I LOVE RUGBY!

Rugby has been a part of life for a very long time. Half of my family grew up in England and have been very much involved in this sport. My cousins and sisters all have played Rugby in the past, and that’s when I knew I had to follow their footsteps.

When I was younger I wasn’t the most athletic girl, I always tried out to teams (Volleyball, Basketball, Track and Field, ect.) and I NEVER made them, I always thought I was going to make it and once it came to the cut off sheet, my name was never there, sad but true. So when I found out that Streetsville Secondary School’s Rugby team had no tryouts, I was all game. I knew I was going to play because my older sister was on the team as well; she loves the sport almost as much as I do. However, when I was in grade 9, let me tell you that I was NOT the best player on the team, probably the worst you could say. But, over the years I fell in love with it, it is seriously the best sport in the world, it makes me feel thrilled, ecstatic, hyped up, any excited words you can think of and it makes me feel that I am finally good at something.

There was something about this sport that made me want to do better the next time, I always made that goal for myself to accomplish something by the end of the year. Yes, I have gotten some war wounds over the years (sprained ankle three times, broken nose, most of all bumps, scratches, and bruises) and I have done some damage to other people as well. The worst thing I have ever done to someone was cracked their skull and this was by accident I swear! It was a rainy, slippery, muddy game and I was playing Philip Pocock Secondary school (they were the team to beat) I tried tackling the scrum half and on the way down my chin smashed her head and cracked her skull! To make matters worse was that she has bleach blonde hair (was bright red after that) and I have met her in the past! I found out later that she had to get 7 staples on her head. I felt terrible... but she forgave me and she was actually on my team for the Blues first Senior Women's season. I set a goal for myself to win some sort of an award at the end of each season in High School. I was unsuccessful in grade 9 and 10 (that’s because I was a newbie and still had a lot to learn) so I set a goal to win MIP (Most Improved Player) in grade 11, I tried my hardest and the goal was accomplished! In grade 12, because it was my last year, I set a goal to win MVP (Most Valuable Player) the most important award to be given in my eyes. I worked so hard to get that award and in the end I GOT IT! Best time of my life, I was thrilled. My coach even said, “If someone came up to me 4 years ago and said that this girl was going to win MVP, I would have laughed in her face.” It’s true, I came a long way and all my hard work finally paid off.

When it comes to the Mississauga Blues Rugby club, I had to join. The love for Rugby was defiantly not gone after High School and I still need to play every year. My little sister started High School and she joined the Rugby team, so for her to talk about what she did that day and how well she played in her game; just made myself want to play even more. I am so grateful for the Blues, I never could afford and extracurricular activity so when the opportunity came up I took it in a heartbeat.

Rugby to me is a part of my life and will always be. As long as I am still standing I will be playing Rugby. I am just glad that I have the Blues. The Senior Women's team is like a family to me, it makes it that much easier to enjoy playing the sport I love with the people I love.