While some students skipped class to remain dry and others swam back home soaked to the bones, almost 20 shirtless boys ran down Appian Way, cheering each other on, passing the ball back and forth, laughing. Professor Germana gave a lecture at the Mason Library, while outside it was pouring down. His students were not listening; eyes and ears focused on the ESPN clip that took place on the Fiske Quad. “Keene State Rugby! Keene State Rugby!,” was all they could hear.
Four inches of rain and a thunder storm were not enough to soak the good mood of rugby boys.
Not the flash flood, not the fatigue after a week of school work, not even losing nine starter players to graduation last spring, nothing seems to discourage this team. The KSC Rubgy boys drive on enthusiasm. A rather young, experience-limited KSC Men’s Rugby team looks at the starting season with optimism and big time dreams.
Brian Cantore / Photo Editor
The Keene State College Rugby team starts a scrimmage on Saturday, September 14, against Williams on the Joyce Athletic Field.
“We always shoot for the top. Three years ago, the team went to nationals. We want to be able to repeat that,” KSC junior Brendan Snyder said, who joined the team second semester of his freshman year.
Expectations are high.
However, there are several challenges coach John Johannesen and his boys need to take on as they set their eyes to the prize. “Our platform is pretty much gone, it is a big rebuilding year,” said Johannesen. The team graduated six forwards and three backs last May and other six starters in Spring 2012.
“At the beginning, I was kind of skeptical of how it was going to be after the seniors left. They were all good players,” junior Jules Moore said, who joined the team a year ago.
Moore said during the first meeting of the club this year, “we had many new kids interested in joining.”
The rugby team currently has around 30 players on the paper, 19 of the team are brand new to the squad. According to Johannesen, the freshmen are coming in pretty strong and motivated.
Recruiting, however, is not the only challenge coach Johannesen has to face. For pre-season, most teams put on adaptation activities for their new players. This often includes physical training, strength training, resistance and social interaction to promote bonding.
In addition to all this, Johannesen has a responsibility not many coaches at KSC do; he has to teach his recruits how to play the sport, understand the rules and behave on the field. “When I first joined the team I had never played the game. That is the case of most players,” Synder said.
The truth is, that Johannesen not only coaches but teaches. “In the first weeks, we like to teach the game to the new guys. The coach really takes care of them, he makes sure everyone feels comfortable before putting them in a game situation,” said Snyder.
“Practice runs smoothly”, Moore said. “The coach does a great job. He has to balance out teaching the veteran players to play better and make drills with the rookies to teach them the basics.”
“We are trying to compete at a certain level, and it is hard because we have to reteach all the new kids how to play,” Gavin Armstrong, the team’s senior co-captain, said.
“We are quite used to taking players and teaching them all the basics right from the beginning,” Johannesen said. He added, although, that not having assistant coaches makes the job harder. “I have to teach offense, defense and every aspect of the game,” Johannesen stated.
Still, Johannesen has found a different type of coaching support. For him, a great deal of responsibility lays on the veteran players. “I expect from them to be leaders for the younger players on and off the field,” the coach said. Indeed, Johannesen noted that once they get rolling with the season, the captains will take care of practice two days a week. “It gets them more involved and gives it more of that bonding feeling.”
Seniors Gavin Armstrong and Brandon Edgerly are the rugby co-captains this year. Along with enjoying their last season with the Owls, Armstrong and Edgerly need to play big brothers with their younger teammates. They are the only players that have been with the team for four years. They both joined as freshmen and had never played rugby prior to Keene State. Armstrong said teaching the game is pretty challenging and a lot of work, but that the new players have been dedicated and ‘fast-learners’.
“We teach them as we go,” Armstrong said. “The only way to learn rugby is to play it on the field, to be confused and struggle, that’s the fastest way to pick it up,” he said.
Junior Ryan Sullivan joined the team a couple of weeks ago. He said veteran players have had an impact on the rookies through these first weeks of practice. “They come to us a lot. Every single kid that starts has taken me aside, given me a little information, a tip here and there, it’s really nice, it’s definitely like a family,” Sullivan said.
Family attitude is what the captains want to see in their team. A crucial aspect they are focusing on is building a team feeling among the players, Armstrong said. “This year we are really trying to instate team unity. Last year we saw a lack of commitment from some of the seniors and that trickled down to the younger players.”
Both Johannesen and Armstrong agreed that what they expect from the new players comes down to dedication and hard work, and does not only have to do with physical strength. “We don’t want them to think they need to be huge to play rugby,” Johannesen said. Moore added, “Some of our great players are small guys, there is a place for everyone.”
“We just want them to be really into the game, always there at practice, going a hundred percent and just showing your love for the sport. We are a club sport, but there is nothing club about us, we work just as hard as the varsity teams here,” said Armstrong.
The hard work has started to pay off. On September 14, the Owls demolished Williams College 36-3 during their first home game. A week before, they defeated long-time Keene rival Plymouth State University, leaving them with a record of 2-1 (they lost to Division II UVM during overtime on the first away game September 8).
Enthusiasm and dedication, freshmen motivation and senior guidance seems to be what the team is aiming for this season.
So be it. On the rainiest afternoon of the semester in Keene, the Men’s Rugby players practiced for two hours like any other weekday. Bad weather or fatigue could not wear them out.
After all, rugby is the game that never stops.
Karina Barriga Albring can be contacted at kbarriga@keene-equinox.com