Archived E-Mails to the team

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FIRST PRACTICE IS: Monday August 29.

HOMECOMING IS: September 23-24.

FALL BREAK IS: October 8-11. Both our sides have byes that week, but remember, we might get a game or two shifted, so be prepared.

This just in: the union has posted the "final" schedules:

Please note that the first games (D2 AND D3) are on SUNDAY.

Fall D2 Schedule			Fall D3 Schedule
Sep 11th SUNDAY	Home to Fredonia SUNY		Sep 11th SUNDAY	Home to William Smith College
Sep 17th	Home to Le Moyne College		Sep 18th SUNDAY	Home to Niagara University
Sep 24th	Home to Ithaca College		Sep 24th	Home to Canisius
Oct 1st	Away at University of Rochester		Oct 2nd SUNDAY	Away at St. Bonaventure University
Oct 8th	BYE		Oct 8th	BYE
Oct 16th SUNDAY	Away at Buffalo State SUNY		Oct 15th	Away at St. John Fisher College

The footwork drills from my email of 8-16.

Colin's Note 8-16-11

Here are a few things I've tried out this summer that you might use to get your legs ready for 13 days from now. They're not hard drills, but they'll prep your muscles for rugby-specific movements they probably haven't had to make in a while: The easiest (makes a good warmup) is just to do a 5mx5m box (two parking lot slots). Shuffle to the left, jog forward, shuffle to the right, back pedal to the staring point. Do the same starting shuffling to the right. 3 times each way, alternating. The there is a side shuffle for five shuffle steps, turn 180 degrees and keep shuffling, the turn to do five steps sprinting. Do the same back. Always start facing the same direction, so the shuffle to sprint is in a different turn. A great one is, back pedal 5 strides (stride=2 steps, a left and a right) and sprint to the starting point, then 10 strides and sprint, then 15 strides, then 20, then 15, then 10, then 5. Then there is shuffle right (the length of a parking space line), then sprint forward 2 lines. Turn around and shuffle left and sprint. 3 each way (3 to 5 each way is the rule. This is not endurance work, it's getting our muscles used to changing direction quickly)., 2 really good ones are (again, 2 lines, to make a 5x5, approx., square): 1: back pedal 2 lines, then sprint diagonally to the other side of the starting line. 2: side shuffle on line, diagonal sprint to the other end of the second line (if it were a box, your sprint is the diagonal of the box). And lastly, my favorite: Find a curb (it can be a step or an exercise stepper step, if there's one lying by the side of the road somewhere). Simply step up, right foot then left foot, and step off, right foot then left foot, as fast as possible, 10 times. If you're doing it right, the first couple of times you'll either trip yourself or be amazed at how slow your feet are. You'll be amazed after a few week at how fast your feet are. Do 3 reps starting with your right foot, and 3 starting with your left, alternating your starting foot. These all should be done in the middle of a run, after a mile, with a mile more to run (I do hills or intervals after doing them). You want to be warmed up, but you don't want to be tired. Quickness drills don't work if you're tired. The idea is to build up quick-twitch fibres, and to acclimate your muscles to the changes of direction of rugby. They won't tire you when you do them, but if you've never done them, oull be amazed by the soreness in your legs the next day. Only do 3 or 4 in any one session, mix them up between days, so you don't get bored (note: your muscles get bored too; mixing things up helps them develop more quickly).

Our Starting Front Row in the Fall...?

Colin's Note 8-12-11

Colin's Note 8-12-11

Hi folks! 2 weeks till we're all back together again! Before I get into the teeth of this note, I want to apologize to those of you I promised workouts, etc. I just got a new job (yay!), and I've been focussing on prepping/training for that, so rugby's kinda been in the background. I still have a few footwork things I can give you for the next two weeks, but in the meantime, to business … : There is an old rugby joke phrase, "My drinking team has a rugby problem." I am afraid that this joke phrase is on the verge of applying, without the joke, to our team. Now, don't get defensive. If ever a metaphorical pot spoke to a metaphorical kettle, I am as metaphorically black as the next metaphorical rugger (boy does that have to be read properly!). I'm not metaphorically pointing metaphorical fingers. My concern is not to stop you drinking. My concern is to prevent the rugby team's raison d'être being drinking. It is inevitable when the team grows to 50-plus for levels of dedication, time availability, determination, and--face it--ability to vary greatly. And as far as I am concerned--perennial b-sider and part-time a-sider with questionable tackling ability that I am--that is a good thing. Rugby is a game for everyone, and the more who play, the better, as far as I'm concerned. All are welcome. It is also inevitable that despite injuries, time commitments, etc., there are those who want to remain connected with the team, as friends of players, as supporters of the team, etc. And that, again, is a good thing. All are welcome. But here's a weird thing that happens: With greater participation comes lesser focus. This, unlike in the above two cases, is not inevitable. But it is common. Rather than wax philosophic on why (me? wax? never!), I'd like to discuss how we might prevent this from happening. 1) We already have this: D2 and D3 sides. The greater the chance of playing, the lesser the chance of tuning out. For all of our losses last year, I don't think anyone can gainsay the success of having 2 full sides playing. This fall it will be even more important. We'll discuss this at a later date. The corollary of this is that whichever side you are on, respect the other side. You might be on D2 because a better player than you doesn't have the time to commit, and so is on D3. You might be on D3 because your D3 teammates respect you and want you as a leader on their team. Don't be stuck up because you're D2, and don't be submissive because you're D3. 2) Deciding that the rugby team is a rugby team that parties, and not a party team that plays rugby. I have had a number of people speak to me about players skipping practice to write a paper (this is the most flattering scenario; I could cite hangovers, etc.) but then going to the rugby party that night. Quite simply, WTF??? If you don't have time for practice, you don't have time to party. If you need to find time to write a paper, and the choice is between the party and practice, BE AN ADULT. You know which has priority. You really do. And if you really don't, maybe we don't want you around. 3) If you are not playing, for whatever legitimate reason, recognizing that those who are playing are making a time commitment, a LARGE time commitment, to the team. Not to themselves, not to me, but to the team. That 50-plus people I mentioned are all relying on each person to live up to their commitment. Please respect that commitment. That means that if your friend who is playing on the team has a choice between going to practice and then studying, or skipping practice so they can study and then go with you to the Stiz, the Stiz (and you) lose. 4) If you are playing, and a friend who isn't playing asks you to skip your rugby commitments to go out drinking (stay in drinking, go to the Stiz, etc.)--ESPECIALLY one who is "in" with the team, please remember that 50-plus people are counting on you. Here is a guide to help you prioritize. As a rugger at Geneseo, you are, in order of priority: (A) A person.* (B) A student.* (C) A rugby player.* (D) Anything else. This includes "party person." "Party person" is not included in (A). * Jobs, family, God and significant others rank up here somewhere, idiosyncratically. I rely on you as adults to fit them where they belong. For instance, Yom Kippur rates higher than rugby. Your boyfriend's/girlfriend's grandmother's birthday does not. If you can not meld these four in order, please take rugby out of the equation. If you have problems as a person or problems as a student, you have bigger problems than rugby. If you're a good person, I don't want rugby screwing up your life. If you're a bad person, I don't want you screwing up the rugby team. The point being, "party person" is low on the list, and student is high. Here's a little axiom to live by: If rugby is causing your grades to drop, it isn't rugby that's causing your grades to drop. Never has 1-2 hours of structured exercise a day resulted in academic failure. Never have I heard a parent complain that 1-2 hours of structured exercise a day caused their child's grades to drop. Never have I read a newspaper story, read a magazine article, seen a TV news item, heard a radio commentary that has complained that 1-2 hours a day of structured exercise was harmful. Do you know what most people cite as the most effective way to prevent youth from falling in harm's way? 1-2 hours a day of structured exercise. So don't tell me that rugby is causing your grades to drop. When your parents tell you to drop rugby because of your grades, they are not telling you to drop rugby. They are telling you to drop rugby parties. I am not going to tell you to drop rugby parties. What I am going to ask you to do is to temper your rugby parties. {Quick "Colin-Out-There-Fact: the term "T-Totaller" is not "Tea Totaller": it doesn't mean "drinks tea instead of alcohol"; it signifies "Total Abstinence" (They actually wore T's pinned or sewn to their coats), as part of the Temperance movement.} So anyway, temperance is all I ask. This means I request that you have no more than one midweek party a week. Wednesday or Thursday (it can vary by week), but not both in the same week. It means that if you go to a party on Wednesday, please consider not going to the bars Thursday, or vice versa. It means don't drink all Sunday and then blame your failure in your Monday pop quiz on, "I played rugby and went to the drink-up on Saturday, so I failed." We've all used that excuse. I just ask that you recognize it as an excuse, and to minimize using that excuse. It makes you look stupid and irresponsible, it makes your teammates look irresponsible and slovenly, and it makes rugby look like a drinking club for thugs. It means when your grades are slipping, don't skip rugby practice to half-study then go out drinking because you feel bad about your bad grades, then go to the party on Thursday and the drink-up on Saturday and still not study because you "didn't have time." BS. You have more than enough time to do rugby and study. If you don't have enough time to do rugby and drink and study (and some of you can do it, I won't argue that; you're not the problem here), then rugby or drink has to go. I'd rather it be drink that went. If you'd rather it not be drink, I'd rather it be rugby that took its place. Completely. Say good-bye to rugby. So long, and thanks for all the fish.* *A Hitchhiker reference there. And I'd rather you not pass your dependency on to the team. If you'd rather drink than play rugby--if you'd rather do ANYTHING than play rugby--please do (I'm fond of tennis myself). But if someone else would prefer to play rugby, please don't deny them that preference.

Springfest (Spring weekend) is April 28.

There will be a pictures page, so please send me your rugby pictures (non drinking; if you have drinking pics, they'll have to go on the OWW page after you've graduated).