I've been back to my "real life" for about two weeks now, and honestly it's a little surreal. Canada and Nation's Cup seem like a dream, but then having the opportunity to play rugby for two weeks was a dream. It was as like being a professional athlete, without the big contracts and players' unions that will argue for you if you don't want to do two-a-days at training camp or if $50 million just isn't enough.
As most of you know, we won our last match against South Africa 29-9. We dominated the second half. I think they only got into our half of the field twice in that 40 minutes. I even got on the board with my first international try, as did my fellow USA and MARFU teammate, Laura Miller.
After that satisfying victory, we went old school with our transportation to the social. And when I say "old school," I mean that literally. All four teams boarded some old school buses and sang our way to the social. I can only imagine what the Canadian drivers must have thought about a school bus full of grown women belting out "Total Eclipse of the Heart."
The social itself was fun. It was a nice release, after beating up on each other all week, to get to hang out. However, I'm not sure many restaurants in Canada know how to handle four rugby teams. Rugby players are eating machines, and this place, like the banquet in Chatham, had a problem keeping the serving trays full.
Despite the food shortage, we all enjoyed ourselves, and we all left Canada with smiles...well, that is until flights got delayed and cancelled, but let's end on a good note. It was a wonderful trip. I'm looking forward to more and to building a winning team culture with some awesome women.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
Rookie Skit & An "Amazing" Dinner
8/12/11
12pm
Only a few more days here in Canada. We’re all looking to make the most of it. We just finished our morning session and are using the rest of the day for recovery. I’m feeling pretty good about tomorrow’s match. I think we all are. I think I’ve said that before every match, but I think fans will see a different Team ‘Merica out there tomorrow. We’re putting it all together tomorrow—cohesiveness, intensity, aggression, execution.
9pm
We just had our rookie skit, which was hilarious (and not just because I was a part of it). We did a “Price Is Right” theme, with our teammates as contestants. Sadie stole the show, playing the role of Pam. I know that most of you reading this have no idea who either of these ladies are, but trust me when I say that Sadie nailed it.
We also got to eat out tonight for dinner. It was amazing. Now, understand what I mean by “amazing.” For two weeks, with the exception of a stint in Buffalo and a stint in Chatham, we’ve been eating food from the Appleby cafeteria. While we appreciate the efforts of the Appleby staff, it has gotten stale (not the food…well not all of the time).
Some of the coaches have laid down some diet restrictions, so we’ve been eating variations of the same food every day, and to tell the truth, it hasn’t been that flavorful (I don’t really think Canada is known for its culinary prowess). Now, we have been enjoying the cafeteria food more these past couple of days, but we’ve theorized that it is an effect of our expectations lowering and the food tasting better in comparison.
So, you see what I mean by “amazing.” I don’t really mean that the food was the most appetizing I’ve ever had, I just mean that we finally had something different (first meal in days that I haven’t had a potato on my plate) that stimulated our taste buds (as opposed to lulling them to sleep).
Anyway, I think I’m going to take a little time tonight to reflect on the past two weeks, and tomorrow, I’ll just relish the company of my teammates and the green of the pitch. Happy rugby dreams.
12pm
Only a few more days here in Canada. We’re all looking to make the most of it. We just finished our morning session and are using the rest of the day for recovery. I’m feeling pretty good about tomorrow’s match. I think we all are. I think I’ve said that before every match, but I think fans will see a different Team ‘Merica out there tomorrow. We’re putting it all together tomorrow—cohesiveness, intensity, aggression, execution.
9pm
We just had our rookie skit, which was hilarious (and not just because I was a part of it). We did a “Price Is Right” theme, with our teammates as contestants. Sadie stole the show, playing the role of Pam. I know that most of you reading this have no idea who either of these ladies are, but trust me when I say that Sadie nailed it.
We also got to eat out tonight for dinner. It was amazing. Now, understand what I mean by “amazing.” For two weeks, with the exception of a stint in Buffalo and a stint in Chatham, we’ve been eating food from the Appleby cafeteria. While we appreciate the efforts of the Appleby staff, it has gotten stale (not the food…well not all of the time).
Some of the coaches have laid down some diet restrictions, so we’ve been eating variations of the same food every day, and to tell the truth, it hasn’t been that flavorful (I don’t really think Canada is known for its culinary prowess). Now, we have been enjoying the cafeteria food more these past couple of days, but we’ve theorized that it is an effect of our expectations lowering and the food tasting better in comparison.
So, you see what I mean by “amazing.” I don’t really mean that the food was the most appetizing I’ve ever had, I just mean that we finally had something different (first meal in days that I haven’t had a potato on my plate) that stimulated our taste buds (as opposed to lulling them to sleep).
Anyway, I think I’m going to take a little time tonight to reflect on the past two weeks, and tomorrow, I’ll just relish the company of my teammates and the green of the pitch. Happy rugby dreams.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Fruit Bandits
8/11/11
11am
Yet another birthday today. Shaina is celebrating here in Canada today with some rugby. We’ve had our first practice already and are gearing up for some lunch and another practice. My shoulder is feeling worlds better (acupuncture = secret weapon to recovery), and I’m ready for some contact this afternoon.
Here in the dorms, we’ve started a puzzle. It’s pretty entertaining—that is the puzzle itself, more than the actual solving of the puzzle. It depicts the creation of our earth. There is “god,” or some wind guy, in the upper left corner, and he is blowing (V says “spitting”) all the animals of the world out in this mixture of stars, clouds, and sunshine. There’s a unicorn, a bunch of snakes and a rabbit riding a dinosaur. Yes, that’s right, apparently Uncle Remus forgot to mention that Brer Rabbit had a sidekick, Brer T-Rex.
5pm
Second practice is done, as is our puzzle. Despite an attempt by the “fruit bandits,” Sadie and Lo, to hide a piece of the puzzle, we finished. The “fruit bandits” were dubbed as such last night when they slyly snuck around the dorms stealing fruit and players’ clothing and putting them in random places (i.e. I found a scrum cap with a melon in it in my shower).
We’re all just relaxing right now. We rookies will be putting on a skit tomorrow evening, and so we’re going to work on that this evening. As the ratio of rookies to vets is about 1:1, this should be a pretty elaborate and hilarious skit. Perhaps I can get someone to film it and maybe post it if everyone is okay with that.
In other news, we found out that some of the English players are police officers and some of those officers are on the riot squad, so they will be thrown into the fray that is London when they return. Here’s hoping that it all quiets down before that. Here’s hoping that it quiets down, not because some fellow ruggers will possibly be involved in the mayhem, but because the whole thing is senseless.
11am
Yet another birthday today. Shaina is celebrating here in Canada today with some rugby. We’ve had our first practice already and are gearing up for some lunch and another practice. My shoulder is feeling worlds better (acupuncture = secret weapon to recovery), and I’m ready for some contact this afternoon.
Here in the dorms, we’ve started a puzzle. It’s pretty entertaining—that is the puzzle itself, more than the actual solving of the puzzle. It depicts the creation of our earth. There is “god,” or some wind guy, in the upper left corner, and he is blowing (V says “spitting”) all the animals of the world out in this mixture of stars, clouds, and sunshine. There’s a unicorn, a bunch of snakes and a rabbit riding a dinosaur. Yes, that’s right, apparently Uncle Remus forgot to mention that Brer Rabbit had a sidekick, Brer T-Rex.
5pm
Second practice is done, as is our puzzle. Despite an attempt by the “fruit bandits,” Sadie and Lo, to hide a piece of the puzzle, we finished. The “fruit bandits” were dubbed as such last night when they slyly snuck around the dorms stealing fruit and players’ clothing and putting them in random places (i.e. I found a scrum cap with a melon in it in my shower).
We’re all just relaxing right now. We rookies will be putting on a skit tomorrow evening, and so we’re going to work on that this evening. As the ratio of rookies to vets is about 1:1, this should be a pretty elaborate and hilarious skit. Perhaps I can get someone to film it and maybe post it if everyone is okay with that.
In other news, we found out that some of the English players are police officers and some of those officers are on the riot squad, so they will be thrown into the fray that is London when they return. Here’s hoping that it all quiets down before that. Here’s hoping that it quiets down, not because some fellow ruggers will possibly be involved in the mayhem, but because the whole thing is senseless.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Updated Spidey Facts
8/10/11
Of course, today is our recovery day. We’ve had a pool session and treatment and are relaxing. I just got my second acupuncture treatment ever. Doc says that you’re not supposed to make any big decisions after acupuncture, and I understand why. I’m feeling quite relaxed and blithe right now. It’s nice.
Our resident Spider Expert, Dowty, has given us some updated spidey facts. Here’s what we’ve discovered (via Dowty): 1. Spiders don’t stick to their web because they make “sticky” and “non-sticky” strands of web and they only walk on the “non-sticky” strands. 2. Spider poop is the food waste and is actually a combo of poop and pee. 3. Spider silk is protein. 4. Spiders make “silk dope” from the protein, which is later used to make the different silk strands.
In this blog, I’m including a video on how spiders make their webs. In these short clips, you’ll become familiar with the technical terms, “tying it off” and “tightening it” and the spidey actions associated with the terms.
I’m also including a video of our pitch at Appleby College. Like I said it’s right beside Lake Ontario and beautiful.
Of course, today is our recovery day. We’ve had a pool session and treatment and are relaxing. I just got my second acupuncture treatment ever. Doc says that you’re not supposed to make any big decisions after acupuncture, and I understand why. I’m feeling quite relaxed and blithe right now. It’s nice.
Our resident Spider Expert, Dowty, has given us some updated spidey facts. Here’s what we’ve discovered (via Dowty): 1. Spiders don’t stick to their web because they make “sticky” and “non-sticky” strands of web and they only walk on the “non-sticky” strands. 2. Spider poop is the food waste and is actually a combo of poop and pee. 3. Spider silk is protein. 4. Spiders make “silk dope” from the protein, which is later used to make the different silk strands.
In this blog, I’m including a video on how spiders make their webs. In these short clips, you’ll become familiar with the technical terms, “tying it off” and “tightening it” and the spidey actions associated with the terms.
I’m also including a video of our pitch at Appleby College. Like I said it’s right beside Lake Ontario and beautiful.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
USA vs. South Africa
8/9/11
2pm
South Africa in t-minus 2 & ½ hours. We’re all looking forward to having some fun this evening. It has been raining all morning and just let up about 2hrs ago. It’s nice outside—no sun to get in the way of high kicks, no humidity to deal with, no rain anymore (fingers crossed). It’s just a little wet on the field, but we’ll use our white jerseys to soak up most of that.
We’re all pretty loose. There was session of karaoke earlier—John Michael Montgomery, Garth Brooks, Bonnie Tyler, etc—which I believe helped with the loosening. I’m going with a different coiffure this match—braids instead of the headband and ponytail. I can’t wait to get out on the pitch!
9pm
I really don’t know what to say about the match.
I will say that we had 5 new caps (Lunde, Carrie, Sylvia, Libby and Miller), and they all did good things. Lunde had an awesome kick return for a try in her first international match, and that’s awesome.
On a not so positive note, I got acupuncture tonight for the first time ever. I banged up my shoulder at the end of the match, so we’re starting the recovery process on that asap. As a child, I was always afraid of needles, but since then they’ve not been so bad to me. I’ve gone under the needle to get a couple of tattoos and now there’s acupuncture. This could change my aversion to needles forever.
On a final rugby note, don’t count us out just yet…
2pm
South Africa in t-minus 2 & ½ hours. We’re all looking forward to having some fun this evening. It has been raining all morning and just let up about 2hrs ago. It’s nice outside—no sun to get in the way of high kicks, no humidity to deal with, no rain anymore (fingers crossed). It’s just a little wet on the field, but we’ll use our white jerseys to soak up most of that.
We’re all pretty loose. There was session of karaoke earlier—John Michael Montgomery, Garth Brooks, Bonnie Tyler, etc—which I believe helped with the loosening. I’m going with a different coiffure this match—braids instead of the headband and ponytail. I can’t wait to get out on the pitch!
9pm
I really don’t know what to say about the match.
I will say that we had 5 new caps (Lunde, Carrie, Sylvia, Libby and Miller), and they all did good things. Lunde had an awesome kick return for a try in her first international match, and that’s awesome.
On a not so positive note, I got acupuncture tonight for the first time ever. I banged up my shoulder at the end of the match, so we’re starting the recovery process on that asap. As a child, I was always afraid of needles, but since then they’ve not been so bad to me. I’ve gone under the needle to get a couple of tattoos and now there’s acupuncture. This could change my aversion to needles forever.
On a final rugby note, don’t count us out just yet…
Flailing Arms Game And More
8/8/11
We have another leo in our group (actually, we have at least one more). Today, Amy had a birthday and we celebrated with pie this evening (apple and peach).
We had a light day today (again, focused on recovery for S. Africa). After a skills session and a pool session, this morning, and of course, a meeting (we never go light on those), we had some free time. I spent mine decompressing down by the lake. I read a little, journaled some and just relaxed. It was good.
Dinner was good as well, but I don’t think it quite agreed with me. It and my stomach have been arguing for the last hour, and I’m really hoping that my stomach will win. But, I’ve digressed. After dinner, we played that game in which one person is the arms for another person, and they act out a situation. It was a riot, especially when there was a big height differential. There are quite a few talented actresses in our group, especially with their arms (apparently V doesn’t even need a partner to be her arms), and there are some creative minds, in our group, who came up with some off-the-wall situations (“grandma playing football with her grandson,” “having an allergic reaction while cooking for in-laws,” “trying to conceal gas on a first date” were just a few of the many).
We have another leo in our group (actually, we have at least one more). Today, Amy had a birthday and we celebrated with pie this evening (apple and peach).
We had a light day today (again, focused on recovery for S. Africa). After a skills session and a pool session, this morning, and of course, a meeting (we never go light on those), we had some free time. I spent mine decompressing down by the lake. I read a little, journaled some and just relaxed. It was good.
Dinner was good as well, but I don’t think it quite agreed with me. It and my stomach have been arguing for the last hour, and I’m really hoping that my stomach will win. But, I’ve digressed. After dinner, we played that game in which one person is the arms for another person, and they act out a situation. It was a riot, especially when there was a big height differential. There are quite a few talented actresses in our group, especially with their arms (apparently V doesn’t even need a partner to be her arms), and there are some creative minds, in our group, who came up with some off-the-wall situations (“grandma playing football with her grandson,” “having an allergic reaction while cooking for in-laws,” “trying to conceal gas on a first date” were just a few of the many).
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Spidey Sense
8/7/11
1:30pm
Back at it today. We’ve just finished our first practice, followed by a brief pool session and lunch. Recovery is one of our keys to performance, and we’re really focusing on that leading up to our next match (making sure we’re getting plenty of water, cooling down, getting the proper nutrition, etc). We have just two days to prepare for South Africa, and we want to be as effective in doing that as possible.
Right now, I’m waiting on some laundry to dry and listening to the musical, “The Drowsy Chaperone.” To digress for a moment, I strongly recommend seeing this musical if it’s ever performed near you. For all of you Virginians, last year, Charlottesville’s Live Arts put on a production. I never got around to seeing that production, but I saw students from the Appomattox Regional Governor’s School perform it.
“He was the one who drank himself to death at his chateau, in Nice. Remember? It was five days before they found the body, and by then it had been partially consumed by his poodles.” (just a little quote from the musical…now, you really want to see it, don’t you?).
10pm
After our second practice of the day, we all enjoyed some red velvet belated birthday cake (for my birthday), and then some of us listened to our own flyhalf/pianist tickle the ivories. I got some good video of this, but I won’t post it unless I get permission from Sadie, the pianist. Unfortunately, she didn’t know “American Pie,” and nobody requested “Free Bird,” but there is some quality ivory tickling in the vids.
Not only do we have musically talented players on this team (quite a few ladies play instruments), we also have spider experts. Post-dinner activities also included a “nature watch.” A few of us got the chance to see spiders weaving their webs (I also got video of this). Dowty is an expert on the web weaving process. She can literally watch a spider’s movements and tell if that spider is “tightening” the web or “tying it off.” And, Kim had some interesting spidey facts, and she insured us that the web was not, in fact, spider poop.
1:30pm
Back at it today. We’ve just finished our first practice, followed by a brief pool session and lunch. Recovery is one of our keys to performance, and we’re really focusing on that leading up to our next match (making sure we’re getting plenty of water, cooling down, getting the proper nutrition, etc). We have just two days to prepare for South Africa, and we want to be as effective in doing that as possible.
Right now, I’m waiting on some laundry to dry and listening to the musical, “The Drowsy Chaperone.” To digress for a moment, I strongly recommend seeing this musical if it’s ever performed near you. For all of you Virginians, last year, Charlottesville’s Live Arts put on a production. I never got around to seeing that production, but I saw students from the Appomattox Regional Governor’s School perform it.
“He was the one who drank himself to death at his chateau, in Nice. Remember? It was five days before they found the body, and by then it had been partially consumed by his poodles.” (just a little quote from the musical…now, you really want to see it, don’t you?).
10pm
After our second practice of the day, we all enjoyed some red velvet belated birthday cake (for my birthday), and then some of us listened to our own flyhalf/pianist tickle the ivories. I got some good video of this, but I won’t post it unless I get permission from Sadie, the pianist. Unfortunately, she didn’t know “American Pie,” and nobody requested “Free Bird,” but there is some quality ivory tickling in the vids.
Not only do we have musically talented players on this team (quite a few ladies play instruments), we also have spider experts. Post-dinner activities also included a “nature watch.” A few of us got the chance to see spiders weaving their webs (I also got video of this). Dowty is an expert on the web weaving process. She can literally watch a spider’s movements and tell if that spider is “tightening” the web or “tying it off.” And, Kim had some interesting spidey facts, and she insured us that the web was not, in fact, spider poop.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
International Birthday
8/6/11
Well it’s my birthday. I am 28 years old, and this is the first time I’ve celebrated a birthday outside of the USA. The good thing is I had an amazing visitor, with whom to celebrate.
We (Team ‘Merica), had a pool workout at 10am and a meeting at 11am, and then we (me and my amazing visitor) went out into the little town of Oakville, Ontario. Not only is August 6 a special day for yours truly, Oakville celebrated the day with a Jazz festival (I like to think it was all for me).
We had lunch at a quaint, eclectic café, The Griffin House and enjoyed some Canadian Jazz music. Actually, there was a lot of music at different points along the festival grounds, some of it kids music, some acoustic, some karaoke, and other random sounds. The featured acts, during our wanderings, were some youth bands, and they were pretty good (with the exception of one band’s cover of Led Zepplin’s “Dazed and Confused”—that song is just too awesome, and so very hard to get right).
After listening to some music, we headed back to the Appleby campus, but not before some ice cream at the Marble Slab Creamery (Marble Slab = Canadian for “Cold Stone”). Back at Appleby, we lazed by the lake and watched a sail boat race (is there a technical term for this?) in the distance, until it was time for my amazing visitor to take her leave.
A lot of other Team ‘Merica players took the “free day” to watch some men’s rugby. They drove into Toronto to sweat in the heat and see our USA men play Canada. Though I didn’t get the score, I believe our men lost that contest.
For the remainder of my birthday (and our post-match day), I watched, with my amazing teammates, some international track and field events and some “highland” field events, the Canadian Highland Games (that sport where the competitors heave logs, throw big rocks and pitch large feed bags—sounds like good rugby training). Then we all had dinner and a meeting and are now watching “Harry Potter” while the English ladies, who are rooming above us, are watching something American (they were blasting Motown earlier).
Well it’s my birthday. I am 28 years old, and this is the first time I’ve celebrated a birthday outside of the USA. The good thing is I had an amazing visitor, with whom to celebrate.
We (Team ‘Merica), had a pool workout at 10am and a meeting at 11am, and then we (me and my amazing visitor) went out into the little town of Oakville, Ontario. Not only is August 6 a special day for yours truly, Oakville celebrated the day with a Jazz festival (I like to think it was all for me).
We had lunch at a quaint, eclectic café, The Griffin House and enjoyed some Canadian Jazz music. Actually, there was a lot of music at different points along the festival grounds, some of it kids music, some acoustic, some karaoke, and other random sounds. The featured acts, during our wanderings, were some youth bands, and they were pretty good (with the exception of one band’s cover of Led Zepplin’s “Dazed and Confused”—that song is just too awesome, and so very hard to get right).
After listening to some music, we headed back to the Appleby campus, but not before some ice cream at the Marble Slab Creamery (Marble Slab = Canadian for “Cold Stone”). Back at Appleby, we lazed by the lake and watched a sail boat race (is there a technical term for this?) in the distance, until it was time for my amazing visitor to take her leave.
A lot of other Team ‘Merica players took the “free day” to watch some men’s rugby. They drove into Toronto to sweat in the heat and see our USA men play Canada. Though I didn’t get the score, I believe our men lost that contest.
For the remainder of my birthday (and our post-match day), I watched, with my amazing teammates, some international track and field events and some “highland” field events, the Canadian Highland Games (that sport where the competitors heave logs, throw big rocks and pitch large feed bags—sounds like good rugby training). Then we all had dinner and a meeting and are now watching “Harry Potter” while the English ladies, who are rooming above us, are watching something American (they were blasting Motown earlier).
Friday, August 5, 2011
USA vs. Canada
8/5/11
3:30pm
We play Canada today for the Tech Savvy Kent Cup (I now know the name of the something-something-Kent-Cup). I think our coaching staff has, yet again, put together an excellent tactical game plan. Now, it’s just up to us players to execute it.
The mood here is a little less tense than it was before the England match. I think I spoke of that quiet intensity—that’s still there—but there seems to have been a collective exhalation. We’ve gotten that first match under our belts, and we’re looser now. I like it. I feel confident.
In a little off-the-field action, we all got flipped the bird by a Canadian on a bike today—stay classy Chatham-Kent. I think this has given us a little extra incentive to win. Also, we were assigned liaisons for this trip (two high schoolers from the area), and they gave us a very creatively done “baby corn mascot.” Basically, they decorated an ear of baby corn to look like a Women’s Eagle rugby player. So we’ve gotten the good (baby corn mascot from some awesome liaisons), the bad (Canadians on bikes), and the ugly (rugby players fed on just hors d’oeuvres) at Chatham-Kent. Hopefully, tonight will be good for us and bad and ugly for Canada.
1:30am 8/6
Well, the match didn’t exactly go our way. It was tough to lose and lose because we played well below our capability.
After a three-hour trip back to Oakville from Chatham-Kent, I’m just ready for some shut-eye.
3:30pm
We play Canada today for the Tech Savvy Kent Cup (I now know the name of the something-something-Kent-Cup). I think our coaching staff has, yet again, put together an excellent tactical game plan. Now, it’s just up to us players to execute it.
The mood here is a little less tense than it was before the England match. I think I spoke of that quiet intensity—that’s still there—but there seems to have been a collective exhalation. We’ve gotten that first match under our belts, and we’re looser now. I like it. I feel confident.
In a little off-the-field action, we all got flipped the bird by a Canadian on a bike today—stay classy Chatham-Kent. I think this has given us a little extra incentive to win. Also, we were assigned liaisons for this trip (two high schoolers from the area), and they gave us a very creatively done “baby corn mascot.” Basically, they decorated an ear of baby corn to look like a Women’s Eagle rugby player. So we’ve gotten the good (baby corn mascot from some awesome liaisons), the bad (Canadians on bikes), and the ugly (rugby players fed on just hors d’oeuvres) at Chatham-Kent. Hopefully, tonight will be good for us and bad and ugly for Canada.
1:30am 8/6
Well, the match didn’t exactly go our way. It was tough to lose and lose because we played well below our capability.
After a three-hour trip back to Oakville from Chatham-Kent, I’m just ready for some shut-eye.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Travel to Chatham-Kent
8/4/11
Today we traveled to Chatham-Kent, Canada, which is three hours away from Appleby College. The next round of matches for the Nation’s Cup will be played here. The reason for this is because rugby is spreading in this part of the world, and holding the even here brings more publicity for the sport. So, in a way, we are acting as ambassadors of rugby this weekend, which is very exciting.
What was not exciting was the trip here. It wasn’t bad, just not exciting, as I spent most of it in dreamland, with the occasional trip to Disney movieland or the fictional land of Jean-Paul Sartre’s “Nausea” (a little light, existential reading for the trip).
Upon arriving in Chatham-Kent, we had, what was supposed to be, a light meal before dinner. They served us chicken, potatoes, steamed carrots, steamed broccoli, salad, pasta salad (two types) and bread for our light meal. For dinner, we had hors d’oeuvres. Apparently our match with Canada tomorrow has been dubbed the something-something-Kent-Cup, and we had a big ceremony. Prior to the ceremony, we were to mingle, and our mingling food consisted of sliders, shrimp, cucumbers, skewers, fruit and a few other finger food offerings.
Yes, they (and I’m not sure who “they” is) thought they could feed four rugby teams on finger foods. The servers were literally trying to sprint past hungry ruggers, who crowded around the entryway, in order to serve more hungry ruggers and attendees in the back of the room. When the mayor of Chatham-Kent asked, in the polite-host-like part of his welcome address, “Did you guys get enough to eat,” a groan resonated from the crowd, almost in unison, eerily echoing the sounds of our grumbling stomachs.
Despite the food set-back, we “got our eats on” when we returned to the hotel. Our awesome manager, took care of ordering some pasta for us, and now we are sated and nutritionally prepared to play Canada for the something-something-Kent-Cup tomorrow.
Today we traveled to Chatham-Kent, Canada, which is three hours away from Appleby College. The next round of matches for the Nation’s Cup will be played here. The reason for this is because rugby is spreading in this part of the world, and holding the even here brings more publicity for the sport. So, in a way, we are acting as ambassadors of rugby this weekend, which is very exciting.
What was not exciting was the trip here. It wasn’t bad, just not exciting, as I spent most of it in dreamland, with the occasional trip to Disney movieland or the fictional land of Jean-Paul Sartre’s “Nausea” (a little light, existential reading for the trip).
Upon arriving in Chatham-Kent, we had, what was supposed to be, a light meal before dinner. They served us chicken, potatoes, steamed carrots, steamed broccoli, salad, pasta salad (two types) and bread for our light meal. For dinner, we had hors d’oeuvres. Apparently our match with Canada tomorrow has been dubbed the something-something-Kent-Cup, and we had a big ceremony. Prior to the ceremony, we were to mingle, and our mingling food consisted of sliders, shrimp, cucumbers, skewers, fruit and a few other finger food offerings.
Yes, they (and I’m not sure who “they” is) thought they could feed four rugby teams on finger foods. The servers were literally trying to sprint past hungry ruggers, who crowded around the entryway, in order to serve more hungry ruggers and attendees in the back of the room. When the mayor of Chatham-Kent asked, in the polite-host-like part of his welcome address, “Did you guys get enough to eat,” a groan resonated from the crowd, almost in unison, eerily echoing the sounds of our grumbling stomachs.
Despite the food set-back, we “got our eats on” when we returned to the hotel. Our awesome manager, took care of ordering some pasta for us, and now we are sated and nutritionally prepared to play Canada for the something-something-Kent-Cup tomorrow.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Recovery Day
Not much to blog about today, but here it is:
8/3/11
The pool workout first thing this morning was awesome. We talked a little about our mental recovery after breakfast, and that little workout certainly helped. It would be nice if we could spend the entire day there, sigh. Actually, we’ve been having a good time since then as well. We reviewed game tape against England, did laundry, ate lunch and just lazed around.
Then we had another meeting, had a walk through in a light mist, which I thought was refreshing, and then had dinner. The food here hasn’t been that bad, but it hasn’t been stellar either. The pasta dish was decent, but it was basically penne, some olive oil and pepperoni. And some of the players are especially upset that there is no chocolate milk. One of my teammates tried her hand at making her own, this evening, with milk and chocolate pudding, but to no avail.
After dinner we had, “mandatory fun time,” as one of the ladies called it. Mandatory or not, we did have fun, and we seem to be having more and more of it as the days go on.
8/3/11
The pool workout first thing this morning was awesome. We talked a little about our mental recovery after breakfast, and that little workout certainly helped. It would be nice if we could spend the entire day there, sigh. Actually, we’ve been having a good time since then as well. We reviewed game tape against England, did laundry, ate lunch and just lazed around.
Then we had another meeting, had a walk through in a light mist, which I thought was refreshing, and then had dinner. The food here hasn’t been that bad, but it hasn’t been stellar either. The pasta dish was decent, but it was basically penne, some olive oil and pepperoni. And some of the players are especially upset that there is no chocolate milk. One of my teammates tried her hand at making her own, this evening, with milk and chocolate pudding, but to no avail.
After dinner we had, “mandatory fun time,” as one of the ladies called it. Mandatory or not, we did have fun, and we seem to be having more and more of it as the days go on.
August 2nd--USA vs. England
I didn't get a chance to post this last night, but here's my blog from yesterday:
12:30pm
We play England in about 6 hours. We had a walk through this morning and are now just hanging out. Everyone seems to be very composed and ready for this match, but underneath there is this intensity and tension that is just chomping at the bit to be released. If you were here, you could feel it in the air (i.e. there was some really over zealous cheering during “The Price Is Right”), and you could see it in the impish grins players are giving one another.
This is the proverbial quiet time before the storm that is rugby. I’m thinking now about a line in a poem by James Wright. At the end of “Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry Ohio,” there is a line describing a high school football game (I think it more aptly describes rugby): "Their sons grow suicidally beautiful at the beginning of October, and gallop terribly against each other's bodies."
Post Match
We certainly handled our own against the #2 team in the world. Of course, we didn’t play our best rugby, but we played well enough to win, and that is encouraging.
On a personal note, I had fun. I know that’s such a stock phrase, but I did. It was fun running against and with some of the best rugby players, it was fun playing that amazing fast-paced game, it was fun hitting some of those top-notch players and it was even fun getting hit. It was the best rugby I’ve ever played (maybe not personally), and it can only get better.
After the match, after our de-briefing, after our ice baths, we rookies got capped. What this means is that we were presented with these little beanie caps, complete with tassel (just like the one you see in the picture, only navy blue and gold), and had to “dance” (or our interpretation of dance—skipping is a more appropriate term) around the room. While the experience of earning that cap (the actual rugby) was very gratifying, the ceremony was amazing—I mean who doesn’t want to parade around a room in a little school-boy cap.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Look Out Toronto Here We Come...
8/1/11
We’re in Canada now, after a short trip across the border and past Niagara Falls. We didn’t actually have a chance to get outside and see the falls, but we definitely got a pretty good view while driving past. I got some video (not the best quality), and I’ll be posting soon.
We’re staying and playing (all of our matches but one) at Appleby College, which isn’t really a college—more like a really nice high school (boarding school style). It’s beautiful here. The campus borders Lake Ontario and the pitch is nestled in a little nook overlooking the lake. In the evening, when we’ll be playing, the field is all shadows (with maybe some ghosts here and there), with the blood orange sun fading behind the posts and light zephyrs rolling in from the lake. Ahhhhh, what great place for some rugby.
We had a good practice session and seem to be in a really good place, as a collective, to play England tomorrow. The starting line-up was announced, earlier this evening, (we had our jersey ceremony) and I’ll be starting at fullback. A part of me is, to quote the Golden Girls, “Wound up tighter than the girdle on a Baptist minister’s wife at an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast.” But I know that part is mostly just itching to play rugby—to play that game I love.
And now, it’s that time in our show for some off-the-field antics/mishaps (this time involving yours truly). I lost my room key this evening while we were all chatting down by the lake. My space pen (yes, I own a space pen) fell out of my pocket at one point during the chat, and I almost pooped my pants when I discovered it missing. After retrieving it, I was so relieved that I didn’t think to check the contents of my pockets for other possibly missing items, so I left our chat without my room key.
Luckily, I have genius coach, who concocted this brilliant idea, and awesome teammates, who implemented it and found my key. Pretty much, we got on our hands and knees and combed the area where we had been sitting. Hopefully, this tactical efficiency will carry over onto the field tomorrow.
We’re in Canada now, after a short trip across the border and past Niagara Falls. We didn’t actually have a chance to get outside and see the falls, but we definitely got a pretty good view while driving past. I got some video (not the best quality), and I’ll be posting soon.
We’re staying and playing (all of our matches but one) at Appleby College, which isn’t really a college—more like a really nice high school (boarding school style). It’s beautiful here. The campus borders Lake Ontario and the pitch is nestled in a little nook overlooking the lake. In the evening, when we’ll be playing, the field is all shadows (with maybe some ghosts here and there), with the blood orange sun fading behind the posts and light zephyrs rolling in from the lake. Ahhhhh, what great place for some rugby.
We had a good practice session and seem to be in a really good place, as a collective, to play England tomorrow. The starting line-up was announced, earlier this evening, (we had our jersey ceremony) and I’ll be starting at fullback. A part of me is, to quote the Golden Girls, “Wound up tighter than the girdle on a Baptist minister’s wife at an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast.” But I know that part is mostly just itching to play rugby—to play that game I love.
And now, it’s that time in our show for some off-the-field antics/mishaps (this time involving yours truly). I lost my room key this evening while we were all chatting down by the lake. My space pen (yes, I own a space pen) fell out of my pocket at one point during the chat, and I almost pooped my pants when I discovered it missing. After retrieving it, I was so relieved that I didn’t think to check the contents of my pockets for other possibly missing items, so I left our chat without my room key.
Luckily, I have genius coach, who concocted this brilliant idea, and awesome teammates, who implemented it and found my key. Pretty much, we got on our hands and knees and combed the area where we had been sitting. Hopefully, this tactical efficiency will carry over onto the field tomorrow.
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