'Tis the season for select sides!
All the MARFU U23 stuff is being hosted on a seperate blog site - please visit!
Open Tryouts May 18th 2008 - Directions and Details
MARFU U23 Developmental team at Ruggerfest
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
MARFU U-23 Updates
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Non rugby: Dear Dr Leibovitz
So K-2 (pictured in black and white on the sidebar) is a Siberian Husky, closing in on 15 years of age. He is perky, active, talkative, agile and puppy like in many ways. He's also got a variety of tumors. There's a big one in (not on) his butt, several little ones all over his torso, a small one that looks like a miniature brain on his head, a fatty one on one of his front legs, and this one....
On Tuesday morning, this lovely tumor was red, inflamed, hot, and generally gross in every way.
So today, my 14 y/o going on 15 y/o dog is getting it removed. The last time he went under anesthesia, he basically talked for 2 straight days. Apparently this is common with northern breeds. Seriously, yelp, yelp, yelp, yelp, yelp for about 48 hours. NON STOP. But of course, I'd rather have him chattering for 2 days than not have him.
So Dr. Leibovitz (vet extraordinaire), please have an awesome day today.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
MARFU U23 Women's All Stars: Tryouts this weekend and next!
For details:
http://marfu-u23s.blogspot.com
OR on facebook ...
May 11th - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=13221718412
May 18th - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=24489371088
Shoulders below hips - is it ever ok?
I had a lengthy discussion this weekend with a referee about the notion of "shoulders below hips". After reading the comments on the Stanford v PSU women's collegiate championship final, it seems this topic requires further discussion. (how does it feel to be the subject of our discussions Alison?)
At the forefront of the shoulders-below-hips issue is the technique known as "sealing".
Sealing occurs when, as the offensive players who arrives first to the breakdown, you bind tightly to the player on the ground. When done correctly, the player pulls the head and neck towards the shoulders, tensing everything in the front and back of the neck, and pulls the player on the ground towards the upper body, essentially creating a seamless "seal". This technique of "securing" the head and neck is known as "turtling". Players contesting the breakdown are free to counter-ruck and drive the sealed player off the ball, though a nice tight bind by the sealing player, and traditional "drive over" support by the supporting offensive players make it more challenging to contest for the ball. when done correctly, a seal does not kill the ball, in fact it makes it more playable for the team that arrived first to the breakdown. It completely eliminates some of the wild kicking that can occur at the breakdown, and it significantly cuts the number of players required to maintain possession at the breakdown.
At the highest level - Sealing is a no brainer. Do it, and do it well, or you won't get selected. From a coaching perspective, coaching the seal safely should be considered as critical as coaching safe scrummaging or safe tackling.
What's the point of contention for referees? Well, there are few. If the defense does not in fact contest the breakdown, and the sealing player came in with power (as they should, since the may very well transition from seal to clear-out mode as they arrive), the arriving players momentum may create a "diving over" scenario. At the higher levels, arriving players are not penalized for diving over, since that scenario does not present itself unless the breakdown is uncontested - in which case there since there no defense, a player who finds themselves on the other side of the downed ball carrier is neither impeding play, nor in a dangerous position (if theres no one around you to injure you, are you going to be injured?).
Many referees contend that, at the seal, since the shoulders are often below the hips, the act itself is inherently dangerous. And there is guidance to back this up.
So I suppose this is where discretion of an individual referee comes in. Do we apply the same standard of safely to a new, younger, or less physically mature player that we do with a fit, well trained, experienced player?
My discussion this weekend ended at an impasse - the specific take on sealing was that, if your butt was down and your head up, it was safe, since the shoulders were above the hips.
I disagree - in this scenario, players arriving from the defensive side of the breakdown can very easily drive a knee (unintentionally, simply in the act of rucking) into the sealing players face and chin, and players from the offensive side can easily drive the sealing player over the top of the downed player, simply by applying any pressure to the sealing player from behind.
In the "tight and turtled" scenario, the sealing player is in a modified 4 point stance, with their head securely nestled on the offensive side of the downed player, with their head and neck muscles in a solid and balanced position. Is their head below their shoulders? YES. But, if done correctly, you are literally pulling the downed player toward you, and, were you as a player, to let go, you'd remain on your feet.
Interestingly enough, this same weekend we ran into some challenges with our scrummaging style. Since the head is in a neutral position (imagine how your head sits on top of your body now, then simply bend at the waist without changing head position, and you'll see what that's like), the clear cut "head above hips" is hard to see. In fact, it looks like the head is exactly even with the hips (which, is what this particular style calls for). Since guidance is "head above hips, always and forever", this style of scrummaging has drawn some angst from many in the referee circuits. Which, lets face it, is a problem - since this style of scrummaging is being taught throughout the country, to men and women of all ages, as the way WE (USA) are going to scrum.
What to do? I'd love to hear from a high level (B1 etc) ref on the matter ... At this point, on game day - I have no idea what to expect. With the ELV's looming on the horizon, it seems we'd better sort this all out.
Friday, May 02, 2008
Good luck to PSU, Navy and Shippensburg - and watch it all live!
This weekend 3 MARFU Collegiate women's programs vie for the #1 spot in the country at USA Rugby's Collegiate Championships.
AND YOU CAN WATCH IT ALL LIVE (times are pacific - add 3 hours if you are on the east coast) ...
USA Rugby has partnered with the National Guard & ESPN to stream all the games live and do television broadcasts.
From usarugby.org ..
Friday, May 2
11:00 pm: Division I Women's Semi Final (Penn State vs. Brown) 1:00 pm: Division I Women's Semi Final (Stanford v Navy) 3:00 pm: Division I Men's Semi Final (Cal v Saint Mary's) 5:00 pm: Division I Men's Semi Final (BYU v CU - Boulder)
Saturday, May 3
11:00 pm: Division II Women's Championship - UM-Duluth vs.
Shippensburg
1:00 pm: Division II Men's Championship - Radford vs. Utah Valley State 3:00 pm: Division I Women's Championship 5:00 pm: Division I Men's Championship
And don't forget, the 2008 USA Rugby's National Guard College Club Championships is also part of ESPNU's expanded coverage of USA Rugby. A tape delayed telecast of the USA Rugby National Guard Men's and Women's Division I College Championships will be aired on May 21 and 22, at 10 p.m. EST.
To access the live stream ...
http://usarugby.tampadigital.com/video/665EC396CF/Click+Play+for+Live+Stream
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Politics meets rugby at the Philly WNT skills camp ....
From the Philly WNT skills camp ....
Who's front and center, wearing a USA Rugby jersey? Yup, it's Chelsea Clinton. She was visiting the Lansdowne YMCA, across the street from where the WNT was training, talking about her mom and (of course) universal healthcare.
The players signed a USA Rugby jersey presented it to her. She donned said rugby jersey and took some photos with the team.
Primary season in Philly continues ...
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Getting struck by lightning
So yesterday, while the pitch set up for the day's activities, we all got struck by lightning.
I'm totally serious.
How can a bunch of people get struck by lightning? We'll it's called a ground current, or a side flash - not sure what the heck we experienced, maybe one, maybe both Read about it here ...
Here's how it goes: Lightning strikes an open field, or something in an open space (in this case a light pole), and if the conditions are right, the electrical current zaps anyone in the area. In this case, a wet field = the right conditions. I think we're all very glad that the individual closest to to light pole was wearing giant rubber galoshes, and spared what could have been a life-stealing jolt.
So anyway, we're futzing about the field, it's a light drizzle with a few dark clouds, but certainly nothing scary. Then WHAM! A flash, a bang, and then a TAZER to the head!
Most everyone got knocked to the ground and felt the shock through the tops of their head, though a couple of people who were bending over at the time felt it through their posteriors. The distance impacted was pretty big - the guys playing softball one field over also got knocked down and were grabbing their heads.
After we retreated (a little shook up) to the cars to wait out the ensuing thunderstorm, I took a stroll to inspect "ground zero" of the strike (within 20 minutes of the event the sky was blue and the sun was out). This pole was SHREDDED - shards of splintered wood were sticking out of the ground like spears."
So there it is. I will never ever underestimate lightning and its power. I promise to adhere to any and all lightning related safety policies.
And I'm really hoping everyone gets super powers, myself included.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Absoulutely non-rugby, rather, irritated about my voter registration form
So, here's the deal.
I've been an independent my whole voting life. There are philosophical things that I like about the Republicans, but when it comes to my day to day existence, I mostly support the Democrats. Recently though, I've grown weary of the shenanigans.
Like a zillion other Pennsylvanians, I'm excited about having a chance to vote in the Democratic primary. I got a voter registration form, so I could change my party affiliation from Independent to Democrat. It sat for a day or two, and then one day on the way to work, I was stopped by some people doing voter registrations in Suburban Station, and I said "heck, I better do this now before I procrastinate and I'm S.O.L". So I did. Yay!
Not yay. B@&**#*T. Less than 48 hours after handing this nice volunteer my voter registration form, I got a phone call from one of the two campaigns. The caller left me a voicemail and said "We heard that you were interested in supporting XXX. We also hear that you might be interested in volunteering! I'm your neighbor, I live in your area... call me!"
There is only ONE PLACE that the caller could have gotten my number ... my CELL phone number ... from my Voter Registration Form. Without a doubt, my data was harvested and forwarded on to a rep in my county... a "neighbor."
I have been receiving calls from this campaign every 2-3 days. Always the same thing. I've told them very clearly, "I'm not supporting XXX, I'm supporting DDD. Thank you for your enthusiasm, but please don't call me anymore". It hasn't stopped. It's as if my phone number, name, age, etc, from my voter registration form, has been loaded into a sales-lead of database. It's rude. Its NOT OK.
Most people who know me are aware of the candidate I support - however I have little doubt that both campaigns are doing this. Which is crap. What happen to registering to vote because it was both your civic duty, AND your privilege as an American?
My voter registration form is a government document. Its private. It's got all my personal info on it. ITS PRIVATE!!!! You don't have the right to harvest my information! YOU DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO TREAT ME LIKE A SALES LEAD.
So, to "my neighbor" who keeps calling me .... PLEASE. STOP. NOW. PERIOD.
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