Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Here we go!

A little over two months ago most of us left it all out on the court in Louisville to end another great season of rugby. Shortly after, 12 of us emerged from a group of developing young talent to form the second edition of Team USQRA. Now we are a few days away from our first tastes of Brazilian barbeque and international rugby. Everyone is extremely stoked.

At our first camp we meshed and became a team, Troy and Sue put together multiple lineups that all work well. You probably wonder how this is even possible with little time and preparation. The simple fact is we are all here for the same reason: to work, learn, and bring our game to an elite level. That’s the best and easiest way to describe it. In club level rugby, you have your weekend warriors, your old guys, your elite players, and some rookies. It can be challenging to get everyone on the same page. In our case with Team USQRA, everyone has the same goals, level of play, and commitment, so the possibilities are endless.

Gabe and Newby are our fearless leaders that were pretty much unanimously chosen. In my opinion it’s like the brain and the poster boy, Gabe probably has the best court awareness and knowledge of the game while Newby is the stereotypical young, hard-working, developing rugger. A little about the rest of us…Travis and I are the other low pointers. Travis is a young up-and-coming picker from the U of A system with great speed and a sick bump. I’m responsible for sending all mid and high pointers home without tubes and tires, unintentional I swear…joking aside, this has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. The 1.5s, Burgler and Scham, these guys work well together. Burgler is our veteran, he went to Rio a few years back and has the most experience. Scham is a beast in a low point chair; quick, soft spoken, but he can lay anyone out. On to the other deuces…Flea, Timo, and Cougar. Flea is very unique, he can defend anyone and rove like nobody’s business..he’s basically our Nick Springer. Timo has the size and the drive, you’ll always hear him on the court or see him posting up. Cougar…I personally saw him a couple of years ago when he came to check out rugby, he was a typical post-rehabber lacking only a helmet and some reflectors on his day chair. He has since found his niche and developed a nice racing stroke. Our high pointers are all very fast. Del’s amp skills are insane, he can muscle through defenders to grab a quick goal and you’ll know when he’s open. Odie handles the ball well and can really use his speed and side-to side to work the ball up court. Wheeler probably has the most endurance, after 9:00 at night when we’re wrapping up a long day of hard work he is still fresh and hauling around the track. Hopefully this gives a brief insight to who we are. Last to recognize but most important, the coaches and staff, none of this would be possible without them. Troy, Sue, Scham(AB), Susan, Paula, Carolyn, Judge, Kris, Gumbie, and the Lakeshore Staff: Thank you all!!

Everyone has been training hard on their own time and the evidence is there. We’ll all meet up in Miami to begin the journey to Rio. Updates will be on the way for sure. Our jerseys say USQRA but everyone knows where we come from and what we represent so the expectation is high and we plan to deliver.

-Landon, 1.0 Team USQRA

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