Saturday, March 27, 2010

Victory Is Ours and Video Interviews

As we used to say in Baracus rugby, Put Away The Mirrors. Team leaders said this to keep the team humble after a win. A couple weeks ago, we posted our first win of 2010 with a 10-5 triumph over Alameda in Alameda. (These videos are some player interviews.)



I was away for the game, the first one I missed all season. I had a family function to attend. But it made my weekend to hear from Coach Burke about the mighty heart we showed in this win. Burke and the rest of the coaches have always been about "it's how you play the game." We would rather lose with class and effort than win with something not measuring up to our standards.



So the week after the win we went back to our usual grind of training, including sprints up Mt. Soni. But something was off, I could tell. We were again having problems with attendance at training, especially in the backs. In rugby, the backs are supposed to provide an offensive thrust. The backs catch the eye with explosive running, deft passing and crushing open field tackles. We had choppy turnout at training all week. When numbers are down, you can't bang on each other and provide the full intensity that practice demands.



On Saturday morning we did the usual "scramble and wait" to assemble team members and caravan out to the game. This week it was in Pleasanton, which has exceptional coaching and is building a great program. The first half found us doing nothing right, coming up soft on tackles, not running hard, taking atrocious angles and just not playing with heart. Pleasanton had knocked us off our short pedestal after the Alameda win.

Coaches at the half talked about problems we needed to fix. We made adjustments and then it all started to click. In five minutes we scored two tries, both set up by our rumbling forwards. Pleasanton answered back. Then, our team leader 'Nela smashed through a couple defenders going weak off a scrum from 10 meters out.

Pleasanton scored a few more but at least we had put up a fight the second half with our more structured style of play. We have one more match, against Danville, and then a tournament in San Jose on April 23 and April 24.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Paying Our Dues

Five matches into the season and no wins. I know how disappointing it is for our program for all the work we put in, practicing three times a week and all.

We are young. Two seniors start, then after that it's a few juniors and eighth graders and a bunch of kids new to rugby. The part that bothers the coaches though are the inconsistencies at training. But this too can be expected, academic and family demands, some job stuff, etc.

I know of no other sport that puts such a premium on experience. It's not the kind of game where you just show up from time to time and are great at it. Timing, confidence and most of all teamwork play into the equation of how well a team does. There are so many moving parts to this violent game that the analogy "full contact chess" really applies.

Last year our only win came against Berkeley Rhinos. On Saturday, a seemingly new Berkeley program rammed it down our throat on our pitch. Berkeley looked like they found 20 new experienced good rugby players. They were big and physical.

We don't have immediate solutions. I know the kids and coaches will just keep working hard.

As a player I have been on my share of great teams and struggling teams. We are trying to teach these kids that regardless of wins and losses that we are a true team and will keep working to improve. The foundation is being laid.

Know what we will do Monday at training? Run sprints all over the park, including up a steep hill I have dubbed "Mt. Soni" after the head coach, and get ready for our match Saturday against Alameda.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

"Team Mom" Averts "Lord of The Flies" Situation

Ah....group dynamics. Ugh.....uber-male, testosterone-fueled, rugby, group dynamics.

We here in Warthog-land came off the pitch after our home opener a fairly dour and pissy group. The losing wasn' t the issue. The problem was how we treated each other, our players, the fans, the ref, etc. Delta Rugby had kicked our club in the collective scrotum and we just rolled over.

Volunteers drive our sport, especially the refs. We were fortunate to procure Matt Heafey to ref the match. Matt knew the background about what had happened last year between our club and Delta and how Delta had ended its season. Last year, head Coach Soni had to walk out between the two clubs after some fighting, sit all the kids down and lecture them about conduct on the field and the importance of getting an education. It was amazing, because only the hulking Tongan truck driving coach could have mesmerized kids like that. The match last year ended on a positive note thanks to Soni.

Unfortunately, Delta devolved into anarchy last season when one of its players sucker-punched a ref. The ref was hospitalized and the boy arrested. Such behavior is why rugby has a hard time attracting refs. The on and off-field violence is still pretty rare. The league now has field protocols in place to try to control coaches and spectators.

By the way, I will tell readers the unflinching good, the bad and the ugly about my favorite sport. I will speak my mind about what's good and bad about my favorite sport.

So I told Matt Heafey about what he might be getting involved in and he still agreed to ref. So during the game things weren't going our way and we whined way too much about Matt, who also happened to stick one of our supporters behind a barrier after the supporter verbally lost control on the sidelines. Matt took control of the situation. I dare say our visitors out-classed us that day.

I came to practice Monday night with that heavy-stomach feeling, the kind you might have had seeing your parents argue. But we went through our training and had a pretty good session.

So at the end of the night the coaches say a few words. But this came out of the mouth of Ms. Lupe, whose sons play for us:

"Remember, you play to have fun."