Today is the last day to consider advertising for your team at the USA Rugby International Invitational Women’s 7s Tournament. Its a UNIQUE and cheap ad that will be viewed by over 6,000 female collegiate, club players, families and fans. PLUS, the money will go directly to the USA Rugby Women’s High Performance Program (all women national teams).

More Details - http://www.scrumhalfconnection.com/2012/01/19/2012-usa-womens-international-invitational-7s-webcast-ad-rate-sheet/

Thanks,

Wendy

Wendy Young

Editor of Your Scrumhalf Connection. Passionate Rugger since 2001.

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my teammates told me it was okay not to blog. i was happy for the words. my body and mind have been so exhausted these past two days that i couldn’t muster the strength to write. i have a surge of energy now that all the girls are here preparing for vegas, so here goes.

we fitness tested on monday. this included a 40m sprint, vertical jump, maxing out in squats, bench press and pull-ups, and the yo-yo. the yo-yo is like a new and improved version of the beep test. you run out 20 meters and back within the time frame then walk 5 meters and back to the start line. “it’s important that you come to a complete stop before beginning the next level,” says the recorded british accent running the test. why our trainer has the yo-yo programed into his phone was beyond all of us. fitness day was not as bad as i expected it to be. although i didn’t get as far as i would have liked on the yo-yo i did get past my minimum standard..not telling what that was.

tuesday we had another 2 session day. we played a lot of games and ran a lot-the usual. we tackled quite a bit in the afternoon and we were all pretty tired and a little banged up from it. i wanted to go home right after my ice plunge, but that lady of mine made me stay for dinner. the power she has from the east coast is phenomenal!

after force feeding myself, i walked home, layed on my bed for too long, showered and enjoyed a puzzle session. it was lunde’s birthday, so we listened to one of her birthday mixes (thanks for the tunes sylvia!) while she did arts and crafts and i puzzled (is that a real verb?).

one of the otc interns, a new friend, decided it was a good idea to sneak into our back yard and leave lunde a birthday gift. she knocked on the window and hid (something only murderers do). of course i freaked out and ran away while lunde walked right into the murderous trap set up in the back yard! fortunately, she found a bag full of birthday goodies instead of a shank to the stomach! **luckily no one saw intern kate wearing the scary white mask she had or she really may have been killed (not by me, i’d still be hiding). after the hour it took me to settle my nerves it was bed time-what a day!

now..20 of the 24 traveling girls are here at the otc. we train until sunday and head to vegas on monday. i’m excited to have lots of friends in town and to play some real 7v7 games! ..off to session 2 : )

Vanesha McGee

Professional USA Rugby Sevens Player

Website - More Posts

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from Rugby Wrapup:

A perennial Team USA Eagle, Phaidra Knight is one of the most recognized names in women’s rugby. Today, she chats with Amy Daniels, another Eagle legend.

PK: Amy, you are one of my long time friends in this sport. I want to open up by thanking you for sharing a bit of yourself with the rugby world.
Amy: Pk, I am happy to be able to share a little bit about myself.

PK: Let’s open with you telling us a little bit about where you grew up and what sports you played as a youngster.
Amy: Oh geez, where to start? Growing up in Pennsylvania, I had my hand in every sport imaginable. My earliest memory is playing crab soccer in elementary school. My love for sports just continued from there. My sister is 11 months older and was always 1 year ahead in school. I remember her playing basketball, softball & volleyball a year before I was able to play. I think that’s where my competitiveness began because I wanted to play and challenged her to games so that I could prove I could play. Okay, maybe I really just pouted until she let me play. I know…lame! I played basketball year round and found myself as a freshman starting varsity. I played volleyball, basketball and softball throughout high school.

PK: Where did you venture off to college? Did you play sports there?
Amy: I “ventured” off to Millersville University in PA. I was a basketball player but during my sophomore year I was introduced to rugby. I was watching a game at York College and the head coach Tom, ran up and asked me to play. He threw shorts, socks, cleats, and a jersey at me and said; “You’re going to play fullback. It’s the person in the back and you don’t let anyone past you to score. If they get past you, run them down and tackle the crap out of them.” You can imagine my initial thought….tackle? So I gave it a shot and fell in love with it. But I ended up on academic probation, had to give rugby up and transferred to Lock Haven University with my sister. I was a basketball player, but a major that I enjoyed allowed for success academically, so I began playing rugby again. My sister was always asking why I beat my body up by playing basketball, then playing rugby, only to wake up the next day and do it all over again. I think it was because it was different and not many people can do it. I always felt different and struggled with ADHD. The more active I was, the better student I was. Many people wouldn’t know, but I’ve always felt like I don’t fit in, and playing rugby gave me a sense of comfort to be myself.

PK: Gotcha… There’s something else a lot of folks don’t know unless they have played with you: You sweat a lot. Have an embarrassing sweaty rugby moment?
Amy: HA HA! “Sweat a lot” is an understatement. Just talking about sweating is making me sweat! EEWW gross, I just showered! It’s funny, when I meet players for the first time, I apologize because they will come in contact with my sweat playing rugby. Many tell me that it’s okay because they sweat a lot too. Well, pretty quickly I hear; “Oh gross, she is so sweaty!” I just laugh because YES, I sweat a lot! But I don’t really have any embarrassing moments that I can recall… that doesn’t mean there aren’t any! =P

PK: Back to your rugby career. When did you debut for the USA 7s? 15s?
Amy: But the embarrassing stories are so much more fun to read about! Anyway… My debut for the USA 7’s Team was in 2005 in Hong Kong. However, I had begun playing USA U23’s with Emil Signes while I was still in college. And my USA 15’s debut was in August 2009 at Nations Cup held at Canada’s Appleby College.

PK: Which do you like the best?
Amy: Oh man, the million-dollar question…I think my heart lies with 7’s more than 15’s, but do enjoy playing both.

PK: Have your life experiences made you a better rugby player?
Amy: Absolutely! My life experiences allowed me to channel my aggression to grow as a rugby player. Rugby has taught me many life lessons as well. The biggest lesson was that you get one shot to make the best out of a situation and if you make a few mistakes along the way, you have to live with the consequences. Rugby has been like a surrogate mother, teaching me lessons about how to be a person, teammate, partner, teacher, and friend. Without rugby, I know for certain that my life would not be what it is today.

PK: Who has been the most influential in shaping your rugby career?
Amy: WOW…there have been so many. I would have to say Emil Signes and Sue Parker shaped my love for 7’s. Emil use to make us run around with ropes in our hands until we would nearly fall over from exhaustion. Sue was always so hard-core. She didn’t accept excuses and demanded everything, even when she was playing next to you. Another person was Pam Kosanke. She has demanded nothing but excellence from me as teammate, and I thrive and respond to people that command that from me. It is people like Pam who make rugby fun for me.

PK: World Cup 2013 (7s), World Cup 2014 (15s), The 2016 Olympics… Where do you hope to be when these occur?
Amy: YIKES…its really that close! I am not sure where I will be. Anything can happen on any given day. What I know for certain is retirement is not in my near future.

PK: Rumor has it that you have your own gym?
Amy: Yes, one of the best things I invested in was my own gym equipment. You have to train. Training is a daily occurrence. There is no other choice.I knew playing USA 7’s and 15’s, I would need to structure my life in such a way that I had no excuses for not training. I bought a 380 lb bumper plate set, a bench press, squat rack, treadmill, spin bike and a set of free weights from 10lbs to 50lbs.
PK: That’s awesome!
Amy: It’s the only way to have no excuses in my mind to not train.

PK: What will it take for Team USA to bring home both 7s and 15s World Cups as well as theOlympic Gold?
Amy: Honestly, not much! Team USA has the athletes needed to perform during all of those events. The only thing that I see as a critical factor is being able to bring everyone together where our only focus is on training together. Having to train for international competition, juggle careers, finances, etc. limit our ability to come together, to which is needed in order for Team USA to bring it all home!

PK: Amy, this has been awesome. Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with me. I look forward to playing with you again in the future my friend.
RS: Thank you, PK.

Guest

Guest Ruggers that have something to say, but don't necessarily want to be a regular columnist on YSC. Interested in submitting a guest post? Email wendy@scrumhalfconnection.com.

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we finally have internet in our new digs! now i can post a lot easier and without going over to the training center.

training this past week: we’ve had 2-a-days & 3-a-days this week. we started a lifting program with our strength and conditioning coach, dave “davie” williams. it’s really great to have someone there looking at form and forcing me to up my weight when i need to. the workouts are short, no more than an hour, and really intense. my traps and biceps killed this week!!
we had two 30 minute massages this week. awesome. really feels great, especially after an intense session, either running or lifting.
our sessions with ric have been really great. it’s so fun (but still pretty challenging) to play rugby all the time. only having 6 girls this week means we got to go through drills with a lot of repetitions (i’m sure it won’t be much different with 7..). we’ve done a lot of drills and a lot of mini games.

the food at the training center is amazingly delicious. there are always lots of choices, mostly healthy options, and a lot of variety.

today was a recovery day. we went to the beach with some friends (welcome to cali katie! ..not sure i’m allowed to welcome people since i’ve only been here for a week, but oh well). it was ridiculous that we could enjoy the sun in january. it just didn’t seem right. it got a bit chilly with the wind whipping off the ocean, but was still pretty nice.

after a treat of frozen yogurt, we picked up another couch for our almost vacant living room and headed home. kelly came in this afternoon (yay #7!) and she brought rock band..and brownies! of course, as elite athletes, we didn’t eat the brownies ; ) but rock band is fun!

pictures to come tomorrow when i’m not so tired and have the day to catch up on internet/technology stuff.

Vanesha McGee

Professional USA Rugby Sevens Player

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On Monday, January 17, two courageous explorers embarked on a journey that would change their lives, forever. Cars were packed to the brim with not only luggage but filled with hopes and dreams. From east coast to west coast these brave inviduals were prepared to tackle the long and laborious excursion.

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t that elaborate but Katie Dowty (Boston, MA) and Kimber Rozier (Chapel Hill, NC) started their cross-country drive very early with a few of their closest friends and family to accompany them through their drive.

Vanesha McGee (NY) and Kaelene Lundstrom (Bird Island, MN) flew out to San Diego and were the first to arrive at our awesome new home. Before I arrived V aka Vanesha and Lundy aka Kaelene were sleeping on the floors because our house was completed empty so they were obviously getting very good nights of sleep (sarcam). The house is finally getting put together and its feeling pretty homie and we’re ready to start training.

Deven Owsiany

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Kitt Wagner

from Rugby Wrapup:

A perennial Team USA Eagle, Phaidra Knight is one of the most recognized names in women’s rugby. Today, she chats with Team USA star Kitt Wagner, who has relocated to Glendale, CO, from Boston recently.

PK: Kitt, it’s so good to download a bit with you. Thanks for making the time for me!
Kitt: Anytime, Phaidra. I always have time for you.

PK: Where did you grow up and what sports did you play?
Kitt: I grew up on a sheep farm in Fort Collins, Colorado. I was a farm girl and an aspiring violinist. I played soccer, basketball and softball through high school but wasn’t much of an athlete; it wasn’t until rugby that I found my niche. Possibly because I fouled out of most of my basketball games and received numerous yellow cards in soccer… guess I needed to play a contact sport.

PK: Let’s talk about what we all live for… When did you first start playing rugby?
Kitt: I started goofing around with rugby my senior year of high school but never played  a game until I joined the team at Colorado State University. I started at outside center. Second half they had moved me to prop (I guess I followed the ball too much and wanted to be in every ruck). I haven’t been in the double digits since -except for one game with Beantown when they put me at wing, yikes.

PK: At what point did you decide that you wanted to up the intensity to give a run for the USA Team?
Kitt: My sophomore year of college, playing for a women’s club team (Morris Women), I started to get looked at to play at the territorial level. I loved the competition and comradery that came with that level of play and knew at that point that I wanted to go as far as I could. My goal was to earn one cap. I wanted to know what it felt like to represent my country, to step on the field wearing the red, white, and blue. After I graduated, I knew that in order to reach my goal I was going to need to play for one of the best women’s teams in the country. I chose Beantown and had some of the best rugby years of my life!!!

PK: Would you say the journey to becoming an Eagle one of the hardest challenges in your life? Has it been worth the blood, sweat and tears?
Kitt: THE MOST CHALLENGING ENDEAVOUR I HAVE EVER EMBARKED ON AND MORE THAN WORTH IT!! I guess I need to give you some background on my USA Rugby career.
PK: That would be awesome!

Kitt: My first camp was a 7s camp (Emil Signe’s last USA camp). After that I bounced back and forth between 15s camps and 7s camps, never quite making the cut. I wasn’t fast enough for 7s and never big enough to play 15s (I was trying to play flanker). I never gave up, though, and worked out constantly and on my rugby skills. Finally, it all paid off! I made the USA 7s team competing in the USA 7s Invitational in San Diego in February 2008. My FIRST CAP, but I wanted more.  I competed internationally only in 7s for the next year and was among an elite group of 20 women vying for a spot on the World Cup squad. I made theUSA-A team in the 2009 USA Invitational in San Diego. At some point during that amazing 7s adventure the USA 15s coach, Kathy Flores, approached me about coming back to 15s (as a hooker) after 7s. I was not part of the final selection for the 2009 7s Women’s World Cup, so my journey back to 15s began. I went to the USA developmental 15s camp and told that I needed to put on 20lbs of muscle. By August I had done exactly that and got to play my first international 15s test match against South Africa. After that, I never looked back. All I wanted to do was to play in the 2010 World Cup, represent my country and all the other women out there that would love to step on that field. The journey to the World Cup was filled with hours and hours in the gym, hours on the field, hours in front of video. It was all worth it when I heard Kathy Flores tell me I made the World Cup squad. I am pretty sure my response was, “REALLY?!” Every time I step onto the field in a USA jersey and sing the national anthem with my teammates I KNOW that it has been worth it.

PK: Kitt, that’s awesome. I really admire your humility.
Kitt: (Blushing smile!)

PK: Okay, enough of the sentimental! How many times is it possible to break one’s nose and still remain good-looking? How have you co-workers reacted to the black eyes and temporary disfigurements of your face?
Kitt: I think that I should take this as a compliment, since you know as well as I do that every year I seem to break my nose or split my face open. Someday I will stop leading with my head. I have had over 60 stitches in my face alone from rugby injuries, and honestly can’t count how many times I’ve broken my nose. Two injuries stick out as both serious and funny:

The first happened when I was 21. I was playing sweeper on my 7s team and I didn’t think I was fast enough to catch (Tyshawn Henry), who was taking the corner on me. So I decided it was a good idea to attempt a dive tackle and swipe her back foot. WELL, turns out I was faster than I thought; when I dove my nose collided with the back of her cleat. I got up with a really bloody nose and promptly asked for tampons to stuff in it so that I could continue playing. The medic said that I was going to need stitches (for what I had no clue) so I asked for super glue for a quick fix. It was at this point that I caught a glimpse of my reflection. The part of my nose between my nostrils was completely hanging off and needed to be stitched back on. Needless to say, I was not going back into that game. Twenty plus stitches later and some pain killers for my broken nose and I was good as new.

The second memorable head wound was last fall playing for Beantown against Berkeley. The game had literally just started and it was the first scrum. I was playing 7 and came up hard to tackle the 8 who was bobbling the ball. Our #9 had the same thought and we collided heads splitting mine open right on my eyebrow. I left the game to get it patched up so I could play – again super glue! I went back in and hit one ruck and blood started pouring down my face. The ref told me I couldn’t come back. At the hospital the doctor could see all the way down to my skull. 40+ stitches later I headed back to the field but the game was over. To this day I don’t have complete feeling above my eyebrow because of the nerves that were severed in that hit. At work, I am a high school teacher; my students love it when I come in with bruises, they think I look so tough. I work with a few other ruggers and they all understand when I come in with bruises or have a hitch in my get-along.

Phaidra & Kitt

PK: I have had the honor of playing with you at both the All-Star and International level and I must say, you are an amazingly awesome teammate both on and off the field (love you for all those gummy bears, girl!). What is the one thing you want to be most remembered for as a teammate?

Kitt: Thank you Phaidra, that means a lot to me coming from you!!! I really think I want to be remembered as just that – a good teammate. I want to be remembered for pushing my teammates to be better and to work harder. I want to be someone that they can come talk to, lean on, train with, and just hang out with. I willingly put my body/life on the line for my teammates on the field and would do the same for them off the field.

PK: World Cup 2010. Was it the pinnacle of all your sports experiences?
Kitt: World Cup 2010 was the most amazing rugby experience of my life. I had the honor of playing in the very first match when USA played in England. I still get chills thinking about walking onto the field to sing theNational Anthem. That was absolutely one of the best days of my life.

PK: Plans for making a run for World Cup 2014?
Kitt: Good question! I am indeed throwing my hat in the ring (I am ON THE BUS)! I would love to be a part of the 2014 squad and will continue to work as hard as I can in order to get there.

PK: Kitt, for any aspiring Eagles of international players out there, name 3 things that you would suggest they do to make themselves better rugby players.
Kitt: 1) Watch as much high level rugby as possible 2) Play as much high level rugby as possible 3) Be willing to put in the hard work and make the sacrifices (it is all worth it in the end)

PK: Where do you see women’s rugby headed?
Kitt: The truth is I’m not sure where I see women’s rugby going in this country. I would really like to see the women’s national team receive the same funding and benefits as the men’s national team. I would like to see elite female rugby players given the opportunity to live and train as professionals. It looks as though the USA is starting to head in that direction with the upcoming residency program. However, why is it 8 women and 15 men? Where is the equality in that? I hope that one day the Women Eagles will be able to live and breathe rugby, without having to worry about trying to balance their careers and financial affairs in order to compete for an opportunity to play alongside with the best of the best.

PK: Well stated. Kitt, thanks so much for taking this time to share some of you with us. I look forward to seeing you again and maybe even taking the field with you.
Kitt: I definitely miss seeing your face. Thank you so much and I look forward to taking the field with you again!

Wendy Young

Editor of Your Scrumhalf Connection. Passionate Rugger since 2001.

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Photo: Amanda Bird

Ida Bernstein is multi talented. Before she joined the sport of bobsled this season she was a star athlete in soccer and track at Dulaney, then at Syracuse, before becoming a member of the U.S. women’s national rugby team.  She even won the 2010 Regis and Kelly High Heel-A-Thon.  Bernstein is now chasing the Olympic dream as a bobsledder.

Read all about it here.

Wendy Young

Editor of Your Scrumhalf Connection. Passionate Rugger since 2001.

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from Rugby Wrapup:

A perennial Team USA Eagle, Phaidra Knight is one of the most recognized names in women’s rugby. Today, she chats with Team USA star Jenna Flateman, but this time it’s ON CAMERA – Live From NYC!

Wendy Young

Editor of Your Scrumhalf Connection. Passionate Rugger since 2001.

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