When we played Mary Washington last year, we didn't exactly get our asses kicked but we didn't exactly do particularly well, either.
This year, on the other hand, we were the ones kicking ass. Not that Mary Washington wasn't playing really well - they're a good team and fun to play against (except that they looooove mauling and are quite good at it). But we just played so well. It feels like we're two months into the season instead of two weeks - mistakes are still being made, of course, but everyone played with their heads in the game, kept the communication up, hit the rucks, made their tackles, made smart decisions in the mauls, and our scrums are looking beautiful - despite the 85 degree heat and humidity.
The other looking fantastic? Our rookies. I think pretty much everyone on the team was impressed by how well our baby rooks performed out on that pitch. For sure, there were still plenty of the normal rookie mistakes - some playing the ball on the ground, a lot of standing lost in the holy zone, and a few deer-in-the-headlights instances of "oh GOD I have the ball what do I do now?!" But it didn't feel like playing with rookies at all - they're all picking up the game really quick, and are developing some field awareness already. One rookie, Perri, even picked up her first try!
For me personally, it's also feeling pretty good. I weak-side flanked for the first half of A-side and locked for the first half of B-side. I wasn't happy with my stamina - I was VERY happy to come out at both those halves - but I think it was more the heat than anything. Overall, though, my tackling form is improving (NO high tackle warnings), I finally feel like I know what to do with my body in the scrum (that scrum clinic last Sunday was AMAZING), my field awareness is slowly but steadily improving - and I scored another try!! In all honesty, it was basically Fill's try - I just took her pass and stepped it over the try line. But after 3 seasons of not scoring, making two tries in two weeks feels pretty good!
Don't remember the final scores exactly, but I believe A-side was 6 tries (plus conversions) to 3 tries (no conversions?), and B-side was 25-5 (?).
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Injury update!
Today I got my face stepped on. By a girl in metal cleats.
It was one of those moments where everyone stopped and went "OH MY GOD ARE YOU OKAY!?!?" and I said yes, because I was, but I had to really think about it because that answer did not seem quite right.
Now my face is a bit sore, and I have a big red mark up the side of my face (sadly hidden in my hairline), and there is a slight chance I'll get my first rugby black eyes.
It was one of those moments where everyone stopped and went "OH MY GOD ARE YOU OKAY!?!?" and I said yes, because I was, but I had to really think about it because that answer did not seem quite right.
Now my face is a bit sore, and I have a big red mark up the side of my face (sadly hidden in my hairline), and there is a slight chance I'll get my first rugby black eyes.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Scrum clinic!
I have three papers to do for tomorrow, but since I have finished one, gotten as far on the second as I'll probably get without a serious "what's going on here" meeting with my professor, and don't need to turn in the third until 8 pm tomorrow, I'm going to take a break and write about the scrum clinic today!
(If you don't want to read the long version, here's the short: I learned a lot, it was really helpful, and I got to be a hooker).
The clinic was led by Lisa Rosen, the MARFU* U23 coach, as well as Gabe Ortitz (who I worked with for PRU U23s last fall) and several players from the national level (U23 and otherwise) whose names I don't remember because I fail like that. I was the only AU player to make it there, but I was not lonely! There were at least 40 other players there: Catholic had their full men's and women's packs (since it was on their turf), and there were also players from Towson, Philly, UPenn, UVA, and all over the MARFU area.
We started out the day with dynamic warmups, then went over scrumming body position. First we went over having a good, flat profile (shoulders up, not rounded; hips tight, pulling your belly button to your spine; back flat; head neutral, looking over your eyebrows with your tongue pressed against the back of your teeth); then we made sure we could drop down several inches maintaining the same profile. Finally, we talked about the "angry cat" position - being on all fours and maintaining the same characteristics as the standing profile, and also keeping all leg angles at 90 degrees: thighs straight down, calves parallel to the ground, feet dug straight down.
Next we divided up into stations to work on that body position. I ended up with the VRU group, as they were a bit short-handed, and we started at the ab/core station. One drill we did was for one partner to be on her knees, with her hands supporting a leaning partner at the shoulder. Then the kneeling partner would switch moving her hands (so she'd be supporting the leaning partner with only one hand at a time) while both partners worked to keep their profile straight and tight. Then we did the highly entertaining "monkey" drill, where one partner picks up another in a firemen's lift, and the lifted partner climbs full circle around the standing partner's head while the standing partner tightens her core to support the monkey partner.
The next station we went to was the bungee station, which involved harnesses and rubber straps (fun!) Strapped first to a lamppost and then to each other (in a diamond pattern, so we were all going in opposite directions), we worked on keeping body position and driving against the backwards bungee pull. I apparently have good body position, but wasn't able to keep myself from lurching side-to-side in the drive, and actually was snapped backwards on my ass in the diamond formation. It really hit home for me that if I am going to physically be able to play a forward position at the level that I'd like, I'm going to have to find time in my schedule to go to the gym or at very least do some ab/core work at home.
The last station we went to was the Predator. We just lined up and took turns hitting individually until the end of the rotation. Again, I learned that I have good body position but not enough force. I'm so little! But as Lisa pointed out to me, there are plenty of great, little, strong rugby players out there. So the gym it is.
Before lunch, we took a little time to talk about binding. Instead of binding across to hips or sides, which distributes some force sideways, Lisa talked about having everyone in the scrum bind at the midline to distribute (or punch) force forward into the opposing scrum. Additionally, everyone enters the scrum on their feet in the same body position we'd practiced earlier - no going down to one knee for the locks. It's something Deanna's been working on with us for the past few seasons, but it still feels a bit odd.
In the first part of lunch, we also talked about hooker and eight footing. Both act as "brakemen" on the scrum, setting up with one foot forward, one foot back, and at "engage" they (counterintuitively!) move the forward foot back to move weight forwards. Weird, but it works (oh gravity!)
Then we broke for lunch. Yay lunch!
Following lunch we had Scrum Time. We practiced binding into our scrums and doing sprint engages, where instead of hitting anything we just sprinted forwards. The groups also rotated through using the Predator, and man was it nice to use a scrum machine! Then we graduated to hitting other packs, but by that time we were all getting a bit worn out and tired and the engagements weren't as clean as we'd like. The difference with the body positions and binds were still quite clear, though - the drives were hard and everyone's power went straight forward.
The best part, though, was that I got to play hooker! Our group was a bit short, and I'd mentioned that I'd like to learn how, so I ended up spending almost all my time rotating in and out at hooker, with only a few turns at lock and flanker and none at eight. I do wish I would've gotten a bit more practice locking and eighting in that setup, but on the flip side I'm now okay playing every position in the scrum but prop!
*Quick rugby hierarchy lesson: I play for AUWRFC (American Women's Rugby Football Club), which is in the PRU (Potomac Rugby Union), which is in MARFU (Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union), which feeds into the national pool. MARFU is made up of the PRU, EPRU (Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union), and VRU (Virginia Rugby Union). U23 is short for Under 23 All Stars.
(If you don't want to read the long version, here's the short: I learned a lot, it was really helpful, and I got to be a hooker).
The clinic was led by Lisa Rosen, the MARFU* U23 coach, as well as Gabe Ortitz (who I worked with for PRU U23s last fall) and several players from the national level (U23 and otherwise) whose names I don't remember because I fail like that. I was the only AU player to make it there, but I was not lonely! There were at least 40 other players there: Catholic had their full men's and women's packs (since it was on their turf), and there were also players from Towson, Philly, UPenn, UVA, and all over the MARFU area.
We started out the day with dynamic warmups, then went over scrumming body position. First we went over having a good, flat profile (shoulders up, not rounded; hips tight, pulling your belly button to your spine; back flat; head neutral, looking over your eyebrows with your tongue pressed against the back of your teeth); then we made sure we could drop down several inches maintaining the same profile. Finally, we talked about the "angry cat" position - being on all fours and maintaining the same characteristics as the standing profile, and also keeping all leg angles at 90 degrees: thighs straight down, calves parallel to the ground, feet dug straight down.
Next we divided up into stations to work on that body position. I ended up with the VRU group, as they were a bit short-handed, and we started at the ab/core station. One drill we did was for one partner to be on her knees, with her hands supporting a leaning partner at the shoulder. Then the kneeling partner would switch moving her hands (so she'd be supporting the leaning partner with only one hand at a time) while both partners worked to keep their profile straight and tight. Then we did the highly entertaining "monkey" drill, where one partner picks up another in a firemen's lift, and the lifted partner climbs full circle around the standing partner's head while the standing partner tightens her core to support the monkey partner.
The next station we went to was the bungee station, which involved harnesses and rubber straps (fun!) Strapped first to a lamppost and then to each other (in a diamond pattern, so we were all going in opposite directions), we worked on keeping body position and driving against the backwards bungee pull. I apparently have good body position, but wasn't able to keep myself from lurching side-to-side in the drive, and actually was snapped backwards on my ass in the diamond formation. It really hit home for me that if I am going to physically be able to play a forward position at the level that I'd like, I'm going to have to find time in my schedule to go to the gym or at very least do some ab/core work at home.
The last station we went to was the Predator. We just lined up and took turns hitting individually until the end of the rotation. Again, I learned that I have good body position but not enough force. I'm so little! But as Lisa pointed out to me, there are plenty of great, little, strong rugby players out there. So the gym it is.
Before lunch, we took a little time to talk about binding. Instead of binding across to hips or sides, which distributes some force sideways, Lisa talked about having everyone in the scrum bind at the midline to distribute (or punch) force forward into the opposing scrum. Additionally, everyone enters the scrum on their feet in the same body position we'd practiced earlier - no going down to one knee for the locks. It's something Deanna's been working on with us for the past few seasons, but it still feels a bit odd.
In the first part of lunch, we also talked about hooker and eight footing. Both act as "brakemen" on the scrum, setting up with one foot forward, one foot back, and at "engage" they (counterintuitively!) move the forward foot back to move weight forwards. Weird, but it works (oh gravity!)
Then we broke for lunch. Yay lunch!
Following lunch we had Scrum Time. We practiced binding into our scrums and doing sprint engages, where instead of hitting anything we just sprinted forwards. The groups also rotated through using the Predator, and man was it nice to use a scrum machine! Then we graduated to hitting other packs, but by that time we were all getting a bit worn out and tired and the engagements weren't as clean as we'd like. The difference with the body positions and binds were still quite clear, though - the drives were hard and everyone's power went straight forward.
The best part, though, was that I got to play hooker! Our group was a bit short, and I'd mentioned that I'd like to learn how, so I ended up spending almost all my time rotating in and out at hooker, with only a few turns at lock and flanker and none at eight. I do wish I would've gotten a bit more practice locking and eighting in that setup, but on the flip side I'm now okay playing every position in the scrum but prop!
*Quick rugby hierarchy lesson: I play for AUWRFC (American Women's Rugby Football Club), which is in the PRU (Potomac Rugby Union), which is in MARFU (Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union), which feeds into the national pool. MARFU is made up of the PRU, EPRU (Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union), and VRU (Virginia Rugby Union). U23 is short for Under 23 All Stars.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
And Saturday is a rugby day once again
Today started with a phone call from Jacqui at ten minutes past meet time, wondering where I was with the large blue minivan (retrieved from Sketchy Dave's Vans the night before, prior to an "I don't want to talk about it" adventure through DC) that drove like a baby arthritic elephant. The phone call made me realize 1) I was late, 2) I'd never turned on the alarm I'd so carefully set for an hour before I needed to get anywhere, and 3) I was late.
Two and a half hours of driving later, we made it to Salisbury for our first contact of the season - six twenty minute periods of scrimmaging rugby! (That's two hours, or a game and a half). I played two twenties locking, one at flanker, one at eight, on off, and then another at eight - where I scored my first try!!!! It was just a case of doing what I was supposed to do and being where I was supposed to be, but I guess that's still pretty good, right?
The team played really well, considering it was our first match. We got a little frantic at times, but calmed it down. Overall, we have to work on organization, making our tackles, and hitting rucks - but even those things got better while we played. Deanna also cycled in a number of rookies who looked quite nice out there on the field. I think good things are coming this season.
The rest of the night was another "I don't want to talk about it" situation. Sketchy Dave has no love.
Two and a half hours of driving later, we made it to Salisbury for our first contact of the season - six twenty minute periods of scrimmaging rugby! (That's two hours, or a game and a half). I played two twenties locking, one at flanker, one at eight, on off, and then another at eight - where I scored my first try!!!! It was just a case of doing what I was supposed to do and being where I was supposed to be, but I guess that's still pretty good, right?
The team played really well, considering it was our first match. We got a little frantic at times, but calmed it down. Overall, we have to work on organization, making our tackles, and hitting rucks - but even those things got better while we played. Deanna also cycled in a number of rookies who looked quite nice out there on the field. I think good things are coming this season.
The rest of the night was another "I don't want to talk about it" situation. Sketchy Dave has no love.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Getting back into the swing
The semester's finally kicked in, and life is crazy. I'm taking 17 credits again, and though five of those are art and water aerobics and six more are gender classes, it's still a ton of classes and all three of the real-life classes have three page papers due Monday (boo!).
Rugby, of course, is also taking up a shitton of time. Besides the administrative stuff (taking care of the dues and trying to get 50-some people to Salisbury without spending all those dues) there's praaaaaaactice! We have rookies (and, oh lord, do we have rookies) so practices are a little more thrilling with so many new people to meet. Plus today Deanna started integrating the rookies with the returners during more specialized drills, and I'm really excited to play with these girls.
Personally, it's been a bit of a slow start. I made the conscious decision in Japan that I was going to focus on my classes and experiencing the culture while I was there, instead of trying to get to the gym every day or even every other day. Definitely the right decision, but it means I'm not as fast or as ready to be back in the game as I'd like. But I'm putting my all in at practice and I can feel my body getting back into rugby shape - I'm getting sore in all the right places, I'm slowly but surely being able to ramp up my intensity, I'm getting more focused and less lost in drills, and (the surest sign!) my boobs are getting smaller. I'm really looking forward to what this season will mean to me personally, as well as the AUWRFC as a team - we've got a big group of very experienced seniors, talented underclassmen, and really promising rookies.
Oh man - I just got real sappy. Tear.
Rugby, of course, is also taking up a shitton of time. Besides the administrative stuff (taking care of the dues and trying to get 50-some people to Salisbury without spending all those dues) there's praaaaaaactice! We have rookies (and, oh lord, do we have rookies) so practices are a little more thrilling with so many new people to meet. Plus today Deanna started integrating the rookies with the returners during more specialized drills, and I'm really excited to play with these girls.
Personally, it's been a bit of a slow start. I made the conscious decision in Japan that I was going to focus on my classes and experiencing the culture while I was there, instead of trying to get to the gym every day or even every other day. Definitely the right decision, but it means I'm not as fast or as ready to be back in the game as I'd like. But I'm putting my all in at practice and I can feel my body getting back into rugby shape - I'm getting sore in all the right places, I'm slowly but surely being able to ramp up my intensity, I'm getting more focused and less lost in drills, and (the surest sign!) my boobs are getting smaller. I'm really looking forward to what this season will mean to me personally, as well as the AUWRFC as a team - we've got a big group of very experienced seniors, talented underclassmen, and really promising rookies.
Oh man - I just got real sappy. Tear.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Rugby boot camp!
Today our coaches ran a 5-hour (plus an hour for lunch) boot camp, which was basically an excuse to get us all together and get us back on the same page with a continuity we can't get at 2-hour practices that not everyone can get to.
It was a really excellent use of a Saturday. We got together at ten and started with some basic ball-handling before having a "reintroduction to tackling" session - progressing from tackling on our knees all the way to full contact drills. Then we took an hour break for lunch, and when we returned we split. We did lineouts and scrums!!!
Oh man I missed scrums.
I was locking (no idea of this is an indication of the position I'll be in for the rest of the season), and originally was in the same situation I've always been in previously locking: usually my body position was off, and at best I got in the first hit before becoming useless, and at worst I was actually holding back my prop. Then someone basically grabbed me and pulled me into correct body position while my head was in, and it clicked! It was like my muscle memory was like "Oh that's how you lock!" and after that, I was able to hold myself up without pulling back on the prop, make the first hit, and keep the pressure on until the ball came out of the scrum.
Oh man... scrumming... did I mention I missed that?
We ended the practices with a scrimmage. It was pretty messy and chaotic, and I felt like a rookie again ("I'm supposed to be where? What? Okay, okay, do this.... wait! No! Do that! ...who has the ball!?), but it was a scrimmage on the first practice of the season.
And now I'm tired (the parents are in town, and they took me to dinner and then to Linens and Things where we bought $85 worth of things that did not include the two items we went in the store for) and I have a large bruise on my hip and so, so happy that my favorite thing ever is back in my life.
PS TRUE OR FALSE I AM FACEBOOK STALKING POSSIBLE NEW ROOKIES.
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