Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend the 2018 selection camp for the US wheelchair rugby national team. Before I get into the details of the camp, I’d like to share with you my rugby story. Although I cannot remember the first time I heard of wheelchair rugby, a friend showed me her chair and convinced me to come to a practice and watch. Shortly after observing a practice, I began practicing with the team. I attended my first rugby scrimmage in the spring of 2014. For the first few years, I was enrolled full-time in grad school which made it difficult to travel to tournaments and kept me from putting a lot of effort into the sport.
By fall 2016, I had completed grad school and also purchased a custom fit rugby chair. It was at this time I was finally able to commit more to playing. The more I played, the more I fell in love with the sport. Throughout my life I’ve always been involved in sports, starting with soccer when I was only six years old. Joining the local rugby team gave me not only that familiar feeling of being part of a team, but also taught me so much about life with a spinal cord injury. While I’ve always had a bit of the competitive side, I started playing rugby for the exercise and the fact that I finally felt like a part of something. I also simply enjoy playing. Part of me dreamed about being more competitive in the sport, but I did not think it was possible.
So when two members of the current national team reached out to me just before Thanksgiving, I was speechless.
Shortly after hearing from them, I got everything together and submitted a petition to be invited to the tryouts. By mid-December, I found out my petition was accepted and I was officially invited! I could hardly focus on anything for a few weeks because I was too excited (and maybe a little terrified). The holidays flew by quickly and next thing I knew I was on a plane to Alabama.
The first evening was spent being shown around the facility, eating dinner, and having a short orientation meeting. The real work began the following morning. The first thing we did after warming up was to push a mile around the track. This was something I had never done in my rugby chair, so from the start of the tryouts I was overwhelmed and tired. But even after being lapped by everybody else, I kept going and finished. I may have been the slowest, but I finished. The rest of the first session was filled with more skills tests designed to look at speed, endurance, and passing accuracy. Just when I thought we were about done, I realized we had to do another mile. This time we went the other direction, and somehow I finished quicker than the first one. By the end of that first session I was ready for a break. Especially because we still had two more sessions to finish before we were done for the day.
So you have an idea of the schedule, I posted it below. As you can see, breakfast was served at 6 AM and we had three sessions of rugby each day, with the last session ending close to 10 PM. Between sessions, I would eat something and spend about 30 minutes out of my chair to help relieve pressure and stretch out. It was exhausting, but I gave it my all.
Coming into the camp I had no idea what to expect. After all, only the best of the best wheelchair rugby athletes in the US are invited. Part of me still cannot believe that I was there! At the beginning of this post I mentioned I have only been playing for a short time, and still have a lot to learn. So you may be wondering why I was there.
A lot of it has to do with my classification as a player.
To play wheelchair rugby, you have to have physical impairments in both upper and lower extremities. Each player is classified based on how much function may have. Players with the least amount of function are classified as a 0.5, whereas players the most function are often classified as a 3.5. (For more detailed information classification-click here). That being said, wheelchair rugby is a coed sport so both men and women play together. Each team is allowed to have four players on court at the time and a total of eight points. However, if a female is on court an additional 0.5 points are allowed. Since I am classified as a 0.5, the eight points are essentially divided between three players, instead of four. This can be advantageous as it allows for different lineups than would normally be allowed.
Back to the tryouts
These were probably some of the most exhausting days I have ever had, but I always made sure to give it my all. In the end I was not chosen for the training team, but that is okay. Several cuts were made throughout the camp, and somehow I made it until the last day. I am not disappointed that I did not make the team, as I know I still have more to learn. I was simply honored to have the opportunity to be at the tryouts in the first place. Check out who did make the team here. Also a huge thank you to all of the staff at USA wheelchair rugby and everyone at the Lakeshore Foundation that made this possible. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next.
If you have any questions please let me know in the comments below! I’d love to hear from you.