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.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
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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