again (whichever comes first) I am buying it in a heartbeat.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
The Zen of Rugby
The other day in a book store I found a series of little books titled "The Zen of....." and then a specific activity such as surfing, hiking, and mountain biking. Inside the books were little quotes of the peace and enjoyment people get out of doing the activity, and I immediately thought of how I could write an entire novel about the zen of rugby and the peace and enjoyment I get out of it. I started thinking of how I would describe the zen of rugby:
Rugby just makes you feel on top of the world. The high that you feel while running your hardest up the field to support a teammate, make a tackle, or run the ball is almost indescribable. Being on the field is like standing on a sacred battle ground, and you couldn't imagine being there with anyone else besides the other fourteen players that are standing by your side ready to aid you at any given moment. They're like your family, and as much as they look out for you, you can't imagine letting one of them do anything on the field alone. The reason why you are so close with these people on the field, no matter who they are, is because every single feeling and emotion that you feel on the field, the team feels. And the same goes the other way too, you feel everyone else's emotions on the field as well. Almost everything experienced on the field is experienced by all fifteen people at the same time. Making a good tackle is like tearing down a building by yourself. It's quite an accomplishment to be able to bring down such a big force charging right at you, but you only have a fraction of a split second to enjoy it before having to get back up and do it all over again and again and again. All these little successes in being a powerhouse tackler build up into a rush that makes you crave it. When you run the ball, you almost have to plug yourself in and radiate so much energy and force that no one can dare to stop you. Every person that runs at you in an attempt to bring you down and stop your progress is stopped in their tracks from your overpowering self confidence and quick thinking. You dodge left and right, and when someone manages to actually avoid your moves and get in your path, you just mow them down with force and keep on trucking. Rucking involves becoming a brick wall blocking the other team from getting what is rightfully yours, possession of the ball. You almost want to punish the other team's ruckers for even thinking that they can attempt to take the ball possession away from your team. You feel their force against you, but no matter; you dish it right back to them in bigger and better amounts. As much as you need to have the highest level of confidence and belief in yourself and your team, there is no time to underestimate and dismiss the opponent. They are just as strong if not stronger than you, but unfortunately for them you're just one step ahead. With this in mind though, going a step off even for a second can give your opponent an opportunity to run over you, so you must be absolutely 100% focused and hard working for the entirety of the game. Mistakes and errors don't matter as long as no time is wasted dwelling on them and self confidence isn't decreased...
Good God I need to stop myself or I really will write a whole novel! But with all the stress I've put on myself with this sport, I think I need to step back and really think about "the zen of rugby," and remember what it is about this sport that makes me love it so much and work as hard as I do.
Rugby just makes you feel on top of the world. The high that you feel while running your hardest up the field to support a teammate, make a tackle, or run the ball is almost indescribable. Being on the field is like standing on a sacred battle ground, and you couldn't imagine being there with anyone else besides the other fourteen players that are standing by your side ready to aid you at any given moment. They're like your family, and as much as they look out for you, you can't imagine letting one of them do anything on the field alone. The reason why you are so close with these people on the field, no matter who they are, is because every single feeling and emotion that you feel on the field, the team feels. And the same goes the other way too, you feel everyone else's emotions on the field as well. Almost everything experienced on the field is experienced by all fifteen people at the same time. Making a good tackle is like tearing down a building by yourself. It's quite an accomplishment to be able to bring down such a big force charging right at you, but you only have a fraction of a split second to enjoy it before having to get back up and do it all over again and again and again. All these little successes in being a powerhouse tackler build up into a rush that makes you crave it. When you run the ball, you almost have to plug yourself in and radiate so much energy and force that no one can dare to stop you. Every person that runs at you in an attempt to bring you down and stop your progress is stopped in their tracks from your overpowering self confidence and quick thinking. You dodge left and right, and when someone manages to actually avoid your moves and get in your path, you just mow them down with force and keep on trucking. Rucking involves becoming a brick wall blocking the other team from getting what is rightfully yours, possession of the ball. You almost want to punish the other team's ruckers for even thinking that they can attempt to take the ball possession away from your team. You feel their force against you, but no matter; you dish it right back to them in bigger and better amounts. As much as you need to have the highest level of confidence and belief in yourself and your team, there is no time to underestimate and dismiss the opponent. They are just as strong if not stronger than you, but unfortunately for them you're just one step ahead. With this in mind though, going a step off even for a second can give your opponent an opportunity to run over you, so you must be absolutely 100% focused and hard working for the entirety of the game. Mistakes and errors don't matter as long as no time is wasted dwelling on them and self confidence isn't decreased...
Good God I need to stop myself or I really will write a whole novel! But with all the stress I've put on myself with this sport, I think I need to step back and really think about "the zen of rugby," and remember what it is about this sport that makes me love it so much and work as hard as I do.
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