2018 Fall Preview
Women’s Side
Captains Casey Hartzell and Leni Ferreria are excited. And by excited I mean over the top, raw meat, baby you’re a firework, dancing pandas, honey badger found a free lunch with many beers, excited. With lofty goals of returning to playoffs and competing for the National Championship, the honey badgers have high expectations for this relatively young squad.
Looking to build from last year’s successes, Casey and Leni are looking to remedy last year’s near miss of a playoff berth. They hope that the strong connection in the back line, positive attitudes, and willingness of people to try various positions will continue into this new season. With this consistency, they also expect to see improvement in defensive toughness and strategy, confidence with decision making, and of course the dreaded fitness.
Like any good program, consistency is crucial. The coaching staff is returning, ready to meet the demands of the captains and players. With Dola’s somewhat complicated drills and Sloth and Fitz’s perhaps overly elaborate explanations, they fully expect to be targets of a new Kangaroo court tradition at the end of each match...players should look out for this as well. The team encourages past players to come out to practice to share their experience and get a few drills in!
With strong numbers at the first week of practice (including twenty players on a TUESDAY!), the honey badgers are poised to return to their rightful place on the national stage. If everyone buys in to the simple concept of always doing the right thing, these women can achieve the goals they have in mind.
Men’s side
Kick ass and win games. It’s that simple for Captain Colin Gottimer and the Severn River Men’s Team. Hoping to capitalize on their quickness and agility, Colin and the coaching staff are eager to push Severn River to be a force in the region.
Above all, Severn River is focusing on consistency this season and working as a unit. The team expects that everyone will show up to practices, games, fundraisers, and social events to build the strong relationships that are indicative of outstanding rugby clubs. If everyone commits to making the team a priority and holding themselves to the same standards as everyone else, then that attitude will translate onto the pitch as well. No one is bigger or more important than the team.
A majority of the returning players now have two or three years on their boots and with some new teammates from various clubs across the US, it will be exciting to see how the level of play improves this season. Like any program, it takes a tremendous amount of work and commitment to succeed and the men’s team is certainly on a strong path with their mindset.
Both the men’s and women’s teams will be away for their first two matches of the season. With the men facing Rocky Gorge on September 8th and the women traveling to Norfolk, both teams need to focus immediately to start their seasons on the right track. The home opener on September 22nd will be a shot at redemption for the women against Chesapeake and another solid test for the men against Frederick.
Let’s pack the pitch on September 22nd and give our men and women the boost they need from the 16th man!