• Are you ready for some… rugby?
• houston? come in, houston
• bleeding black and gold (ladies, I still need to record you attempting to sing the Pittsburgh Song that Lori tried to teach you!!)
• Rugby Day, Part One
• pride
• gameday
• getting my rugby on
• Our KDKA News spot w/ Jory Rand!
• The Pittsburgh Angels are Cool…
• Your Scrumhalf Connection
• time to focus (oh, wait, that’s just a post about a super amazing hat. that I may have made… hey, it’s awesome. AND UncleCrappy gave us enough love that I can post it here. Oh, and Ohio State beat Penn State…. Yeah. Sorry.)

Congratulations Angles on your success. I’ve been slow in blogging but have been following your success in the nationals. Am waiting anxiously to see how you do in the final games. Great job against Raleigh !  I know you must be proud and elated so far—you all should be.  I was fortunate to see some of your games this year and – your is a great team!  Brian asked that some of the “old girls” comment on how the game has changed since we played in the early 80’s.  Well, some things have changed:  the scoring is different; the line outs are way different, (I would have loved being able to pick up players to gain height), you’re probably better conditioned (at least than I was) and your games actually start on time!  Oh yea, your shirts are different, ours said, “No Balls at all… Pittsburgh Women’s Rugby Club.”

We loved the game and the camaraderie as much as you do.  Looking forward to your next season!

The Pittsburgh Angels Women’s Rugby Team traveled to Houston, TX and are competing in the Division II Women’s Rugby National Championships.

The Angels defeated their first opponent, Charleston (S.C.) by an impressive 51-5 score.

In the second match of the day, Pittsburgh faced the Raleigh Venom - two time Division II national champions (2005 and 2006).  The Venom then competed in Division I for a few seasons before returning to Division II (for reasons of travel costs).

Pittsburgh conceded two first half trys and trailed at halftime, 10-0.  The Angels regrouped and started the second half scoring with a converted try five minutes into the period. Raleigh countered with their own try seven minutes later, but the conversion fell short bringing the score to 15-7 in the Venom’s favor.  The Pittsburgh women pulled within one point (15-14) after finding a gap and converting the try.  With nine minutes remaining, the teams battled with hard rucks and impenetrable defense.  In stoppage time, Pittsburgh was awarded a penalty and successfully kicked from 35 meters out. The Angels had to defend deep in their end for an additional few minutes.  The final whistle blew and the Pittsburgh Angels won 17-15.

With the win, the Angels advance to the National Championship semi-final match vs. Albany.  Kickoff is set for at 9:00 a.m. at the University of Houston.

I picked the right team

When I was looking for jobs in the Pittsburgh area, I simultaneously was looking for a rugby team. I recently graduated from Colorado College and while it can be hard to leave college, I knew I did not want to leave rugby.  What began with a simple Google search has turned into my most exciting rugby season. I never imagined I would have the opportunity to compete at a national level.  I thought it was just going to be a fun outlet of energy every once in a while. Little did I know it would consume me.

I drive at least an hour to practice every Tuesday and Thursday.  My $3.25 an hour salary doesn’t exactly cover the money I spend on gas each week.  My boss is tired of hearing my requests for Saturdays off from work.  None of that matters.  All that matters is the fun I have when I step out on the pitch. The smile I get when I pull into the parking lot and see the team getting ready to practice. The adrenaline I have when warming up for a game. The energy I get from making a good pass. The thrill of scoring a try. The joy I feel when our team succeeds.

A couple of friends have said to me: “wow, you sure picked the right team.”  I would agree, but not just because I was able to join a rugby team that is heading to nationals. I love this team because I felt welcomed at my first practice. I love this team because of the way my teammates included me and looked out for me when traveling to Buffalo. The team has been understanding of my work commitments and supportive on and off the field.  My teammates have coached me and helped me to improve as a player. They have made me laugh… a lot. They have showed me what it means to be dedicated.  I look forward to going to practice and I can’t always sleep the night before games.  I have really enjoyed being a part of the Angels this fall.  I appreciate feeling so welcomed.  I consider it a privilege to play on such a great team, alongside such wonderful teammates.  I am so excited for the opportunity to play in nationals and I consider it an honor to wear a Pittsburgh Angels jersey.  Looking back on my decision to join the Angels, I would say I definitely made the right choice.

http://kdka.com/video/?id=64878@kdka.dayport.com

Our first match is tomorrow at 1pm. We’ll update the site as soon as we can after the game!

Moving to the city was a big change for me, I’m a small town country girl who decided to move to Pittsburgh and pursue a career in nursing. Well needless to say 3 to 4 twelve hour shifts a week was not enough to keep me busy. So what in the world am I going to do with my time? The gym, learn how to crochet, work overtime? I didn’t know. So one of my friends jokingly said, “You should see if there is a rugby team”. I did play in a rugby club for about a year in college (which equaled out to about 4 games), but I knew just the basics and the basics ONLY.  Pass backwards, run forwards, ruck and kick the ball if you can. Ha. If you only knew how clueless I was to what real rugby was all about. We didn’t have a coach or barely ever practice, nor did we even have a full team! But it was something to do at the time. I liked it, but no one really seemed to have a heart for the sport, so needless to say it wasn’t as fun as it is now… And so I took his joke serious, I could be active and meet new people, sounded good to me. So I googled ‘Rugby in Pittsburgh ,’ and came across the Pittsburgh Angels, looked through their pictures and read some about them and figured what the hell, I’ll give it a go. But what I didn’t realize was that I was about to join the most fun sport ever with a team who has so much knowledge, desire and determination for rugby.

First day of practice… dun dun dunnn. Wow. Three words. Out of shape. I remember running these hard core sprints and doing pushups in between which seemed like an eternity, (let me mind you that I spent the past 2 years of my life, nose in book all day and night, learning how to properly wipe a bum, my life was nursing school and I bartended on the weekends, no physical activity whatsoever).  So I was last and completely winded, but everyone encouraged me on and gave me positive boosts throughout the whole night. We ran and rucked and tackled and passed and kicked. I was a bit overwhelmed by the end of night, but deep down I really enjoyed every minute of it (even though I thought I was going to pass out by the fence multiple times). But after I took my spikes off, got a couple high fives, walked towards my car, I remember coach stopping me and saying, “Hey Kayla, good job tonight, I’ll see you Thursday.” It doesn’t sound like much, but what he said and the way the team treated me that night, there was no way I could turn down this opportunity, no matter how out of shape I was and how little I knew about the sport. I was in.

Long story short and actually getting to my point. I’ve played for the Angels for about 2 months now, and I have had an absolute blast with them. I’ve played different sports throughout my whole life and have never played on a team with so much skill, love, drive and determination for a sport. They have taught me so much as to what ‘real’ rugby is all about, and I love it. I respect this team and my coach with all I have and I have more faith in them than you can imagine. Whether I’m wing or running water out to my teammates after a try, I’m so pumped to be apart of this team and going to the National championship. It’s been an awesome journey, and it’s no where near over yet. The Pittsburgh Angels are going to Nationals. See you Monday with the title. Peace.

How is this championship going to be different than the one in 2006?  We are going to WIN it!

It’s hard to think about the differences from this year and the 2006 team.  I can come up with one!  The difference is that instead of 20 AWESOME Angels that played in 2006, we have 40 AWESOME Angel playing in 2009.  In 2006, we traveled by motor coach bus to Raleigh, NC with about 20 girls and we had to play 3 hard hitting, intense games in two days.  This year we have 30 some girls flying to Houston , TX to play 4 games in 2 days.  While we could’ve done the job in 2006, we had the passion, we had the desire, we just didn’t have the numbers.  This year, we have the passion, we have the desire, but this time we have the numbers!!!  It is not just the 15 people on the field, it’s also the 15 other people on the sidelines who can step on that field at any time and make the difference.

This opportunity is an exciting one!  I don’t even know how to begin to explain what it means to win a National Championship.  It’s one of the most surreal feelings in the world.  My senior year of college, we lost the National Championship by 1 try.  It was disheartening, I cried (only game I ever cried after), but the reason I cried wasn’t necessarily because the team lost, it was because I wanted so much to give my teammates the same feeling I felt 2 years earlier, the feeling of winning a National Championship.  That’s why this year is so important to me.  I want to give everyone of my teammates the gift of winning a National Championship!  That’s why I worked so hard to get back on the field this season, not just for me, but for all 40 of the Angels.  I want to experience the surreal feeling with this AWESOME group of girls and our dedicated, wonderful coach!

Trying to balance playing on a competitive sports team with work has never been a challenge for me; athletics have always been the priority, until now. This season is the first time in my entire life that I have actually had a professional career battling my athletic career.

I moved to Pittsburgh in May anticipating a fun and exciting Fall season with the Angels. Right off the bat, I was thrown in the mix and was right next to my new teammates doing cross-fit, running sprints, running for endurance, doing push-up competitions, minding my eating (and drinking) habits and all before even stepping on the pitch under the title of ‘Angel.’ I was pumped for the season to begin, but just as the season got underway, so did my career. I either had the option to say no to the Golf Channel gigs I was being offered and risk not getting asked again or accept and miss several rugby matches. I reluctantly, yet excitedly chose work over play.

The Golf Channel took me away from the Angels for a week at a time per show. I was only able to attend three games and missed a total of five because of my career (and one due to personal reasons). I have never missed that much of a season even because of injury in any sport since the age of five. I can only thank my teammates for working so hard in my absence and winning all the games I missed to bring us to this point in the season.

I hope that as I delve deeper into the television and A/V world, I will get enough work that I can pick and choose jobs and therefore get back the time I need to play on a competitive (and fantastic) athletic team like the Angels.

NATIONALS HERE WE COME!!

During my college rugby days and probably my first year or two with the Angels I would have picked a BIG hit, without question.  Crushing an opponent with a nice dump tackle, a tight ankle wrap, or a kick chasing tackle where they don’t even know it’s coming – or seeing one of my teammates do it – awesome.

But the last few years my absolute favorite moments in rugby games have been 2 on 1s.  I LOVE them.  I love running down the field with the ball in my hands and a teammate beside me, with only 1 defender to beat.  I love looking at that defender and waiting for her to make that fatal choice.  I can’t help smiling and thinking whatever she chooses she is going to lose.  If she decides to tackle me, a quick dish to my teammate pops her free for the score . . . and if she decides to cover my teammate I just keep on running.

It makes no difference who scores, and I am happy to be the ball carrier, the support player, or 20 meters back watching my teammates in awe, but is amazing to be able to play with a team where our fitness and support of one another on the field make these situations possible on a regular basis, and I love making them count!

Tonight is the last training session of 2009. Hard to believe.

What am I most proud of? The team articulated a goal and took all possible measures to achieve that goal. The spring was head-and-shoulders better than any previous year. Pre-season fitness started in July – and we had nearly 100% participation. If someone called the sprint workouts as “completely sadistic”… I would say they were being too polite. The workouts were worse. They tested the team’s commitment, physical limits and mental toughness. Hopefully, every player saw the dividends of their efforts through every win this season. Now, the fall season is complete and we are down to ten teams.

Only one will win the championship.

Tuesday’s training was great. We will be traveling with 30 players… 28 players were able to make training. The best part about Tuesday’s training: the whole field was available for us to use. I have told the players on many occasions that we should be proud of what we have accomplished considering the resources (or lack thereof) available. To be specific, the Angels trained all season in an area 30 meters wide x 40 meters long. That’s only 42% of the width of a regulation pitch and 28% of the length (if you include both ingoals). Ridiculous! Let’s make an analogy: it would be similar to the Steelers: “win a championship for the city, but you can only practice on a football field 33 yds long and 23 yds wide.”

Tonight’s challenges:

The first challenge will be keeping the team’s focus. There will be a TV crew from KDKA at training. I believe that they will conduct interviews before we start, then hang around for some footage and head out. Players need to remember: WE are the interesting story – the men with the cameras and microphones are not that interesting – they’re just people on the job – nothing more. We need to do what we do and pay no attention to the television personnel. (THANK YOU, KDKA for your support & coverage!)

Secondly, we need to put the pieces together. We will run through strategy A… then rehearse our contingency plans, strategies B and C.

Third, the team must remember the basics: Good passing/catching, depth and spacing, making proper decisions, possession!, body positioning, tackling the legs, etc.

Finally, I need to control team anxiety. All teams in the tournament have the same desire. Teams that can overcome the “championship jitters” will have an advantage. I’ll need to figure out a way to address this before we depart.