Kickin' It

Just got my place-kicking tee. Anyone have any advice on learning to place kick?

Makes me Happy

This:


Some pretty sweet camera work in there, too!

"Ain't no such thing"

Re-blogged from fuckyeahwomensrugby.tumblr.com:

"When your mom asks you to wear a helmet, you're like,"

Farm Life

This is my new passing target. It's a tire, hanging in the barn. Plenty of space to practice kicking, too!

Moved!

I live in Jamesport, Missouri, now.

:-)

Important News!

I have an announcement to make.

I'm moving to Missouri next week. I've resigned from Genesis Health Clubs, where I work as a personal trainer. Saturday is my last day.

I plan to live and work on a friend's farm for room and board, teach yoga in Jamesport (and anywhere else within driving distance that will have me), and train and coach private clients. I also hope to practice and compete with the Kansas City Jazz this year, and occasionally whore with the St. Louis Sabres (Sabres are Div I, Jazz are Div II, so I'm hoping there won't be a conflict of interest).

If you're a KC or St. Louis girl, get in touch! I'd love to get to know you!

If you know of cool places to work out/hang out in northern Missouri/Kansas City, let me know! I'm going to be totally clueless about the scene.

If you need a personal trainer/coach, or know someone who needs a personal trainer/coach, please contact me! I'm going to be re-building my client base from the ground up! I would like to have enough clients in Kansas City that I can justify driving up there once a week to train. I'd also be willing to do that in St. Louis, if there are enough people interested to warrant driving 4 hours each way. You're also welcome to come train with me in Jamesport, as soon as I get a studio up and going.

Thank you guys for reading. I appreciate all of you!

Windy!

It was really too windy to practice kicking yesterday . . .

But I did anyway.

I've progressed from dropkicks from 10 m directly in front of the goal posts to kicking from 10m slightly to the left and right of the goalposts. Sometimes I even make them!

IRB Law Changes (via YSC)

My Thoughts
I assume Law 4.2 helps to accommodate the growing Middle Eastern and Islamic contingent of international play. Many sects of Muslims proscribe that women be covered to the wrists and ankles, as well as their heads. You'll see Middle Eastern female track athletes in full-body skinsuits at the London Olympics this summer, I bet.
The amendment to the scrum cadence seems odd and unnecessary, to me. Seriously. Why change that? Here's a video that shows it in action. I guess it seems less odd in practice. Maybe this law change (like the "use it or lose it" change to Law 16.7) demonstrates that the IRB wants the game to move faster. UPDATE: Here's a more comprehensive article on the changes to the scrum.


Mostly, I think that a faster-moving game is a good thing, especially at the international level. It'll take some getting used to, especially with the new scrum cadence. Other thoughts?


(via Your Scrumhalf Connection)

Folks,


There are some Law changes that just came out (and I am sure most have seen something about them). Below are some explanatory comments.


Peter Watson
Chair, USA Rugby Laws sub-committee

---

2012 IRB Law Changes
May 2012

This week the IRB issued a number of small changes in Law. Implementation dates vary – some go into effect now and others at the start of the next Fifteens season (September 1 or thereabouts). The exact wording of the new Laws is in the attached document.
These changes are on a Trial Basis. After some practical experience has been accumulated, the IRB will be soliciting Union opinions.


Effective immediately (actually went in last January 1)
Law 1 – The Ground
The two lines that delineate the beginning and end of lineouts – the five meter line and the fifteen meter line – are now to be dashed lines. Formerly they were dotted.


Effective June 1, 2012
Sevens Variations
Law 3.4 – Number of Players
A team may now nominate up to five replacements/substitutes and may use all of them.


Effective at or around September 1, 2012
These changes are not to be implemented in Sevens this summer. They may be used in pre-season matches preparing for the fall 2012 league seasons.
Law 4.2 – Special additional items of clothing for women
Female players may wear cotton blend long tights with single inside leg seam under their shorts and socks.
This is pretty clear…if you are not female, don’t wear tights. Please do not ask me the rationale for this as I am not a mind-reader.
Law 4.3 – Studs
In Law 4.4, single-toe replaceable studs are prohibited. The IRB has approved, on a trial basis, one particular configuration of single-toe studs. It is shown in the attached document. All other forms are still illegal.
Law 9.B.1 – Taking a Conversion Kick
When a try is scored, the scoring team now has one and a half minutes (90 seconds) FROM THE TIME THE TRY IS SCORED to take the conversion. This is playing time, so if there is an injured player who has to be treated or removed before the kick, time is off.
Law 12.1 – Outcome of a Knock-on or Throw Forward
If the ball is knocked-on or thrown forward into touch, the non-offending team may choose the lineout (where it crossed the touch line) or the scrum (where the knock occurred). If they take a quick throw-in, they have made their choice.
And someone has already asked about knocks that go into touch-in-goal (or across the dead ball line). That situation is covered by Law 12.1 (c) and this change is not applicable in that case.
Law 16.7 – Unsuccessful End to a Ruck
This puts a “use it or lose it” requirement on rucks. Once the ball is clearly won and available to be played, the referee will call “use it” after which the ball must be played within five seconds. If not, it is a turnover – scrum to the other team.
Law 19.2 – Quick Throw-In
This change alters where a quick throw can be taken. Currently a quick throw can be taken anywhere from the place the ball crossed the touch line back to the thrower’s goal line. The change allows a quick throw to be taken anywhere from the place of the lineout back to the thrower’s goal line. The gap that used to exist if the ball was kicked out on the fly from in front of the 22 is now gone. [I suspect this will have a bigger impact in Sevens than it will in Fifteens, but not this summer.]
Law 20.1 – Scrum Engagement
This is the biggie….a change to the process:
Referee says “crouch” and the teams crouch (or remain crouched if already down).
Referee says “touch” and the four props reach out and touch and then withdraw their arms.
When the referee is satisfied that the front rows appear ready to engage AND ARE STABLE, the referee says “set”. The front rows may then come together when ready. This is not a command. It is permission.
Law 21.4 – Penalty and Free Kick Options and Requirements
This change is only for free kicks and penalty kicks awarded at lineouts. A team that is awarded a kick may choose to have a lineout instead of the kick. And of course they may also choose a scrum in lieu of the kick.

(via Your Scrumhalf Connection)

Yoga for Ruggers: Body Awareness

No, that's not me.

I've written before about the most obvious benefits of yoga: strength and flexibility. But there are other benefits for athletes, and I plan to make a study of those, too. My first article on what yoga you should actually do (it's going to be about hips) is coming up soon; I'm just waiting for my gracious assistant to return from the National All-Stars Championship in Pittsburgh so she can model some poses.

In addition to flexibility, which is what you probably think of when you consider yoga, and strength, you also stand to gain body awareness. Not sure why that's important? I'll show you.

Some athletes evade tacklers with ease. They slip through holes in a defense like they're made out of silly putty. They're also likely to catch themselves in odd positions (they never fall, they only almost fall) and prevent breakable objects from shattering on the floor at the last instant. They are not what you would call clumsy. You may think of them as obnoxiously coordinated. They possess exceptional kinesthetic awareness. Body intelligence, you might call it.

Not all of us who love sports were born possessing that natural ease. Some of us grew up knocking things over and falling down. A lot. Some of us were klutzes. Some of us were clumsy. But kinesthetic awareness, body intelligence, can develop with time. How do you go about doing that? So glad you asked.

Yoga practice (at least the way I teach it, Iyengar style) requires you to align your body in very precise positions and then hold them. Initially, you get into the right position by looking at yourself in the mirror and (ideally) having a teacher who will keep adjusting you until you get the pose right. But the eventual goal is that you feel the proper position, and assume it without thought.

You know. Kind of like how you shouldn't have to think about which foot you're stepping with in a tackle, or what your body position is when you're passing.

As you practice yoga, as you learn the positions and (more importantly) learn in your muscles how each one feels, you'll become more aware of how your body moves in other contexts. I'll never forget the first time this happened to me; I was walking up the stairs, and for the first time felt my quadriceps actively contracting to extend my knee. I'd never connected with what it took for my body to move me around, before.

On the field, this will translate to you better using your body. As you become more aware of where your limbs are in space (this is called proprioception), you'll find that your body responds more quickly and precisely to what your brain wants to do. You might catch a bad pass that you couldn't have recovered previously. You may experience an improved ability to dodge a tackle, or to stay out of touch on a run up the sidelines. Yoga has the potential to give you those seemingly superhuman abilities.

Demigods.

And if your proprioception already borders on the demi-godlike? Practicing yoga will have you challenging Olympus.

(That means you'll be even more like the gods.)

We'll explore how next week, when we introduce yoga for your hips.

Corrective Exercise

Know what sucks? Injury. Injuries keep you from playing. Sometimes they keep you from doing other things, like walking. Oftentimes they're preventable. This article is about preventing them. More specifically, this article is about how I'm trying to prevent my own.

It's hard to analyze your own weaknesses, even when you do it for a living. I can walk through a supermarket and give you a rough overview of almost anyone's potential biomechanical problems: that person has tight hamstrings, or overactive hip flexors, or weak abs; this one has back pain; that woman's knees are going to hurt soon, if they don't already. Usually, I can give you an idea of how I'd help that person address their issues so that she doesn't experience chronic injury or pain in the future.

This doesn't always translate to looking in the mirror and knowing what exercises I need to do to prevent my own injuries. I learned that when I went to see a physical therapist for ASTYM. During my first appointment, he tested my static hip flexor and hip abductor strength using manual pressure. I failed both tests pathetically. I probably should have known that my hips were weak, and I definitely knew which exercises would help, but I wasn't doing them.

I can't see all the things that are wrong with me, but I do know of a few particular problems. These are areas that I can feel; they're right on the edge of trouble, or already cause pain.

S.I. joint
This manifests as a pain in my ass, usually just to the right of the sacrum, sometimes radiating out towards the hip joint. I think that a tight piriformis is the main culprit. It's a problem I see a lot--as in, I see it in almost everyone. I think it comes from the way we drive: right foot on the pedal, hip externally rotated. In people who drive a manual transmission, I see it on both sides. Underactive hip abductors compound the problem. The solution?

1. Myofascial release of the piriformis using a foam roller, tennis ball, or lacrosse ball/baseball (if you like pain)
2. PNF stretch the piriformis and biceps femoris
3. Strengthen the hip abductors (especially the gluteus medius and the gluteus minimus)
4. Strengthen the hip internal rotators (especially the pectineus and its synergists)
5. Strengthen the tensor fasciae latae, release the IT band

Right knee complex
My right knee is a mess, and it's gotten worse since I started playing rugby. I can feel tension and pain creeping in. Sitting in Virasana hurts. Agnistambhasana hurts. And if I get up after having my knees flexed for a while, they won't straighten all the way. When I do loaded squats, my right knee grinds, like the patello-femoral tendon is gristle-y. This is a big problem. Knees are important for playing sports. I only have two of them. And games like rugby are notoriously hard on them. I need to have strong, supple, stable knees. Right now, I don't. There's a confluence of problems here, I think: tight IT band, gunky patello-femoral tendon, tight and overactive hamstrings and calves. The solution will be neither easy nor comfortable. Here are some of the things I need to work on:

1. Fix the right hip. Hip imbalances become knee imbalances.
2. Myofascial release of the IT band, gastroc, hamstrings, and quads. Ouch. Maybe I can get a few massages before I try to start this stuff. Foam roller for the IT band and quads, dowel rod for the hamstrings and calves. There will be tears.
3. Floss the patello-femoral tendon.
4. Strengthen the hip abductors and adductors to balance the kinetic chains and stabilize the knee.
5. Stretch the hamstrings and calves. And also everything else.

Plantar fascia
This really shouldn't be a problem. Prevention is critical to avoiding plantar fasciitis, and I know how to prevent it. I make my clients work on prevention. So why am I not doing the work to avoid pain and injury?

1. Strengthen the muscles of the foot, especially the flexor hallucis longus (this should also take care of my big toe pain.
2. Stretch the gastroc and soleus.
3. Myofascial release of the plantar fascia using a tennis ball or golf ball.

It's easy for me to practice passing, kicking, running, tackling . . . I can motivate myself to condition, run sprints, lift weights . . . but I have trouble with stretching, core strengthening, and preventative exercise! Why is that?

Fending

Bruce Lee's 1" punch might be a great way to train the fend, no?

Recovery Week

Chill.

When training hard for endurance events, I found that I needed to recover at least every fourth week, sometimes every third. If I knew I had an easy week coming up, I was even better able to push myself in every workout. And by taking time off, I gave my body time to absorb the fitness that I'd been beating into it for the last fortnight.

Last week, I felt a little uninspired in my workouts. My body felt a little run down. I was coming up on my fourth straight week of weight lifting, sprint training, and technical practice. I decided it was time for a rest week.

So I've taken this week off. I'll be back next week, ready to push harder than ever!

A preview of my upcoming training week:

Monday: Cycling class (moderate intensity aerobic), heavy weights
Tuesday: Practice (including grass drills), corrective exercises
Wednesday: Cycling (moderate intensity aerobic) followed by a short run (because I'm also getting ready to do this race in June), heavy weights
Thursday: Short duration anaerobic sprints (drag sled), corrective exercises
Friday: Heavy weights
Saturday: Off
Sunday: Practice, including shuttle runs

On Keeping Your Head Up

Triathletes don't keep their heads up.

Head down.

Endurance athletes in general tend to muscle through intense pain, heads down, hearts pumping, mind focused. We go deep inside, when we're competing. We move mostly straight ahead for anywhere from 45 minutes to 17 hours, and we maintain constant intensity. For us, it's more productive to go within, to block out external stimuli. It's like meditation. And the people who win are those who are most capable of blocking out everything that's going on and dealing with the present pain.

Head down.

Rugby players can't do that. We have to be aware, hyper-alert of our surroundings. With your head down, you can't see your teammates in support. You can't see the gaps opening up in a stretched defense. You can't see the overload that leads to the breakaway down the touchline. And you can't see the defender gunning for you.

Head down.

It's a transition, for sure, going from an internally-focused sport to one in which you have to be aware of your surroundings. I've gotta learn to keep my head up, though, or else . . .

Smack!

Excellent rugby players? Heads up. Fully aware. That's my goal.

Okay, so obviously we don't always have our heads down . . .
Cyclists especially have to be aware of their surroundings. We definitely
develop tunnel vision in competition, though, especially on solo
efforts, when the pain gets really intense.

HIIT Training

If you've checked out my other blog, you know my claim to fame is my free spinning workouts. They're great cardio for general endurance, especially if you don't have time to get into a spinning class at a gym. Those workouts won't prepare you for the work rate required in rugby, though. With that in mind, I'm recording a series of rugby-specific workouts. These workouts come courtesy of Lisa Rosen, coach of the Glendale Raptors and the WRFU Women's Select Side team. They include grass drills. If you don't know how to do grass drills, watch this video.

Veterans HIIT Session 1
HIIT 15 seconds on, 45 seconds off, x 2 (2 minutes total)
20 seconds off
GRASS DRILL:  Down, roll right, roll left, up, down, roll right, front, back, roll left, front, GO.
20 seconds off
GRASS DRILL:  Down, roll right, roll left, up, down, roll right, front, back, roll left, front, GO.
HIIT 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off, x 2 (2 minutes total)
20 seconds off
GRASS DRILL:  Down, roll right, roll left, up, down, roll right, front, back, roll left, front, GO.
20 seconds off
GRASS DRILL:  Down, roll right, roll left, up, down, roll right, front, back, roll left, front, GO.
HIIT 10 seconds on, 50 second off, x 2 (2 minutes total)

Veterans HIIT Session 2
HIIT 10 seconds on, 50 seconds off, x 6 (6 minutes total)
20 seconds off
GRASS DRILL:  Down, roll right, roll left, up, down, roll right, front, back, roll left, front, GO.
20 seconds off
HIIT 15 second on, 45 seconds off, x 4 (4 minutes total)
20 seconds off
GRASS DRILL:  Down, roll right, roll left, up, down, roll right, front, back, roll left, front, GO.
HIIT 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off, x 2 (2 minutes total)
20 seconds off
GRASS DRILL:  Down, roll right, roll left, up, down, roll right, front, back, roll left, front, GO.
HIIT 10 seconds on, 50 second off, x 2 (2 minutes total)
20 seconds off
GRASS DRILL:  Down, roll right, roll left, up, down, roll right, front, back, roll left, front, GO.

On Excellence

Amateurs train until they get it right. Professionals train until they cannot get it wrong.

Bruce Lee -- the epitome of that professionalism (even in polyester pants)

On Timing

Sometimes I wish that I had been exposed to rugby earlier. It would have been great to get involved with rugby when I was still in high school, looking for an alternative to volleyball and cross country (I was too lazy to run, and truly, truly awful at volleyball) once the other football players outgrew me. There was a rugby team at USC, and I catch myself thinking that I should have paid more attention while they were practicing, and I was running at the track.

Jamie from freshman year at USC. Extra large.

Then I think back to what I was like in high school and college. I wasn't athletic. I didn't understand what it was like to pursue excellence in sports (although I did have a very high academic standard for myself). I was overweight by a good 20 lbs.

And I think that if I had started rugby earlier, I wouldn't have had the time to develop into the person I am today. I wouldn't have gotten into triathlon, because I would have perceived rugby as less physical work (it's not), and I hadn't yet realized the joy of pushing myself out of my own comfort zone. I wouldn't have developed such a fierce competitive spirit; that came from winning in triathlons. And I would probably still be a good 20 lbs. overweight, pounds that were shed by focusing on triathlons, then yoga.

Lean Jamie!

I'm happy, then, that this sport came into my life at the right time. Still, I imagine what it would have been like to play for USC, or in a U23 game, and I wish I could have experienced it.

Work Harder!

In my years of training for triathlon, I've developed a very specific definition of training:

Training is when you feel like you've been hit by a train. That's why it's called training.

I've been following the Eagle365 protocol for 3 weeks. I do not feel like I've been hit by a train.

Of particular concern to me is the weight lifting I'm doing. I haven't been sore one single time since I started lifting weights again. Oh, I may feel a little ache in my quads. But it's not the kind of deep sore I experience when I've really challenged my body.

Which leads me to think that I'm not really challenging my body. I can't tolerate that. If I'm working hard for a goal--in this case, to be an excellent rugby player--then I want to feel it! I'm supposed to be in training! I want to feel like I've been hit by a train!

So who wants to help me re-vamp my training plan? Your sadism in any and all suggestions is very much appreciated!

Practice: 5/13/2012

I drove over to the Clearwater High School practice fields today for a workout. Now that I think of it, I should have ridden my bike in. That would have been a good warm up.

Jog - 5 minutes

Dynamic warm ups

 - A skips

 - High knees

 - Butt kicks

 - Straight leg march

 - Walking RDL (inverted toe touch)

 - Low walk

Strength/plyo

 - Squat push - 4 x 6, each leg

 - Forward hops, both legs - 4 x 5, sprint 5 m at end

 - Forward hops, one leg at a time - 4 x 6 each leg (try to go 10 m each time)

Agility

 - Zig zag, using these focal points:

   - Hard cuts

   - Wedge step

   - Turn hips at last second

   - Keep head up

   - Stay aware of surroundings

 - Zig zap swerve

   - Turn hips

   - Accelerate and decelerate

   - Keep head up

   - Stay aware of surroundings

   - Shift ball to outside arm through each transition

Dummy practice

 - Dummy kick to inside, cut to outside (practice left and right)

 - Dummy kick to outside, cut to inside (practice left and right)

 - Dummy pass to inside, cut to outside (practice left and right)

 - Dummy pass to outside, cut to inside (practice left and right)

This is my passing target. Thank you, Clearwater High School Football,
for having this weird contraption sitting out on the field.

Passing practice

 - 6 perfect passes to target from 5 m on right

 - 6 perfect passes to target from 5m on left

Kicking practice

 - 5 chip kicks into a 5 m x 5 m square from 5 m away (left foot and right foot)

 - 5 chip kicks into a 5 m x 5 m square from 10 m away (left foot and right foot)

 - Practice grubbers with left foot and right foot

 - Practice drop kicks

 - Practice drop goals

Shuttle runs (down, back, down, through, touching line with each transition)

 - 2 x 10 m

 - 2 x 20 m

 - 2 x 30 m

A few notes:

- I feel good about my agility. Forcing myself to keep my head up will help with being more alert in a game situation. It doesn't substitute for practicing and playing with other people, but every benefit is a boon. My acceleration and deceleration are really good when swerving through the cones, from what I can feel. I'd love to have a coach to give me feedback, though.

- The dummy practice feels helpful. That's something I can use in play. I need to work on making my fakes more believable, though. I think agility comes down to waiting until the last moment to change your mind, then having the quickness and precision to change mid-movement, and still execute the next movement well.

- Passing through a tire is hard! I set my timer to devote 10 minutes to passing practice, and I was hoping to get through 6 on each side at 5 m and 6 on each side at 10 m. But the timer was going off and I had yet to get my sixth pass off the left hand! I could practice that every day, clearly.

- My left leg kicks like crap. It's better now than it was this morning, though!

- I made a drop goal! It was from somewhere between 5 and 10 m away, almost right between the uprights, but I made it!

- In case you want to do the shuttle runs: Begin with hips square, standing by a cone. Run to a cone 10 m away, touch your hand to the line/cone, run back to the first cone, then sprint through the second one. On that repetition, you should have run 40 m total, with hard cuts between. Practice the wedge step: planting your foot perpendicular to the direction you're sprinting and pushing hard off that leg to drive into the next phase of the sprint.

- The 10 m and 20 m shuttle runs weren't too bad, but that 30 m hurt!

- Progressions are important in training, so here's how I plan to progress my shuttle runs. Today, I rested as long as I wanted to between reps. Next week, I'll limit rest to 1 minute. The week after that, 45 seconds. The following week, 30 seconds. Then I'll do a pyramid workout: 2 x 10 m, 2 x 20 m, 2 x 30 m, 2 x 20 m, 2 x 10 m. Same progression with the rest periods. After I've finished both of those progressions, I'll try adding in 2 x 40 m!

Practice: 5/11/2012

My home-made drag sled!

Yesterday, I scheduled sprints. 4 x [5 x 15 seconds w/ 45 seconds rest], same as last week. But yesterday afternoon, I really didn't want to run sprints. I took a nap in my car instead. Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?

I woke up early this morning to get my session in before work. Instead of running at top speed for my intervals, I used my home-made drag sled for the first time! I loaded the sled with a full 5 gallon jug of water, which I figure is about 40 lbs. The intervals were easier to get through than the sprints I did last Thursday. The workout felt more applicable to forwards' training, too; it was more muscular, rather than cardiovascular.

I feel good about the workout, but I'm kind of bummed that it wasn't harder. I didn't feel in any way spent after that training. It felt more like a warm up than a hard session. Maybe I just wasn't pushing hard enough.

On Habit

Wicliffe on the ground, Heighway rucking over.

I'm not saying that habits are bad.

There are plenty of habits that contribute to excellence. Consistent training. Eating well. Proper recovery. Good hygiene. You're not going to find excellence without those habits.

Even during a game, where the situation is changing constantly, habits sometimes help. Like making a habit of always keeping your legs driving, or of making your first defensive steps forward, or of being aware and checking for support.

Then there are habits that cause critical errors in a game situation.

I've been watching the 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup. It's helped me to learn the rules and method of play, and it's really enjoyable homework. I was watching the France v. New Zealand game. About 6 minutes in, New Zealand's inside center (Wicliffe) finds a big gap and takes it up to within 10 meters of the try line. She tries to get off a pop pass, but then takes it to ground. Victoria Heighway, a lock, is the first one there. And she moves to secure the ball by rucking over the other player. But there are three French women there, and they push her back. Maybe a second later, four or five more New Zealand players arrive. But by then, France has already poached the ball.

I think she should have picked up the ball and ran with it. But starting a ruck is exactly what I would have done.

Why? Because I would be in the habit of rucking. Heighway's a lock. She's used to defending the ball, not picking it up and running with it. But if she had picked it up and taken it to ground, even if she'd been driven away from the gain line, her supporting teammates would have had time to arrive, and the ball wouldn't have been turned over.

This got me thinking about habit. A lot of the learning, in the early phases of trying a new sport, goes to knowing what to do in each situation; it's about getting into certain habits. Placing the ball well, that's a habit you need to get down. Going into a tackle with your hips square. Carrying the ball so it's not stripped. Releasing immediately. Getting onto your feet as quickly as possible. We're taught what to do in each situation, and told, "If this happens, do this." You've got to do that; that's how you learn the game.

But once you've got the game down, you need to be able to evaluate each situation individually. You're one on three, and your support hasn't arrived yet. Maybe this is the one time you pick up the ball and run with it, rather than rucking.

Getting the habits of the game down makes you a good player. Just like giving the correct response to a rote question in school makes you a good student. But excellence, whether on the field or in the classroom, takes critical thinking.

Sometimes, you need to get out of the habit.

Yoga for Ruggers: Intro

That's called Kapotasana. Yes, that's me. No, I'm not going to make you do it.

I'm a yoga teacher, too. And I can't play a sport (or go anywhere in public) without thinking, "I could help that person. She needs yoga."

Ruggers are no exception. And I'm not the only one who thinks so! But since I'm a yoga teacher, I can tell you exactly why.

I've done research on flexibility, especially the kind of flexibility that most athletes do in warm ups. You know. Static stretching. Bending over and touching toes. Standing on one leg, holding on to an ankle like a flamingo. Stretching the sides of the neck. And the results (that I've found) are a mixed bag. Some studies show that it reduces injury risk, particularly muscle strains, but these studies are notoriously inconclusive. Many of the participants don't follow the study protocol. And it's impossible (or at least impractical) to test every possible combination of stretches. It seems like most of these studies just test one or two perfunctory stretches for 10-20 seconds. While that might not make much of a difference in sport performance, holding a series of progressive stretches for 2 minutes may. In my opinion, these studies are of limited use.

That said, there's little evidence that stretching before a match helps to prevent injury. Furthermore, stretching before exercise has been conclusively shown to impair strength and power production in the targeted muscle. That's not going to matter, really, for a neck stretch, but what about a pre-match quad stretch? In rugby, you need your quads to produce some power! In short, studies suggest that stretching might make you a less effective athlete.

But that's stretching. Let's talk about flexibility.

I am a firm believer that good flexibility results from overall health and fitness more than from any amount of stretching, especially static stretching. Genetics also impact relative flexibility, or your flexibility relative to mine. If my ligaments are naturally longer than yours, I'm going to have a much easier time with most stretches. That doesn't have much to do with actual muscle tension, though.

I think that flexibility is important, up to a point. I want my clients--especially my athletes--to have exactly enough muscle length to achieve optimal range of motion in any of their activities. So there's going to be a sliding scale for how much muscle length is needed and how much muscle tension is acceptable. If I'm training a ballet dancer, she's going to need way more flexibility than a runner, who will need more flexibility than an offensive lineman. In terms of sports performance, I want each of those clients to have the range of motion they need, but not much more than that. If an athlete has excessive flexibility, it may lead to increased risk of injury (because of increased laxity in the joints) and less efficient performance (because a loose muscle doesn't transfer power as well as a tight muscle).

How does yoga fit into all of this? There are plenty of coaches and trainers who believe that static stretching is useless, if not downright detrimental. But yoga is not stretching, at least not just stretching. Yoga requires active engagement of muscles to hold a targeted muscle in a lengthened position. In stretching, you're usually using the force of gravity (or the force of another person, if you're lucky enough to have someone who will stretch you out) to force a muscle into a lengthened position. That makes the muscle longer, but not necessarily in a good way. There are some who think that it just creates slack in the muscle. And a slackened muscle is going to take longer to contract, and will contract with less force.

Yoga, though, tricks the body into thinking that the muscle is supposed to be that length, and teaches the body to support it in that length. So you end up with muscles that are longer, but still strong.

Additionally, since yoga poses take actual muscular effort to properly perform, they provide a much better warm up than simple passive stretching. And if you perform yoga regularly, you'll also get stronger, in addition to longer muscles. Plus, the kind of abdominal strength that you'll develop from yoga is much more applicable to rugby (or any sport, for that matter) than any number of crunches. You're not going to get a strong core by stretching.

If you like stretching, then fine. Keep doing it. Stretching probably won't increase your risk of injury, and it will slowly (really slowly and inefficiently) warm your muscles for competition. But if you don't really like stretching, then I'll bring you some suggestions for basic yoga poses for strength, flexibility, and all-around improved rugby performance.

St. Louis Sabres v. Tulsa Women's Rugby Club

This game was my first full match, a full 80 minutes!

The day was muggy, sunny, with a stiff breeze from the south. The game didn't start until 3 o'clock, and the afternoon was hot. We spent as much time in the shade as possible before the match. The Sabres started by receiving, with the Tulsa women on defense.

Our first several phases did not look very good, and it became quickly apparent that the sir was a little wet behind the ears. He told us that this was his first game officiating, and he was doing it for free. Mad props to the sir for donating his time! He got better and better as the match went on. I also really liked the steadiness of his cadence when initiating the scrum.

Early on, though, his greenness was obvious. He missed calls, including a few for dangerous play. He accepted respectful feedback from the captains, though. He also allowed rolling substitutions, which was a boon for both teams, what with the heat and the eventual injury toll.

I don't want to get too much into the strengths or weaknesses of either team; I'm neither a coach nor a captain; it's not my place to critique our play, apart from my role in it.

I went in at the half as wing, and stayed there for about 20 minutes. I did get one good run, and gained a few meters. I think I did better in this game than in the last at evasive running. But the fullback, Toya, told me later that she was outside of me, calling for a pass, and I totally ignored her. The truth is, I didn't even hear her. When I get the ball, I think I get tunnel vision. I can't see or hear my support, and I can't perceive where the potential weaknesses in the defense are. I was talking this over with my teammate, Lanna, wondering whether that's something that I can learn, or if it's hard-wired. My fear since starting rugby has been that I don't have the skill to play a sport that requires quick, decisive action. I'm afraid that the tunnel vision phenomenon that I experience in combat situations (and a rugby game is a combat situation) is part of who I am, and will always restrict my athletic career. Lanna says I'm too hard on myself. I can improve my awareness and decision making with practice. In particular, she thinks it would be helpful for me to do more drills of the three-on-two, five-on-three, and so on type. However, the Wichita Barbarians don't do much of that in practice, so I don't often get the opportunity to run those drills. I'm excited by the prospect that this is something I can learn, though.

After about 20 minutes, our coach took me out at wing and told me to stay fresh. With 10 minutes remaining, she sent me in at flanker. Once again, I felt like I made a much bigger difference as part of the pack than as a back, especially on defense. I feel very confident going into a ruck, and was instrumental in helping to turn the ball over for us a couple of times. I made two critical tackles. Since I was fresh, I was better able to hustle to the breakdowns, which was important as a lot of the team were feeling the effects of the heat and the 80 minute match.

I would have liked more playing time, but I understand why I didn't get it. If I were a coach, I would keep me in reserve. I may have a knack for some aspects of rugby, but that can't make up for the lack of practicing with the rest of the team.

I noticed a few areas where I've improved since my last game: I have a better understanding of what my assignment is at any given time, and do a better job of executing it; I do a much better job of staying in a supporting position, ready to help continue play; I'm more willing to commit to a ruck or tackle, instead of thinking, "Oh, I need to stay out of that so I can be ready for my job."

There are still areas where I need to improve, though. My fitness could be better, especially as a flanker. Running from breakdown to breakdown and then working at high intensity to ruck or tackle really wears me down. I have great endurance from my running, cycling, and triathlon background, but that high intensity stuff gets me. After 10 minutes in the pack, I was huffing and puffing pretty hard, and I was glad when the final whistle blew! I still need a lot of work on reading a defense, and running to exploit the seams, holes, and weaknesses that I see. I need to work on being more aware of my surroundings, so that I'm able to make a crucial pass. I need to work through the tunnel vision, whatever it takes.

I also may have sort of shouted at another player that she needed to release the ball. And her teammate may have shouted back that it was already out. And then I may have shouted that it's not out if someone's still laying on top of it. So I need to work on keeping my mouth shut.

I'm starting to feel like my basic skills are pretty solid, though. Passing, catching, running, tackling, rucking, these are things that I can do, and do well. I'm proud of that. I want to keep working, though, so that I can take my capabilities from good to exceptional.

Oh! By the way! Final score was Sabres 27 - Tulsa 17.

On Experience

When you grow up too smart for your own good, you learn a few things.

The first is that most people (especially those in authority) don't like to be made to feel stupid. So don't be a know-it-all.

Every now and then, you will find someone who doesn't mind feeling less inferior to your intellect. Don't be a know-it-all around that person, especially.

Ask lots of questions, even if you already know the answer.

Don't pretend to know the answer to a question (even a dumb question) so you look smarter than you are.

And you learn about experience. It's important. And you can't fake it. No matter how many books you read, how many videos you watch, how smart you are, or how capable you are of figuring new things out, there is no substitute for experience.

I'm only two months old, in rugby years. I may understand the laws better than most of the people I play with, and I may have superior athletic abilities. But when it comes to decision making in a game setting, the more experienced player has the upper hand on me. Doesn't matter if I'm faster, smarter, and have a better understanding of the rules. That other girl is going to beat me, because she has experience, and I don't.

That drives me nuts! There's just no substitute for being around the sport for a long time.

So although this blog will recount my rugby escapades, and I'll share a lot of information, keep in mind that my analysis is not coming through the eyes of experience. My theories may be sound, in the end, you'll probably be better off listening to a seasoned coach, even if he's not that bright.

Practice: 5/3/2012

This wasn't a practice so much as a workout, but whatever.

I've been following the Eagle365 training protocol, mostly to have a set program. As a personal trainer, I know first-hand how valuable it is to have someone tell you exactly what to do. Could I write my own training program? Sure. And it would probably be more effective than that provided by the Eagles' coaches, because it addresses my specific needs. But that takes work, a lot of effort on my part, and it's my job; I don't want to do it in my free time. Besides, when I write my own training plan, I'm always second-guessing myself. Not because I don't think my training plan is good, but because I'm always looking to improve it. When I change my workouts every couple weeks, it cuts into my consistency, which cuts into my results. I could write a better workout for myself than what I'm using, but it might not work as well. So I'm doing whatever Eagle365 tells me.

So my training plan looks something like this:

Monday: Cardio + weights (push/pull/legs/core)
Tuesday: Sprints + corrective exercises (I assigned these to myself), rugby practice
Wednesday: Cardio + weights (push/pull/legs/core)
Thursday: Sprints + corrective exercises
Friday: Weights, drills and skills (agility, ball handling, set pieces, and so on)
Saturday: Game/race
Sunday: Rest

Today was intervals day, and the recommended protocol is 4 x [5 x 15" 90-95% effort w/ 45" rest] w/ 3:00 min. rest b/w sets. Last week, I did my intervals on a treadmill (incline @ 8.0%, speed at 10.6 MPH), with one set on the rowing machine (hard to get my heart rate up high enough, and the hip extension gives me SI joint/piriformis pain). It didn't feel difficult enough, though. Today, I went outside to run sprints on grass. That's the most specific to the sport (at least in the backfield), and the most applicable conditioning for the work I want to perform.

I warmed up with a barefoot jog. The grass on the Bishop Carrol practice fields is lush and thick. Felt so good on my bare feet! I used Interval Timer (the ad-supported version) to keep track of my times. It plays a sound at the end of each period, so you know when to start and stop without having to look at your watch. Now that I think of it, though, a watch would probably be easier.

5 x 15 seconds does not sound very hard. That's only 1:15 of total work. That's minuscule in comparison to the rest of my day! But when you're in the middle of a set, 15 seconds is interminable. I did fine on the first set, felt a little nausea on the second, and really felt like puking after the third. I took an extra long break after the third set, waiting for my heart rate to get back to 115-120 BPM. I couldn't make myself do the fourth set. I decided that I would scrap it; I wasn't going to get anything out of it. It'd just be junk miles (or junk meters, in this case).

I regret skipping the last set. When confronted with that kind of pain, the real question is how badly you want to be excellent. If you really, really want to be excellent, you push through that pain. You go ahead and throw up. Sometimes the pushing through is the benefit you garner from the workout; that mental endurance is more valuable than an improved VO2 max, or better running economy.

I should have pushed through. I think I'll make up for it by doing that last set tomorrow, as hard as possible, to drain my legs of glycogen so I can load my muscles with carbohydrates for the match on Saturday. And maybe next week I'll be able to do all 4 sets.

On Being an Expert

This is not what I look like. Besides the facial expression that says, "What the heck are you doing?" that is.
©2008-2012 by dropoflight

As we've already established, I don't do things halfway.

I throw myself 100% into whatever it is that I'm currently into. And, since I'm a natural-born teacher, I also have this almost irresistible compulsion to become an expert on that thing.

And this has been a habit I've noticed at the very least since college (I can't think of any examples from before that). When I took my first college English class and fell in love with Paradise Lost, I stopped pursuing a music degree and switched to English and Classics. It was important to me that I be able not only to read and appreciate Milton, but that I understand the work deeply (like on a "I can read the Aeneid in the original Latin" level) so that I could better communicate to others why it was so great.

When I started doing triathlons, I read voraciously. I read everything I could get my hands on about swimming, biking, running, and how to put it all together. In the beginning, I did so to better coach myself. But as I read more and more, it seemed insane to keep the knowledge to myself. So I started a blog about triathlon, and used it to disseminate my new-found knowledge. Eventually, I became a trainer and coach, with an emphasis on endurance sports. Because that's where my expertise was.

Now, I have a new thing. And it's called rugby.

I find myself watching rugby anytime I can. Women's World Cup footage. Six Nations matches. Super Rugby. The more I watch, the better I understand the game, and the more I can see what makes a team great or mediocre.

I've got a notebook full of training ideas. They began as ideas on how I could train to be a great scrum half, but they've involved into full-on coaching. I want to develop a system for how to train elite athletes in a team sport. My co-workers joke about my zeal. Two months playing a new sport, and already I'm trying to understand the ins and outs of how to coach it!

But what can I say? This is how I approach all my interests. I want to be the best (or at least better than everyone around me) at what I'm doing. And if I'm going to be the best, that puts me in a prime position to teach others how to be better.

Practice: 5/1/2012

There's not a women's rugby team in Wichita, so normally I practice with the men. However! The Wichita Barbarians WON the Western Rugby DIII Championships! So they'll be getting ready for that, I assume. I figure I won't get much out of the practices, and I'll just be in the way as they're trying to get things all lined out for San Diego in two weeks. So I decided to do my own thing tonight. I was on my own, so my options were limited. I headed to the practice field at the local high school with my ball and some cones. Here's what I did:

15 minute warm up
 - Jog 1 lap
 - Eagles 365 Lunge Progression Series
 - Light jogging (as I evaluated the best place to do my HIIT sprints)
15 minute HIIT + grass drills (That link goes to an audio file I made that will coach you through the workout. If you don't know what grass drills are, watch this video.)
 - 2 x 15" max effort + 45" rest
 - 20" rest
 - 2 x grass drills
 - 20" rest
 - 2 x 30" max effort + 30" rest
 - 20" rest
 - 2 x grass drills
 - 2 x 10" max effort + 50" rest
 - 2 x grass drills
10 minutes agility drills
 - 3 x 20 m swerve drill
 - 3 x 20 m cone and hold
 - 3 x 20 m sharp cut drill
10 minutes work with tackle dummy
10 minutes practice kicking
 - Drop kick
 - Punt
 - Grubber
 - Chip

On Commitment

Training log, before and after

I do tend to go overboard.

When I first start something like rugby--that I really enjoy, that I think is awesome, that inspires me--I go all in. I spend hours reading about it. I spend hours watching it. I spend hours planning my own way to get involved. And then I spend hours doing it. In this case, I've worked for the past four weeks, figuring out what the best training approach will be. I relied heavily on the advice of Eagle365.net, a resource for aspiring female elite rugby players. I don't agree with all of the advice on there, but I'll talk about that some other time. And in the meantime, it saves me from considering and re-considering ad nauseum the best training plan for me. When you're a trainer and coach, sometimes you have a little too much knowledge for your own good. Sometimes you just need someone to tell you what to do (even if you disagree with some of it).

Anyway. I've spent a lot of hours on rugby. And I intend to spend more. It's entirely possible that I may burn myself out on rugby (like I did on triathlon and cycling). Then there will be another sport. Until then, I'm into rugby 100%.

On Being the Best

My proudest podium. Third in my age group, but twelfth overall. My goal, though, was to be in the top ten.

My brother knows me pretty well. I don't do things halfway. When I find something that I like and want to be good at, I really like it, and I really want to be good at it. As in, the best. As in, better than everyone else around me. As in, better than you.

I am (at least for a while) fully committed to that goal. It was the same with cycling, and before that, triathlon. It was (is) the same with personal training. For that matter, it was the same with poetry, academic writing, playing the guitar, playing the piano, even all-around intelligence . . . all through school, I was highly competitive, even though I never really got into sports. I competed at things like having the best score on any given AP Biology test (I set the curve on all of them, by the way) and being the go-to person for help on Geometry homework. I may have been the last chosen for pick-up basketball games, but I was always the first choice for a National History Day partner. And it drove me nuts when anyone in my high school show choir could out-sing or out-play (on the piano) me.

I've tempered my competitiveness in life a great deal, due in large part to my participation in sports (which is still relatively new to me). I no longer derive my self worth from whether or not I had the best sales numbers in a month (which is good, 'cause I never have). But on the race course, in a yoga class, on the pitch? You better believe that I'm gunning for you. Because I am going to be the best one doing this sport thing. And if you're better than me now? Just wait until next season.

My New Thing

This conversation occurred at a Verizon storefront, while we were waiting to have data switched over on our phones.

My Little Bro: "So, is rugby gonna be like your new thing now?"
Me: "What do you mean?"
MLB: "Like, are you going to be obsessed with that now? Is it going to be your new thing?"
Me: "Yes. Yes it is."

My First Game: MOARK vs. The White Sheep

I am wearing 16 there in the center. I'm like a tiger waiting to pounce.

I played a game of rugby!

And I didn't get hurt!

Well, not badly, anyway.

It's strange. I'm accustomed to writing race reports, and I'm always able to come up with plenty of detail about what went on, how I did, what I learned, what I need to work on. But in running, cycling, and triathlon, I have all this time where I'm alone with my thoughts, and I can process what's happening and compose my ideas as I go.

There's no time to compose thoughts in rugby.

So this will be considerably more scattered than my race reports.

That's me in the ruck!

I've been practicing to go in at scrum half and fly half, but the Sabres coach started me at winger. Which was fine, by the way; I was just excited to get to start! But I hadn't really studied winger much, so I was getting a crash course from my teammates as we went along. Highlight of the first half (of three, by the way) was getting an outside pass and running it for a gain of about five meters. Looking back, though, I recognize that I didn't use any of the fancy footwork, cutting, or spinning moves that I've been practicing. Instead, I ran it straight into contact, directly into the prop right in front of me. I took it in hard, placed the ball back, and felt that it was a successful play.

But it's not really how a back would play, is it? Especially wingers. Wingers should be swift, with good pace, an ability to read the defense, see the holes, and zip through them. I have no recollection of even looking for any holes. I had the ball, and I had every intention of running it straight forward, no matter who was in my way. Thinking back, I probably could have gotten around that tighthead. I'm sure that I was faster than her. And the Sheep's defense wasn't that great. There were probably holes there. And I was inside the 22. I could probably have scored a try. But I didn't.

See that hustle?

I sat out the second half, but there was a third half, because originally there were supposed to be two women's games, but too few players showed up to field three teams. I went in at strong side flanker for the third half. One of our props taught me how to scrum during the second half. And I adored it. I did get to run the ball a couple times on a pick-and-go, but didn't really gain any yardage. Where I really excelled was in rucking and tackling. As a wing, I felt like I always had to be backing away from the action, waiting for the ball to come to me, waiting for the play to slow down so the backs could have a turn. As a flanker, I could get right in the middle of the action and attack. Also, I got to hit stuff.

After a few minutes in at flanker, the coach asked me to switch to scrum half. I was excited to go in at the position I'd been studying! But honestly, it was a mess. I couldn't get the ball out cleanly very often, I didn't do very well at controlling the pace of the game, and I had trouble seeing enough of what was going on to make good decisions about directing my pack. And I felt again like I always had to hold myself back out of the action, waiting for someone else to ruck, someone else to tackle, someone else to run. I didn't like that very much, and a couple of times got frustrated and just rucked over myself.

This was just a match for fun at a festival in Columbia, MO, so it was a perfect opportunity for me to get my first playing time. And I have no idea what the final score was, but I know that we scored at least seven tries and shut the other team out.

"Whoa, WTF?! Aw, crap, that was the ball."

The most important thing that I learned in this game was that I do better when I can be a part of the action. I've been practicing at scrum half and fly half, but I've also wanted to get looks at 8 man, and now that I've played flanker a bit, I think that's where I belong. Maggie Alphonsi of Great Britain is a flanker, and she's a beast--driving the team forward at every ruck and at every tackle, it seems like. I can be that kind of flanker! And this isn't football; when I was on the front line playing football, I never touched the ball unless the other team totally botched the kick-off. But even playing in the pack, I have just as much chance to run the ball and score tries as I would at scrum half or fly half. And I can still practice my drop kicking and place kicking, and help my team there.

All in all, I was happy with my performance on Saturday. I can't wait to play again!

Injury roll:

Scratched and swollen eye, from a finger that found it's way into
my eyeball in a ruck.

Boot marks and bruises from getting stepped on.

Stiff, swollen fingers from jamming them on
the ball (knocked on), then bending them
backwards on a tackle.

See?! So swollen!

Q & A

Go ahead. Ask me a question. I'll research it, and answer it, and post about it. So c'mon. What do you want to know?

Leave me a comment or send me an e-mail if you have a question you'd like me to answer.

My First Almost-Game: St. Paddy's Day Tournament

I almost got to play in my first rugby game.

I was excited and nervous to travel to Topeka for the tournament. I would have been more excited and less nervous had my rugby buddy not told me, "You'll definitely get some playing time." I wasn't sure that I wanted playing time, really.

See, I have this thing with excellence. In everything I do, I want to be excellent at something before I have to do it in public. Not sure why that is. Maybe it's just because I don't want to look like a moron in public. Or maybe it's because I don't want to offer an opportunity for anyone to correct me. Maybe I don't like being told what to do, and being unsure of what I'm doing is a prime opportunity for that. Anyway, I was nervous about being thrown into a game when I wasn't even sure about the basic rules.

I must have been sending that vibe pretty strongly out into the Universe, because I manifested a great excuse not to play.

I was warming up with the Sabres, going hard to prove that I had the athleticism to hang with the team, even though I'd barely touched a rugby ball before. The Sabres were running continuity, going through some plays and stuff, and I and another rookie were providing some opposition for them. Not full contact, of course, just light touch.

My touches were not, apparently, light enough. I accidentally got my arms all the way around the 8 man while she was running, and she ran through my right elbow. Instant pain, and a string of profanities flowed forth from my mouth. A few people asked if I was okay, and I was like, "No!" But there was nothing I (or anyone else) could do, at that point. I was so disappointed, and so frustrated. I walked off a ways in case I started crying.

The Sabres finished running their warm up series, and got ready for their first game. I walked off on my own, for a while, to feel sorry for myself. Had myself a good cry, then talked myself out of the Bad Place, and determined that I would do my best to support my friend (and her team) in the game. I walked back to our pitch past an ambulance past an ambulance into which they were loading a guy who was really hurt on a backboard with a neck brace. I felt a little better about what had happened to me.

Best I can figure, I hyperextended my elbow. I couldn't bend it more than about 20º for that first day. It bruised and swelled really badly. I couldn't bend it enough to do basic things, like take off a shirt or unzip my pants. I think I did some damage to the ligaments. By the end of the next day, though, I had a little bit more range of motion. I think it'll get better with time (and without the assistance of doctors).

Also, I served as touch judge in my first two games. Which I sucked at. Because I'd never played and didn't know the rules. So I guess the Universe still found a way to humble me that day.