Monday Morning Ruck

Opening Whistle

It’s been almost two weeks since I returned home from a rugby tour to the Bahamas. I’m sustaining, but not thriving. Fully prepared, at least mentally, to return there at any moment.

My heart must go on…

BOTR Recap

Busy week of content both on social media and in the written form. Here are links to the written content.

• 60 Years of Rugby in Paradise - the follow up piece on my most recent rugby adventure in the Bahamas. Give it a read and if you can, get there to see it in person.

• Choose Brave. Choose Her. - Pre-tournament coverage of the USA Girls Rugby National Championship event in Utah this past weekend.

• Leadership Paradox in a Club Rugby Setting - My first trip down the path towards creating some form of leadership development series for current and future club rugby administrators.

From the Touchline

I really enjoyed the interview with the Tournament Director for the USA Girls Rugby National Championship. It was filled with grassroots rugby passion, just how I like it! It is fitting that the tournament is taking place on a weekend that also has the Women’s Six Nations on display.

As I type this, Ireland and Scotland are about to take the pitch at the Aviva Stadium. This marks the first time that a stand alone Women’s Six Nations match is being played at the home of Irish Rugby. More than 32,000 tickets have been sold!

Massive and well deserved progress.

My oldest child was one of the only girls playing youth rugby in our area growing up. Which meant she played co-ed which is perfectly fine at a young age. However, when she reached middle school it was no longer ok. Sadly, there wasn’t any option for her to continue to play as girls rugby lacked numbers.

Seeing the continued growth of the sport for girls is heartwarming to me. Everyone deserves the opportunity to play throughout the age groups.

Grassroots Realities

A massive shout out goes to all of the clubs, groundskeepers, and volunteers that are putting in the work recovering their fields from a long season of rugby. It has been great seeing all of the posts about maintenance over the past week or so.

There is a tangible lack of awareness from players regarding the effort and steps needed to manage fields. Maintenance doesn’t happen by magic. Even though some groundskeepers certainly perform magic to keep pitches playable throughout the season.

Thanks to everyone out there putting the grass in grassroots rugby!

Final Whistle

I have a few open weekends coming up before things really heat up on the Summer 7s circuit. June through early August is going to be jam packed with rugby action. I have just added a fourth 7s tournament to my schedule and I’ll be in attendance at the USA vs Spain match on July 18th!

Keep Rugby Grassy!