Here is an account of my experience of playing on the US Women's Rugby Team on a recent tour to play against Scotland, Ireland, and England (A). As a brief introduction, I have been playing rugby for almost 8 years and am more involved in it than ever!
I started playing rugby at MIT after doing gymnastics for 13 years. I had learned as much as I was going to learn from gymnastics and was obviously over the hill (for gymnastics) once I got to college. As this article from the NY Press describes, I saw a flyer in the hallway that said "Do you wanna tackle people?" and I went to my first practice. I knew I was a good athlete, naturally competitive, and rough enough from playing sports with my brothers Eric and Evan all the time. I figured it would be fun to see what it was about.
At the first practice, I remember the coach at the time (Laura Farley) saying that I should be a scrumhalf. Of course, I had no idea what that meant but I sure had fun hitting the tackle bag. I went to some tournament after going to something like 2 practices and they threw me into the game. I remember the ref being a bit annoyed at how many times I passed the ball forwards, but I really had no idea what I was doing out there except that it was something similar to playing "kill the man with the ball".
To tell you the truth, I was pretty slow to learn the rules because we were more concerned with getting the basics down and I didn't have much extra time, because of all that pesky schoolwork, to invest in learning more about it. I don't think I even watched a match on TV until 2 years into it. Now it sounds crazy to say that because rugby has become such a major part of my life.
After playing in college, I honestly didn't think I would ever play again. It was fun but I had no idea there was even rugby after college, much less that it could be so competitive. I moved to the Bay Area in California for work and thought I would start a rugby club in Palo Alto because I couldn't find any information about it. At that time, I went to the Stanford Rugby orientation to see if there were other people interested in joining and they pointed me towards BASH (Bay Area SheHawks) because they were looking for numbers and had practiced in the area before. I quickly became part of the team, but didn't get to play scrumhalf for the 2 years I was out there because they needed more help at Fullback or Outside Center.
I came back to NY (where I'm originally from) just after the dot-com bubble burst because I was losing interest in my job as a consultant for a small hi-tech strategy firm. In the transition from west to east, my main squeeze (Rob) and I went backpacking in Europe for 5 weeks. On that trip, I vaguely knew that the Women's Rugby World Cup was going to be held in Barcelona around the time we would be there so we shouldn't have been surprised when we checked into a hostel and these sporty women were walking around. It turns out that a bunch of the NY players had come over to support their teammates who were playing in the World Cup. A large group of these NYRC women were staying in our hostel so we got to know a few of them. I told them that I would be moving to NY and that I would come to play with them when we got back from our vacation. Two of the NY players were leaving before the final match, so they gave us their tickets. It was pretty cool that we got to see the final match in the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona.
Upon returning to NY, I went to a practice with NY and was a little intimidated by such a large and well-run team with some high profile players. The only person I knew was "an eagle" was Hedwig (Aerts) and so I was especially awkward around her. When they asked what position I played, I responded "scrumhalf" because one of the coaches from BASH told me to really take a shot at scrumhalf when I moved to NY. It turned out that NY already had 3 other scrumhalfs (scrumhalves?) and I would be #4. That was fine, especially because I had been playing on pretty mediocre teams and didn't have great passing skills to begin with.
The first year with NY, Sarah (Litt) and I split halves for the B-side games. Over time, I became a "bubble player" and eventually was getting in for the second half of some A-side games. This is a pretty stressful situation because many of the A-side players on NY were/are eagles and know rugby really well. I was someone who was pretty green and in a key position on the field. And I was going to have to pass the ball to Hedwig, who was playing Flyhalf at the time and I felt a little sorry for her that she would have to deal with my inexperience and wayward passing. In those early learning stages, she was incredibly patient and gave me plenty of room and support to learn on my own. I felt incredibly lucky to have her and the rest of the NY team helping me grow.
At one point, Meredith (Whalen) who was the starting scrumhalf at the time was injured with a concussion and she would have to miss a substantial amount of time to recover. I had my first opportunity to start an A-side match and held my own there in several matches. I guess Meredith wasn't back in time or maybe it was when she tore her achilles, but I was selected to start in both games at the National Championship (for clubs across the US). Although we placed 3rd then (and for 3 Nationals in a row since I joined NY), I was getting more exposure to difficult teams (Minnesota Valkyries, Berkeley All-Blues, Altanta Harlequins, etc.).
After Nationals one year, I was asked to come to a developmental camp for the US. I couldn't go that year because I had just started working for Canon USA and didn't have any vacation time. I was invited again the year after that (2004) and went to Canada in August for a week to train with other developing players and play against Canada's developmental team. This was really exciting because it was my first international experience with rugby. I remember being excited by the fact that they sang the anthems before the game.
I guess that meant that I had been added to the larger pool of possible US players, but I didn't really know what it all meant or what the next steps were (or even what my expectations were for myself). It turned out that there would be a match in Scotland that year over Thanksgiving and I (unexpectedly) turned up on the reserve list. I wasn't going to travel with the team, but it was encouraging that they must have seen something good!
The starting US scrumhalf, Lisa Rowe, lived in Maryland but started coming to NY to practice and play with the team, mostly to get experience playing with the rest of the eagles she would play with internationally. She had many years of experience and was amazing to watch. During one match in October on Randall's Island, she had a great run down the weak side and somehow planted in a weird way and tore her ACL. This made everyone nervous because she was the starting scrumhalf for the tour to Scotland and there was a great disparity between her and all other scrumhalfs. I got a call that night from Kathy Flores, the coach of the National Team, asking if I would be available to come to Scotland on such short notice (3 weeks I think). I said "ready, able, and incredibly willing" and arrangements were made for me to go on tour (Nov 2004).
That tour blew my mind because it was my first tour with the US Women's National Team and I learned so much and got to know so many amazing players from other teams across the country. I also had the opportunity to go into the Scotland match played in Murrayfield (an amazing rugby stadium in Scotland) for the last 15-20 minutes of the game. We scored a try after I went in and I was so excited. I received my first cap (players receive "caps" for official international matches, but not an actual cap) and got a taste of how awesome rugby can be at that higher level.
Over the course of the year, there were a number of National Team camps for the coaches to see how players performed and to teach aspects of the game the way they wanted to see it played. There was one in Chula Vista, CA at the Olympic Training Center and one in New Orleans. At each one, I learned more and started thinking more strategically about the way the game was played. I still had a long way to go, but these were great to get me thinking in the right direction. At these camps, the coaches were starting to think about who would be part of the World Cup squad for August 2006. While that seemed really far away, the coaches did a good job of establishing a strong pool of players.
At the camp in New Orleans, Lisa Rowe had come back from her ACL rehab and was participating in whatever she could do. In a hearbreaking moment, she was doing some basic skipping and heard a loud pop, which we later found out was a torn achilles (it's odd that it was similar to Meredith's injury). I remember it being an upsetting event for everyone because we knew she had worked so hard to come back from her ACL injury and really wanted (and deserved) to be on the World Cup squad.
After that camp, there was another National Team event (Sept 2005) where Eagles would play the NRU (Northeast Rugby Union, a select-side team) which would keep their Eagles. As an NRU player, this was one of the least encouraging experiences I had because I was playing against the Eagles and not only did we lose, but the NRU didn't play well at all. Since it was at the beginning of the Fall season, no one was really in peak shape and we hadn't really practiced together much. Emotionally, most of the NRU players who were Eagles felt a bit on the outside and really upset with our performance. Several months after that match, we all receive feedback from the coaches and most of it isn't all that good. I begin to realize what a rollercoaster ride being part of this National Team pool can be.
The tour to the UK was announced and the squad was sent by email to all pool players. Myself and Claudia (Braymer) were going as the 2 scrumhalfs. It was a great experience, and a detailed account of that tour is what prompted me to put together this blog. This journal is a bit long, but it might be interesting to give some insight into what the tour experience is like.
During the regular season, I go to NY rugby practices 2x per week (Tuesday and Thursday) and try to go to the gym the other days (Sundays are my day off). Recently, a lot of us NY players (including some Eagles) have been getting together to workout with teammates (SAQ, running, plyos, weights, etc.). I dedicate almost all of my time outside of work to rugby, whether it's working out, going to practice, traveling or playing matches. I am so lucky that the people around me (Rob, my friends, my co-workers, and my family) understand the sacrifices and decisions I make in favor of rugby. What started out as a fun hobby is now a major aspect of my life.
With the World Cup just around the corner (August/Sept), I am obviously hoping to make the squad. As Rob says, I am choosing to do this as a challenge for myself.
As Rob pointed out to me before leaving for this tour, life is about setting goals and challenging yourself to achieve them. So, in the process of trying to become the best rugby player I can be, I hope to make the World Cup squad. But even it it were to all end today (which I really hope it doesn't...knock on wood), I would say that I've learned a lot and had fun in being part of the rugby community, NYRC, and the Women's National Team.
But for now, I'm going to keep running with both eyes on the World Cup. And, as I often say to Hedwig, "I was born ready", so give me a chance and I'll make something happen.
Enjoy,
Lee Knight
PS - I'm not sure how often I'll update this, but hopefully it will include thoughts leading up to (and including?) the World Cup :)
I started playing rugby at MIT after doing gymnastics for 13 years. I had learned as much as I was going to learn from gymnastics and was obviously over the hill (for gymnastics) once I got to college. As this article from the NY Press describes, I saw a flyer in the hallway that said "Do you wanna tackle people?" and I went to my first practice. I knew I was a good athlete, naturally competitive, and rough enough from playing sports with my brothers Eric and Evan all the time. I figured it would be fun to see what it was about.
At the first practice, I remember the coach at the time (Laura Farley) saying that I should be a scrumhalf. Of course, I had no idea what that meant but I sure had fun hitting the tackle bag. I went to some tournament after going to something like 2 practices and they threw me into the game. I remember the ref being a bit annoyed at how many times I passed the ball forwards, but I really had no idea what I was doing out there except that it was something similar to playing "kill the man with the ball".
To tell you the truth, I was pretty slow to learn the rules because we were more concerned with getting the basics down and I didn't have much extra time, because of all that pesky schoolwork, to invest in learning more about it. I don't think I even watched a match on TV until 2 years into it. Now it sounds crazy to say that because rugby has become such a major part of my life.
After playing in college, I honestly didn't think I would ever play again. It was fun but I had no idea there was even rugby after college, much less that it could be so competitive. I moved to the Bay Area in California for work and thought I would start a rugby club in Palo Alto because I couldn't find any information about it. At that time, I went to the Stanford Rugby orientation to see if there were other people interested in joining and they pointed me towards BASH (Bay Area SheHawks) because they were looking for numbers and had practiced in the area before. I quickly became part of the team, but didn't get to play scrumhalf for the 2 years I was out there because they needed more help at Fullback or Outside Center.
I came back to NY (where I'm originally from) just after the dot-com bubble burst because I was losing interest in my job as a consultant for a small hi-tech strategy firm. In the transition from west to east, my main squeeze (Rob) and I went backpacking in Europe for 5 weeks. On that trip, I vaguely knew that the Women's Rugby World Cup was going to be held in Barcelona around the time we would be there so we shouldn't have been surprised when we checked into a hostel and these sporty women were walking around. It turns out that a bunch of the NY players had come over to support their teammates who were playing in the World Cup. A large group of these NYRC women were staying in our hostel so we got to know a few of them. I told them that I would be moving to NY and that I would come to play with them when we got back from our vacation. Two of the NY players were leaving before the final match, so they gave us their tickets. It was pretty cool that we got to see the final match in the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona.
Upon returning to NY, I went to a practice with NY and was a little intimidated by such a large and well-run team with some high profile players. The only person I knew was "an eagle" was Hedwig (Aerts) and so I was especially awkward around her. When they asked what position I played, I responded "scrumhalf" because one of the coaches from BASH told me to really take a shot at scrumhalf when I moved to NY. It turned out that NY already had 3 other scrumhalfs (scrumhalves?) and I would be #4. That was fine, especially because I had been playing on pretty mediocre teams and didn't have great passing skills to begin with.
The first year with NY, Sarah (Litt) and I split halves for the B-side games. Over time, I became a "bubble player" and eventually was getting in for the second half of some A-side games. This is a pretty stressful situation because many of the A-side players on NY were/are eagles and know rugby really well. I was someone who was pretty green and in a key position on the field. And I was going to have to pass the ball to Hedwig, who was playing Flyhalf at the time and I felt a little sorry for her that she would have to deal with my inexperience and wayward passing. In those early learning stages, she was incredibly patient and gave me plenty of room and support to learn on my own. I felt incredibly lucky to have her and the rest of the NY team helping me grow.
At one point, Meredith (Whalen) who was the starting scrumhalf at the time was injured with a concussion and she would have to miss a substantial amount of time to recover. I had my first opportunity to start an A-side match and held my own there in several matches. I guess Meredith wasn't back in time or maybe it was when she tore her achilles, but I was selected to start in both games at the National Championship (for clubs across the US). Although we placed 3rd then (and for 3 Nationals in a row since I joined NY), I was getting more exposure to difficult teams (Minnesota Valkyries, Berkeley All-Blues, Altanta Harlequins, etc.).
After Nationals one year, I was asked to come to a developmental camp for the US. I couldn't go that year because I had just started working for Canon USA and didn't have any vacation time. I was invited again the year after that (2004) and went to Canada in August for a week to train with other developing players and play against Canada's developmental team. This was really exciting because it was my first international experience with rugby. I remember being excited by the fact that they sang the anthems before the game.
I guess that meant that I had been added to the larger pool of possible US players, but I didn't really know what it all meant or what the next steps were (or even what my expectations were for myself). It turned out that there would be a match in Scotland that year over Thanksgiving and I (unexpectedly) turned up on the reserve list. I wasn't going to travel with the team, but it was encouraging that they must have seen something good!
The starting US scrumhalf, Lisa Rowe, lived in Maryland but started coming to NY to practice and play with the team, mostly to get experience playing with the rest of the eagles she would play with internationally. She had many years of experience and was amazing to watch. During one match in October on Randall's Island, she had a great run down the weak side and somehow planted in a weird way and tore her ACL. This made everyone nervous because she was the starting scrumhalf for the tour to Scotland and there was a great disparity between her and all other scrumhalfs. I got a call that night from Kathy Flores, the coach of the National Team, asking if I would be available to come to Scotland on such short notice (3 weeks I think). I said "ready, able, and incredibly willing" and arrangements were made for me to go on tour (Nov 2004).
That tour blew my mind because it was my first tour with the US Women's National Team and I learned so much and got to know so many amazing players from other teams across the country. I also had the opportunity to go into the Scotland match played in Murrayfield (an amazing rugby stadium in Scotland) for the last 15-20 minutes of the game. We scored a try after I went in and I was so excited. I received my first cap (players receive "caps" for official international matches, but not an actual cap) and got a taste of how awesome rugby can be at that higher level.
Over the course of the year, there were a number of National Team camps for the coaches to see how players performed and to teach aspects of the game the way they wanted to see it played. There was one in Chula Vista, CA at the Olympic Training Center and one in New Orleans. At each one, I learned more and started thinking more strategically about the way the game was played. I still had a long way to go, but these were great to get me thinking in the right direction. At these camps, the coaches were starting to think about who would be part of the World Cup squad for August 2006. While that seemed really far away, the coaches did a good job of establishing a strong pool of players.
At the camp in New Orleans, Lisa Rowe had come back from her ACL rehab and was participating in whatever she could do. In a hearbreaking moment, she was doing some basic skipping and heard a loud pop, which we later found out was a torn achilles (it's odd that it was similar to Meredith's injury). I remember it being an upsetting event for everyone because we knew she had worked so hard to come back from her ACL injury and really wanted (and deserved) to be on the World Cup squad.
After that camp, there was another National Team event (Sept 2005) where Eagles would play the NRU (Northeast Rugby Union, a select-side team) which would keep their Eagles. As an NRU player, this was one of the least encouraging experiences I had because I was playing against the Eagles and not only did we lose, but the NRU didn't play well at all. Since it was at the beginning of the Fall season, no one was really in peak shape and we hadn't really practiced together much. Emotionally, most of the NRU players who were Eagles felt a bit on the outside and really upset with our performance. Several months after that match, we all receive feedback from the coaches and most of it isn't all that good. I begin to realize what a rollercoaster ride being part of this National Team pool can be.
The tour to the UK was announced and the squad was sent by email to all pool players. Myself and Claudia (Braymer) were going as the 2 scrumhalfs. It was a great experience, and a detailed account of that tour is what prompted me to put together this blog. This journal is a bit long, but it might be interesting to give some insight into what the tour experience is like.
During the regular season, I go to NY rugby practices 2x per week (Tuesday and Thursday) and try to go to the gym the other days (Sundays are my day off). Recently, a lot of us NY players (including some Eagles) have been getting together to workout with teammates (SAQ, running, plyos, weights, etc.). I dedicate almost all of my time outside of work to rugby, whether it's working out, going to practice, traveling or playing matches. I am so lucky that the people around me (Rob, my friends, my co-workers, and my family) understand the sacrifices and decisions I make in favor of rugby. What started out as a fun hobby is now a major aspect of my life.
With the World Cup just around the corner (August/Sept), I am obviously hoping to make the squad. As Rob says, I am choosing to do this as a challenge for myself.
As Rob pointed out to me before leaving for this tour, life is about setting goals and challenging yourself to achieve them. So, in the process of trying to become the best rugby player I can be, I hope to make the World Cup squad. But even it it were to all end today (which I really hope it doesn't...knock on wood), I would say that I've learned a lot and had fun in being part of the rugby community, NYRC, and the Women's National Team.
But for now, I'm going to keep running with both eyes on the World Cup. And, as I often say to Hedwig, "I was born ready", so give me a chance and I'll make something happen.
Enjoy,
Lee Knight
PS - I'm not sure how often I'll update this, but hopefully it will include thoughts leading up to (and including?) the World Cup :)
posted by Lee Knight at 1:10 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home