WNT Camp Day 3

6/24/11
1pm PacTime

In from our first practice of the day and lunch. We actually had some free time (don’t have another meeting until 1:30), so I figured I’d sit at the computer for a bit.

I feel so much more comfortable with our system today, after sitting with the playbook/manual for a while. The ladies here are awesome, and pretty diverse as far as age and location goes. We have some from Cali/West Coast, some from the East and South, and some from those middle, land-bound states (a lot from Minnesota), and there are a bunch of veteran players, but also a lot of newbies (like myself).

As always, it’s sunny in San Diego/Chula Vista, but not so hot. I hate to say it, but I don’t miss the weather in Virginia (I hate to say it, because I love the VA). Rugby in spring/summer is just a lot easier when the air isn’t so heavy.

Now, I’ll be off to our meeting and then practice #2 for the day…and still no update on Operation Capture A Bunny.

9:30pm PT
Yesterday, I forgot to mention that we had a nice little surprise at the end of the afternoon practice (guess I was too tired last night to recall). The Fallbrook Women’s (or Girl’s) U19 team came to watch our practice and meet us all afterward. These young ladies were this year’s U19 National Champs (they won their Championship Match 60-0).

I don’t know how the others felt after that practice—whether they were walking tall because they performed well, or down because they could’ve done better—but whatever their state, I’m sure that everyone of us walked away from the pitch feeling good about ourselves, after meeting these girls.

I felt like maybe I could’ve made an impression on them or perhaps they saw something in my play that would inspire them. Maybe they saw me hit someone and thought, “When I get older, I’ll be hitting that hard.” At the very least, I could sense how excited they were to meet and mingle with us, and that made me feel a little bit like a celebrity.

And one other thing, the Fallbrook Club has over 70 young ladies involved. They have a U14 team, a U16 team and the U19 team that we met. That got me excited as well—the sport (our sport) is gaining popularity here, and it’s awesome to be a part of that.