Your Scrumhalf Connection - Women's Rugby Blog

Check out the new and improved ONLINE WOMEN'S CALENDAR!

The key to making this work is submissions from YOU! Simply click the button on the left and join as a member of the calendar. Then you can submit game times, scores, location...and more!

http://playrugby.shorturl.com/

I have the ultimate admin over this calendar, but all events are posted automatically and the calendar reflects the changes immediately. The calendar on this blog is also linked to that calendar, so its still a reliable source.

Let me know what you think!

I'm missing my first Valkyrie practice tonight. I've been fighting some sort of infection for the last two weeks and I frankly barely had the energy to work a couple of hours this morning. I slept from 3pm till 6pm and then realized that I didn't even feel up to supporting my team.

First off I shouldn't be standing out in the cold weather and second I haven't really eaten today either.

So I decided tonight to do some homework, make a small dinner and try posting from my Treo 650. Its a palm phone that is also a PDA, camera, video camera...basically a tiny computer in the palm of my hand. I quite enjoy it and owe my big bro for introducing them to me. Good times.
So here's to all the ruggers practicing in the cold tonight...right on hotties.

Best of Craigslist - Ok, I've already blogged about how awesome Craigslist is...you can buy, sell, barter, check out the personals, events, activities...anything you can imagine.

Even better you can read the Best of Craigslist. Two of my recent finds are here and here. Please GOD add it to your regular reading list...its amazing.

PostSecret - http://postsecret.blogspot.com/
Another great find on this amazing internet. Post cards are sent in to this blog and they are changed every week. Some are of questionable nature, so be prepared.

Found Magazine - http://www.foundmagazine.com/
Another gem this morning...people send in little notes they found on their daily commutes, adventures or what not. Good stuff.

Hey Ruggers-

Rugby Clinic this weekend in AUSTIN.

Where: Austin, TX (Burnett Middle School)
When: February 3, 2006 at noon. (Camp will go to about 6pm)
Why: To hone your rugby skills! We will be going over advanced rucking, mauling...back plays and scrum safety.
Who: ANYONE! Camp is $10 per player and a small lunch will be provided.

THREE coaches will be coaching and running the camp.

Thanks,
Wendy

AND GO COLTS!!!!

I have to blog...must blog...it’s been weeks, months, years! Not really, but I have seriously been lacking. And I have SO SO much to blog about...so bear with me, there will be some personal stuff and some rugby stuff mixed in! Enjoy!

• 80's sign-a-long at Alamo Draft House! Ok, first off, I didn't know what the big deal about Alamo was until I moved to Austin. Its freakin' awesome, they serve FOOD and BEER at the movie theater! And they host special events all the time like the Ladies of the Night: 80's sing-a-long that Traci and I went to.

We arrived like twenty minutes early and thought we were golden...but since the city of Austin had been shut down because of the ice storm, it was FULL of people looking to get out of their houses but stay out of the weather! So we went to the back of the theater and were surprised when there are BIG COMFORTABLE LEATHER COUCHES! It was awesome! So we drank, sang...and watched the dancing fools all night. It was awesome!

• THE STORM Austin 2007. Yes, the storm. The city of Austin was shutdown for four days because Texas drivers might kill each other if they drive...the gym was shut down for two and a half days. It was GLORIOUS! Check out my post from yesterday to see the videos I shot with my Treo 650 phone.

• Finally on Sunday it was a BEAUTIFUL day! So I took Jake to the dog park and we spent about three hours there. I had been feeling sick all weekend, but had to get out in the sun. There were over a hundred dogs there and it was amazing! Jake ran, jumped, chased, barked and got all of his energy out. It was beautiful!

• Ok, so some rugby stuff...I am loving all the posts from bloggers about practice starting. Dust off those boots, wash out your mouth guard...love it! It's finally starting to feel like rugby season again!

Wild West Rugby Fest December 1 and 2, 2007
They have an awesome game with a great twist...its called the "All Hookers Match." Only tight five players can play in this match and there is NO kicking!

• Challenge matches are popping up all over the place this season...teams must be challenged by Jan 31 and the challenge match must scheduled by Feb 28. Let’s shake some things up ruggers!

• The valks start practice tomorrow and I am pretty excited! We have been utilizing craigslist and myspace to recruit this season and it appears to have been pretty successful! We will see tomorrow if we have good numbers at practice though.

• Since reading Blondie's post about wanting to keep a scoring database online somehow...I have been doing some thinking. What if we created a database similar to craigslist? Keep the same design and all, but the message boards would be about tournaments, teams...contact info...or whatever we want. I'm going to do some research and see if I can't drum something up in the next couple of weeks. Send me your ideas!

• TRU tryouts are this weekend in Austin, TX and so I volunteered myself to be a runner/mentor or whatever the coaches (Anna Kunkel, Meg Pace and Traci Schmidtke) need. Should be a great weekend and an excellent opportunity to recruit future rugby players to Austin.

• Women's College rankings are up on Goffonrugby (subscription required for some articles) and a few teams in the West are included: Air force (#4), New Mexico (#11), Texas A&M (#12) and the University of Colorado (#20). Good luck this season ladies!

• US Women’s U-19 Squad Will Tour England! What a great oppurtunity to play rugby overseas. They will play three-test series matches in Englad and Wales on March 22 – April 2, 2007. Roster and more info on American Rugby News.

• The International Women's 7's Tournament will be held in conjunction with the USA Sevens in San Diego on Feb 9-10. More info on Goffonrugby (subscription required for some articles).

• Kathy Flores signs on to coach for two more years! Great news to hear that she will be staying as the National Eagles Coach! (from American Rugby News)

• Women’s World Cup a Financial Flop...evidentally the World Cup wasn’t a financial help to Canada, but left them with a huge bill of $850,000. Ouch! Check it out at American Rugby News.

• And leaving you with a funny link...Ellen Degeneres is awesome! http://www.austinist.com/archives/2007/01/23/klbj_morning_show_pranks_ellenhousewivesus.php

Whew...life is a mystery. First Austin is hit with a freak ice storm that shuts the city down for three days and then I'm so sick I can't eat solid foods. Yea for soup and mashed potatoes!!

I'll be back blogging in a few days I promise!

Enjoy these videos from the Austin Ice Storm 2007...

Last night I went for a late night run...it was about 9:30pm. There is just something about running in the night, the solitude, the winter breezes...well not really winter, it was like 55 degrees last night. I had been listening to the Rocky soundtrack all day, so of course I pulled on my hoodie and plugged in my mp3 player. I ran for about 30 minutes at a pretty good clip, I of course had my trusty Jake by my side to scare off rapists, robbers or anything else in the night.

It was glorious! I started off with the epic Gonna Fly Now by the Rocky Orchestra and then quickly the mood changed with a little Papa Roach, Kitty, Staind and Nirvana. I tend to lean towards Rock when I work out because it gets me pumped up and motivated. Towards the end of the workout when I'm pushing myself to move past a jog and keep up a good pace...I change the beats to songs I know the words too, that way I can distract myself from the burning in my legs and back.

Last night I listened to some Madonna, John Mayer, and some other favorites. I never used to run with music, but lately I've discovered it really distracts me when I need it the most.

So today my back is killing me (also did my first squats of the season last night at the gym!!) and my quads are slightly sore. I absolutely LOVE being sore! LOVE LOVE it.

Getting motivated one day at a time...

I've been at work for 9 hours now...going on ten...and I have been doing a lot besides working. I updated all the myspace pages that I host (mostly rugby sites), cleaned out my files/photos, and started looking at a weight training program recently emailed to me. This got me to thinking about what motivates me and why...and why sometimes its glaring me in the face...and sometimes I can't get off the couch.

So to the motivation. Usually I get my motivation through weight training...and I haven't been able to do that for about 4 months! Partly due to my injured hand, and partly due to our intense schedule with hosting West Club Championships and attending Sweet 16s two weeks later. I find it hard to weight train consistently during the season as I work full-time, attend school full-time and play rugby full-time. That's three full-time jobs basically!

I love the idea of weight training, but looking at the list of split jerks, cleans, dead lifts and more...I'm realizing that I am not cleared to do half of them. I have my *final* (we hope) hand appointment on the 18th and I should hopefully be cleared from there. I am going to physical therapy twice a week and that crazy lady is putting me through the ropes. My hand is already much stronger and has stopped hurting.

MOTIVATION. I am having a hard time finding it and it seems like some of my teammates and fellow rugby bloggers are finding it hard too. Perhaps it is the bleak weather (it was actually cloudy in Austin today), the holidays, or the hundreds of other things that go along with being a human. So what does one do to get motivation?

Here are a few steps I am taking:

1. Visualization - I ordered my own copy of Rudy from Half.com. This movie motivates me every single time I watch it. Other movies that can motivate are GI Jane, Remember the Titans, Chariots of Fire, Breaking Away (lol), or any of the Rocky's.
2. Weight Training - I already mentioned that I am not cleared to do a lot of weight training on the top half of the body...but I have begun on the bottom half. Lets cultivate those calves, quads, hammies baby...lets get hot! (Blondie referred this link)
   
3. Proper Diet - Along with the holidays comes eating horrible food, although it may taste good...its probably not good for you. I definitely had my share of pumpkin pie, ice cream, mashed potatoes and more. BUT NO MORE! Its back to home cooked meals where I control the portions, vegetables and protein.
4. Nalgene - I have gotten out of the habit of carrying my nalgene EVERYWHERE I go...and I need to get back in that habit. I did get a SWEET camel back for Christmas though, I guess I could wear that under all my clothes! HYDRATE, HYDRATE...
5. Trail Runs - Jake and I will be lacing up the old tennis shoes a lot more lately...running along beautiful Town Lake or the Greenbelt, maybe we'll see ya out there!
   

So the 2007 seedings are released... K Train and Blondie blogged about them! Thanks guys.

1 Northeast #1
2 Pacific Coast #1
3 Midwest #1
4 South #1
5 Northeast #2
6 Midwest #2
7 Mid Atlantic #1
8 Northeast #3
9 Mid Atlantic #2
10 Midwest #3
11 Mid Atlantic #3
12 West #1
13 West #2 can be challenged by So Cal #2
14 Pacific Coast #2 can be challenged by So Cal #1
15 West #3 can be challenged by Northeast #4
16 Pacific Coast #3 can be challenged by Midwest #4

Some interesting things going on here. We shall how all this turns out after the West D1 restructuring and few other LAU's restructuring.

Looks like practices are starting around the country, I heard that the DC Furies are starting touch, my team is starting on the 25th and some ruggers are just barely beginning to think about the spring season.

Keep sending in your schedules ladies, I will post them on the online schedule. Feel free to pass the word on as well!

Good luck in all your pursuits ladies.

I decided last night that it was about time to start my pre-season workouts, and I am a little late this year. I blame myself entirely...I've been a slacker to sorts since the downfall of Sweet 16s. Blech.

But a new day and a new beginning! So this morning I got up a little later than I planned so I only got a quick 10 minute run in before I had to head to work. The run was nice...2 laps around the block, Jake leaving me in his dust! He had even forgotten what it meant when I pulled out my tennis shoes, usually that is a sign that he gets to go somewhere and he sadly had forgotten! Alas, he will learn again...and grow excited beyond belief when he sees me lacing up.

So after the run I quickly showered and ate a protein bar and headed off to work. The glory of working at a gym is that I can get quick workouts in throughout the day. I plan on doing some medicine ball work (still afraid to put too much weight on the weakened hand...it is getting stronger though!) and hitting the elliptical in 5-10 minute sprints at least twice today. I'm going to attempt wall pushups today and if those go well, I might even throw in some regular pushups! Woohoo!

I've also been trying to work out how I can work on my scrumhalf pass at work...the exercise room we have is covered from floor to ceiling with mirrors, so I can't just choose a wall and go crazy! We do have a few large "blocks" that they do squat jumps on and such, I have been thinking of tipping it on its side and using it as target practice essentially. I could get a TON of passing done if I did that. Sounds like a plan!

Good luck to everyone who is getting off the couch, jumping back into the gym and dusting off your rugby skills. Remember to warm-up :), stretch, refuel and hydrate afterwards. Take care of your bodies!

• The West D1 schedule has been finalized. Click here for a copy!
  
  
• The Austin Valkyries are hosting a COLLEGIATE/D2 Women's Rugby Camp on February 3, 2006. The event will take place in Austin and will begin around noon so teams can drive in that morning. We will be working on scrums, rucking and back play magic. If your team is interested, shoot me an email!
  
  
• Women's Player of the Year: Ellie Karvoski (subscription required at Goffonrugby.com)
  
  
• US Women's Rugby Foundation Coordinating Katrina Relief Effort (from Womeneagles.com) The website for the US Women's Rugby Foundation is here.
  
  
• Also from Womeneagles.com is their newest download! FREE desktop images! Check it out!