Tumbleweed.

So I play rugby now. It is no longer just a rumor, I am officially on the BYU Women's rugby team. We have practice Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and on Saturday we have games. I had my first game two weeks ago. I should have put a post up to describe it but I think I needed some time to recover. I got to go in the game in the second half. I ran onto the field to join the girls that have played for at least a year, but the girls on the sidelines were supportive and cheered for me. I soon found myself running around diving at the other team- doing whatever it took to take them to the ground. It's amazing how much power an adrenaline rush has over you. You suddenly are willing to tackle a girl head on when she is running at you full speed. At one point in the game I got the ball passed to me and I did what I was supposed to do- Sprint. I broke through one tackle, then two, and found myself running all by myself with only five meters to the try line (like the end zone in football). Then it happened. All of a sudden I was face down on the ground. With no one else around me I had tripped and fell flat on my face. My teammates told me after that I had slid at least 5 meters and that my legs had flown over my head...My coach laughed as he said that he had never seen anything like that in the history of Women's Cougar Rugby. The forwards coach didn't say a single word to me except..."Hey Tumbleweed." Hence, my new nickname. Needless to say it was a memorable first game. No worries though- the only thing that got hurt was my pride and even that wasn't bad. It was too funny not to laugh about it.

Now- Last week on the otherhand I had my second game of the season. I was able to start this game (I guess my coaches had forgiven me of my previous tumble). I was determined to redeem myself and prove that I am an athlete and that I can run without falling. For the first 20 minutes of the game I didn't get much action playin on the outside of the field. After getting tired of not touching the ball one of the girls was about to go down in a tackle and I was able to grab the ball from her. I sprinted like I had done the previous game, except this time girls were trying to trip and tackle me. Yet I was determined not to fall this time. It worked and I managed to place the ball past the try line to score my first Try (Like a touchdown in football). My teammates and coaches were yelling "Go Tumbleweeed!!!" and "You didn't trip!" on the sidelines. It was nice to be able to jog back with my head held high this time:) So after scoring that try I am hooked on rugby. I love the girls on the team, the sport is a blast, and of course I love the exercise. Next weekened the team is off to California for the Pac Coast playoffs. It's the first round on the way to Nationals where we are seated 5th in the nation and 1st in Utah. So hopefully I can have pictures up and updates for you all!