It has been a while since I blogged, as I have become incredibly busy, between classes, practice, and trying to finish my latest video projects (and failing miserably). Last semester sure had been filled with excitement, and action, both from the amount of work I had to balance across four classes, and from my experiences going to rugby practice. This post is coincidentally timed, in that practice is just picking up again.
Yes, I finally started going to practice regularly last semester. It is, as I expected, a total blast.
Hard work, yes, but the kind you look forward to every day. The kind of hard work where you wake up sore the next morning, but say to yourself "I can't wait to do it again."
The routine quickly became an understood, and much anticipated part of the day. We all gathered on the field, upwards of a half hour before practice began. Some of us stretched. Others would warm up by passing, or practicing kicking, others would just shoot the breeze with one another, and with the coaches. A pretty relaxed atmosphere. When the clock struck 5, however, it was time to get moving. With a call of "get your cleats on," everyone springs into action. A couple of minutes later, we are jogging, getting the blood flowing, and the cobwebs out of our legs (figuratively speaking, of course). Drills, and touch rugby games to re-enforce everything we have been learning, as well games of touch rugby to re-enforce everything we've been learning, and improve our games, would take up the next two hours of the early evening. I won't get into specifics here regarding techniques and skills needed to play rugby, as this post is intended to be focused on my experiences with getting into the sport, and interacting with everyone else.
Despite the various issues I had to contend with, which showed themselves earlier on (particularly in the humid weather of late summer / early fall) I felt accepted from day one by the rest of the people at practice. No matter how much I may have felt like I was not doing well at rudimentary drills concerning depth, and passing, my peers kept encouraging me to keep going, and also had to tell me to stop beating myself up (figuratively, of course), even going as far as helping me with the techniques that I needed to learn. I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting the acceptance and camaraderie I saw. Maybe it is just some of the generally not-so-positive experiences I've had in previous college years, long before I ever thought about pursuing playing rugby. Before coming to Iona, I had some bad experiences. On the whole, I've had far more good times than bad, but damn, some of the bad experiences I did have were doozies. I don't know when I should go into that, but I will eventually. Over time, those "doozies" made it hard to feel comfortable being open to people who fell outside my usual comfort zone - irrespective of if it was warranted or not, and irrespective of if the discomfort was rational or not. Needless to say, the atmosphere walking onto the pitch for the first time was quite welcoming, and everybody worked hard to try to make each other the best rugby player they could be. After all, we were all here, unified by our love for rugby - and a passionate desire to play, and do well. We were always encouraging each other, even when we may have made minor mistakes, and even though there were plenty of times where I felt it was nothing special - just a sign of well needed improvement, I accepted the encouraging words of my peers because, well, it just feels damn good to know when you are starting to do things correctly, and improve.
The only thing that continuously proved to bother me over the course of the past semester was how I would, with some regularity, wind up being told to sit out of tackle drills. Don't get me wrong, having read my dossier so to speak, I understand if any of the coaches have concerns about the act of tackling - especially since, at first glance, I don't necessarily look like the type who can handle the physical requirements. I am, however, stronger than I look. In the couple of times I have successfully bucked, and stuck around for the drills, I feel like I have been able to handle it - even if there is still work to be done with regard to executing a tackle correctly. Now, I don't see myself strong enough to endure scrums, or being able to lift players during line outs - not yet, at least, but I don't need to in order to show that I can handle learning the techniques of tackling, and handle being tackled.
Unfortunately, it looks as if my goal of playing for IONA will, in all probability, not be reached - as I graduate in May. The only way that particular goal could possibly be achieved would be if I somehow was able to continue my education by going to graduate school - which is definitely not in the cards, at least for now. This inevitability, however, does not mean that my expedition into the world of rugby ends. Far from it. Working my way up, if possible, it'd be interesting, and fun, to see if I can get myself into the kind of sharpness - fitness and skill wise - to try to break into professional rugby. This new goal would allow me to continue my YouTube series, and more importantly, allow me to continue pursuing a sport that I have become almost magnetically attached to, and extremely passionate about.
