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[the-happen-stance]

“This is America’s team… and Becky”

This summer with Old Blue followed the fine tradition American films and TV shows charting the ascendance of rag-tag sports teams (who didn’t love Mighty Ducks) and glee choirs (Don’t pretend you don’t know) from first formation and underdog obscurity to the national stage.

For those of you that don’t know, this is the tale of Old Blue’s first year on the American sevens circuit.

The team casting was solid. Hard-bitten NYC kids taking up an unknown sport, an American footballer shucking the pads for the purer game, track stars turning into a back line, all captained by a jacked USA Eagle with a penchant for mystic sounding statements, meditation and pre-game deep breathing. The ‘experienced outsider hailing from the home of the sport’ casting was questionable, mostly due to the language barrier, but the directors stuck with it.

Individual character plot lines negotiated cross country and international moves, All American call ups, bureaucratic obstacles, funding struggles, injury and the fight for a starting shirt. The primary plotline – from nothingness to the national final in one summer of glory. But wait, plot twist. We came second. It was the investors decision. Don’t get me started. They wanted a sequel. With a few cast changes (the English one, she didn’t work out, we need to branch out to new markets).

My metaphor wears thin.

Across the course of the two-day tournament Old Blue women demonstrated its huge potential and character, but also the gulf of competitive rugby experience in the young side.

The final was an ugly loss to San Diego Surfers, an experienced side with good skills and impressive athletes. In terms of context, Surfers have reportedly won the National tournament four times out of the five years it has been going. They now get to add another line to that tally.

Unfortunately for Old Blue this game was a classic bottle job (American translation: We choked). Despite holding the Surfers to a 7-7 draw for 11 minutes in our pool game the previous day (they scored 2 tries in the last 3 minutes for the win) the final was a litany of tries for the west coast team. Old Blue was never able to settle into the game, making panic fuelled errors and failing to execute phases of play when we had possession. The lack of diversity in the competition of our qualifying rounds both accustomed Old Blue to winning and meant that we ultimately didn’t have to adapt much. We dealt with the same teams, with the same weaknesses and strengths, week in, week out.  Unfortunately this meant that Old Blue hadn’t gone through the experience of a fight back from a half-time loss, nor had we developed the ability and awareness to change tact when our game plan wasn’t working. These deficits cost us and in the final we were outclassed.

In that tournament we played some of the best rugby I’ve seen us play all summer (against Nova). But also some of the worst (ICEF and the final), making bad teams look good and allowing good teams to embarrass us. However, none of that can take away from the monumental progress Old Blue has made as a team and a set up in a single summer. Both the players and coaches will have learned a great deal from that tournament experience. 

My two pennies worth is this: As a whole, Old Blue needs greater competitive diversity in the build up, more experience of those 20 minute final games and a greater focus on the ability to game and tournament manage. By that I mean focussing on getting what you need out of the game and preserving yourself for the next. Sealing out a win and managing players, time, possession and position to move on to the next stage in the best possible shape – instead of busting a gut and taking risks to keep racking up a score. This is obviously all in addition to individual players improving their skills and understanding of the game. 

That sequel tho’.

[the-happen-stance]

Old Blue and rugby in the US

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a club in possession of good fortune and reputation must be in want of a women’s team.

Old Blue, by virtue of long existence, prestigious founders, wealthy supporters and a well-connected board, enjoys a privileged position in the American rugby scene. A position affirmed by the use of the stunning facilities at Columbia’s Baker Field Sports complex.

Historically a men’s 15s club this was the first year that OB decided to venture into the world of women’s rugby (applaud them ladies, it's a bold move for those of the blazer and slacks generation). Jokes aside, the impressive heritage and experienced set up provides a fantastic platform for the new women's team and the support has been phenomenal.

Old Blue is over 40 years old, established in 1963, by Columbia University Alumni. Their 1st team lays claim to the impressive statistic of winning 78% of games from 1990 to 2000. For its inaugural year the women's sevens team was coached by Gary Heavner and Billy Nicholas.

One of the questions I’m asked most often is how the standard is compared to the UK. Apologies American readers, the skill level is generally lower than the UK. Women's sevens in the states seems less about creating phases or breaking down defences, and more about individual athletes making breaks. The contact area is also less aggressive (both tackling and rucking) and there’s less use of back moves. The general standard of athleticism (speed and fitness) however, is higher. I guess that given sports scholarships and bursaries are how many pay for college, the general standard of female athleticism is higher than the UK (where many drop out of sport after school enforced P.E. ends).

Asking questions about club, college and representative rugby it was interesting to learn how games take place. Due to the huge geographical challenges (Reportedly America is really, really, really big - who knew)  they often play 15s tournaments, so a bunch of teams playing a round-robin of 15s games over one weekend. After the experience of playing two games in three days with the Exiles I have huge admiration for those who play in that format. My body HATED me for a long time after that weekend.

One of the things I found most surprising was that I was considered a big, physical player. I’m by no means small but I’m definitely not high on the intimidation scale. Bar a concerning case of body dysmorphia, the disbelief expressed that I was a wing in 15s suggests that players (in the North East at least) are generally smaller and less physical. Either that or I need to lay off the cakes and weights and I’m better at tackling than I thought.

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Saratoga Springs

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Two nations divided by a common language

Oscar Wilde was many things, but I doubt a rugby player was one of them. But his observation that England and America were “two nations divided by a common language” has never been more applicable than to my experience of playing rugby in the states.

I’ve always thought that rugby had a fairly universal language. Watching Super Rugby you hear the same comments and phrases that are used in the Premiership. Although no one says ‘debut’ quite as well, or as much, as the Australians. But on this little jaunt, I’ve found that my rugby lexicon doesn’t quite translate across the pond (Believe me the rest of my vocabulary was a challenge too, but one blog at a time).

‘Dog leg’, ‘chip’, ‘spin it’, ‘pressure’, ‘early’, ‘bite up’, ‘pull back’ - I found out way too late that this was all so much jibberish to my State side team mates. There I was thinking that I was making a solid point about our defensive structure, or the need to go wide quickly, some people would nod (out of embarrassment? “That English girl is STILL talking”) the vast majority would look blank. I’d trail off and Billy (Coach) would go ‘So what Becky is saying is…’ delivering the US translation with aplomb.

I discovered early that my accent is HILARIOUS (if you could see my face) to emulate. But emulating said accent stops pretty quickly when we do contact. 

I discovered that training is called practice. Coaches are genuinely called Coach in day-to-day parlance. Boots are called cleats. Rap is acceptable at all times of the day. Being ‘salty’ has nothing to do with sodium. ‘Ratchet’ can be a noun, verb and adjective and is mostly undesirable but getting a bit ratchet is sometimes necessary.

Language, like many viral diseases, has its way of mutating, so I imagine my speech will be littered with tiny American idioms for weeks to come. I did pass on a little of my own phraseology however – ‘knackered’, ‘cained’, ‘trainers’ and ‘loo’ managed to make their way into one of my team mates vocabulary. 

Whilst attempting to make myself understood I was mistaken for a Kiwi and asked if I was Dutch. I found that to many my accent was simply incomprehensible (mostly at check outs or in restaurants). The struggle was real when I didn’t have a native nearby for the server to look at in confusion, begging a translation. 

Whilst these points aren’t exactly linguistic, I’d like to take this opportunity to address some common misconceptions about the English:

No, we don’t all know Adele

Your friend may live in London too but it’s still highly unlikely I’ve met them

No, we aren’t all born with teeth like that

[the-happen-stance]

Saratoga Springs – Championship

After our last tournament I think its fair to say we had a point to prove at the Championship. Despite the run of trophies, and winning the Empire whether or not we qualified for Nationals would still come down to this tournament. New York’s win in the last tournament was still raw so it was a more focused, determined side that descended on Saratoga.

Due to the National Finals being relocated to Seattle (from the previously intended Pittsburgh) a few of the teams that qualified for the championship tournament either withdrew or, in the case of Boston, made it known that even if they did qualify for nationals they wouldn’t go. Ultimately, It didn’t make a huge amount of difference to the tournament for us. Those that withdrew hadn’t performed well enough to be contenders anyway and Boston, the only team unknown to us, we beat comfortably.

The tournament took the form of a round robin with the auld enemy New York to be played at the end of the day. As ever Old Blue took a Black and White team. The Black ran with the anticipated line up for nationals. With a couple of key players pulled up to the A side after last tournament, OB White had a tough day at the office. 

OB Black had a characteristically dominant tournament dispatching familiar opposition, as well as newcomers Boston in the run up to our NY rematch.

Our preparation for this game was markedly different from Morristown. Nutrition and hydration throughout the day was much better. We warmed up thoroughly and worked on warm-up drills that directly corresponded to areas of the game NY were strong (Primarily pulling out of contact). Immediately before the game we introduced a sprint blow out to our warm up.

We went three from three defeating the Belles 15-7, The New York Rugby Club B-side 29-5 and then overcoming NYRC’s A-side 33-5 in the final.

And so to Nationals as the number one North East seed.

[the-happen-stance]

Hello Seattle

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So is it too late for me to become a pro football player? #should'vebeenaboy

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Tournament 2: Morristown Qualifier

Time has come to report on the one dark stain on Old Blue’s perfect record this summer – the first tournament loss for the Black team.

After a weekend off for the fourth of July, we headed to the Morristown ‘Blazing’ 7s, our final NRU women’s 2014 qualifier. The opposition were familiar faces by this time and the tournament seemed to follow the same inexorable path, a New York I/Old Blue Black final concluding the day.

Old Blue entered an A and B side as usual (Black and White respectively), however despite Black topping their pool and going through to the final, the White team undoubtedly had the most glorious run.

OB White faced off against NYI in an epic battle, delivering a 12-12 draw and the tangible possibility of an all Old Blue final. The White team were relentless in defence, pressuring NYI and choking off their attack at the first receiver. A disallowed try for OB White sealed the game at a draw and it was clear that the winner of that pool would come down to points difference. NYI led the scoring, setting OB White a huge target for their last two games. The tournament organisers saw the NY1/Old Blue Black final as a foregone conclusion, but with some weaker opposition coming up, a top two finish for both OB teams seemed within reach.

With a big gap before the final game Black mobilised to support White on its last two games, stationed around the pitch to pass the ball back into play after trys were scored and kicks converted. Excitement mounted at each try and with their final game OB White were seconds away from beating the +114 marker NYI had left. However it wasn’t to be, White fell just 3 points short when the final whistle came. 

The familiarity of the opposition, the fact White had come so close to routing NYI and the possibility of not having to play a final at all if both teams went through dulled Black’s edge when it came to mental preparation. The team watched White’s third/fourth position play off (a very comfortable 24-0 win) and completely failed to warm up, switch on and prepare for the game against the old enemy, New York I.

Our complacency was quickly challenged as NY racked up its first try. Whilst we hit back, our structure was lacking and one on one tackles simply weren’t being made. It was a frustrating game were Black fell short of its own standards across the board. The game ended at 14-7 and NY’s celebrations rubbed salt in a wound we had no one to blame for but ourselves. 

With NY coming progressively closer over the last few tournaments, this defeat fuelled the illusion that they had developed to the point of surpassing OB. In reality we’d handed them a victory through a lack of preparation and physical commitment. Needless to say we weren’t great company in the aftermath.

However, despite the result on the day OB Black still won the Empire GU Women’s Summer Series and qualified as top seed for the Championship competition in Saratoga, with OB White securing third. And a personal sweet spot at the end of a fairly bitter day, I was awarded MVP for the tournament.

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Beautiful memorial and facinatingly curated museum at ground zero

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High line adventures and delicious Chelsea Market food

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Kayaking in city sunshine

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More NYC exploration across the east river

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Exploring the MoMA was a step back to art class

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All the gear, no idea

As a sedentary office denizen I usually spend the majority of the week on my backside. In the time around that I do as much as I can to counteract that slow sag into a hump backed desk troll, and the seductive allure of the office diet (read cake, and lots of it).

Since February I’ve been cycling to and from work most days (11 miles each way) and I typically lift or do resistance-based circuits two to three times a week. In 15s season we have club training twice a week with games on Sundays. In sevens season this changes to one club training session a week, two day tournaments on the weekend and adding a speed session to the schedule where I can. Now compared to internationals that juggle full time careers with a full time role as an athlete, this is probably pretty meagre. However, I still find that I struggle to get enough rest on this schedule and don’t really see the fitness gains that I’d like to. 

As someone with little knowledge that I apply patchily to training and nutrition, I feel an expert in some circles and the definitive ‘all-the-gear, no-idea’ buffoon in others. Despite being involved in competitive sport since a young age I still struggle to put all the disparate information I’ve acquired over the years to work in training. And it doesn't help that the fitness industry in general is full of contradictory ideas. 

I’m a definite novice when it comes to writing my own programmes, schedules, diet plans and understanding how these impact performance. However after the last couple of years since starting resistance training and taking rugby a little more seriously, I’ve tried to absorb as much as I can from my infinitely more knowledgeable and qualified friends (Melon, Pocock, Paul and Griff I’m looking at you).

So these last few weeks I’ve been trying to put this into practice. Whilst the sessions I put together are formulated using the precision science of Winging-it, adopting the rigorous Finger-in-the-air method of load and rep calculation, I like to think I’ve come a long way from what I was doing before.

With Old Blue we've been lucky enough to get access to Nyack Fitness, a cross fit oriented gym, about 20 minutes away from where we are staying. The set up is amazing and its owned by one of our team mates and capped Eagle, Phaidra Knight. As you can see, It's pretty awesome.

My schedule over here typically runs as below. All flaws are my own (there’s only so much I could absorb from those around me). Justifications are typically to do leg day early so it doesn’t impact tournament day, but not so soon after that I’m still struggling.

  Monday AM

Foam roll/glute activation warm up

1. Amuse bouche: Pull up progression work (This is a set programme I’ve nicked from Tribesport. It’s 30 days of work outs consisting of negative pull-ups, jump pull ups, reverse rows, bar holds, press ups etc to help me improve my strict pull-up count. This isn’t really a rugby goal, more a vanity! As my legs seem to be made of the heaviest substance known to man, all kind of ‘ups’ (pull, chin, muscle) and dips are a distant dream to me. Fingers crossed this will gradually help change that.

2. Starter: Row set (5x500 with 30 secs rest, or 10 mins row made up of 1 min sprint pace, 1 min rest pace)

3. The Meat/actual workout: Leg based power session (Jump squats, cleans, box jumps, wall balls etc – typically made up of 2 super sets and 1 finisher. Running between 6 and 12 reps in sets of 3 to 5. It largely depends on how technique heavy the move is for deciding reps. For more complex moves that I struggle with, i.e. cleans, I tend to use fewer reps)

Monday PM

Old Blue club training session 

Tuesday AM

Foam roll/glute activation warm up

1. Pull up progression work

2. Row set/cycle set

3. Actual workout: Leg strength and knee/ankle stability (Squats, split squats, lunges, deadlifts, Nordic fall – again typically 2/3 super sets and 1 finisher)

Wednesday AM

Foam roll

1. Pull up progression work

2. Row set/cycle set

3. Actual workout: Chest/Back (Bench, flys, seated row, lat pull down, bent over row – I’ve been experimenting with using drop sets for these with mixed success)

Wednesday PM

Old Blue club fitness

Thursday AM

Foam roll

1. Pull up progression work

2. Row set/cycle set

3. Actual workout: Core and Shoulders/arms (Jammers, Russian twists, wood chops, plank, press ups, V-ups, handstand holds, military press, tricep dips, hanging knee raise – typically super set a push with a pull or a similar piece of equipment – i.e. Jammers with a Russian twist)

Thursday PM

Old Blue club training

Friday

Rest pre-tournament (Go exploring NYC)

Saturday

Tournament

Sunday

Recovery (Typically a long stroll around Manhattan)

Rinse, repeat. 

[the-happen-stance]

Tournament 1: Danbury Qualifier

So after an early night, solid dinner, lengthy research on plays (Read: not so much) my very first tournament with Old Blue RFC kicked off at Danbury.

Turns out Danbury is in Connecticut. Who knew?

Despite my distinct lack of preparation, sleep, food, knowledge of plays, names and complete inability to cope with the heat and dust (Am I whining a bit?) Old Blue carried their newly acquired Brit to a first cup on American soil.

Here’s the evidence. Also - superb stash! 

Now I would amaze you with my stunning sports journalism… but the sterling reportage of This is American Rugby has beaten me to the punch. Enjoy.

Old Blue Women Take Danbury 7s

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First impressions

So my diligence in updating this hasn’t been great so bear with me whilst I bring you up to date in a rapid fire series of posts.

After a few hours amusing myself in a Portuguese airport my flight to NYC finally took off and in what felt like no time at all I was queuing to go through America’s fairly terrifying customs procedure. Iris’s scanned, finger prints filed, address recorded and reason for coming noted (“Rugby?” “Yes rugby”) I was released into the wild of ‘Murica.

I wasn’t sure who was picking me up so I text the coach and settle down to wait. After a little while I notice two girls looking at me strangely from across the arrivals hall. They look at me, I look at them, they look at their phone and back at me, and one of them mutters something that looks a little like ‘Becky’.

“Are you?”

“Old Blue?”

“Yeah! We found her!”

Armed with nothing but a Facebook photo and a name, my two new teammates found me and we bundled into the car. We’re on our way to our new home (Coach Gary Heavner's) for an early night in preparation for tomorrow’s tournament.

However our jubilation fairly quickly evaporates as smoke begins to emanate from under the hood of the car. We rumble to a halt in the middle of the oh-so-safe merge lane of a MASSIVE freeway. Articulated lorries, trucks and New Jersey drivers (I’ve heard they are the worst) zip by on either side, blaring horns and shaking our precariously placed little car.

So far so good.

After a few brief forays to the front of the car to gaze, purse lipped, at an engineering monstrosity that none of us understand… a may-day call goes in to Gary to come rescue us. 

After a few hours of melting into the seats Gary arrives and after a brief rumble further down the motorway, so to do the NYPD. Our journey continues with the car being pushed down the motorway by a police car, and then by Gary’s truck, all the way to a service station.

We eventually make it back (Three days after my journey started, one car towed and one incredible service station sub under my belt) at about eleven. We set our alarms for 6am and onto the first tournament.

[the-happen-stance]

Where have you been all my life