After a couple of years of not having a girls rugby team for a while, Muskego girls finally got a team back! The girls are working hard to make it the best first season back that they can. Practices started in July and the girls are working hard and a lot of progress since the first practice.

This year, the team has three coaches to help the girls have a successful season: Coach Rouse, Coach Aprahamian, and Coach Scrummy. All coaches play on their own rugby team outside from coaching and the other jobs they have. Coach Rouse works with the back line,  Coach Aprahamian works with the forwards, and Scrummy works with the scrum half and helps with the line outs. But all coaches work with each girl no matter what their position is, to give them tips on how to be a better rugby player.

When people think of rugby they think that it is hard, dangerous, and a lot of people get scared because of what they hear about the sport, but when people get to know the sport they understand that it is not all that. Bella Walek says “my first thoughts on rugby were that it would be hard and that I would get to tackle and be aggressive with others. I also thought that it would be a very challenging concept to understand. Now that I have learned about the game, I look at this sport as being very aggressive, an organized mess, fun, and I look at it with lots of respect.”

A group of all grades, some girls have experience walking into this sport and some had absolutely none, from the first practice the girls have definitely grown in a lot of areas. Rouse says “We have grown so much from the first day to now. Our passes, our lines, and overall play looks good. We still have a ways to go, however, from the progress I am seeing I know we can be a real contender in a year or two” The more the girls practice the better the team will get, they are a great group of girls that built a bond that is unbreakable, it isn’t just a team it is a sisterhood. 

A lot of first years for the girls, Zoie Price is one of the girls who has never played before, she is having a good year so far, “Being that this is my first year, I had no clue what to do. I didn’t even watch a rugby game before I joined. When practices first started I thought I would never grasp the full understanding of a game, or even how to throw the ball correctly. Although I goof around at practice and sometimes it seems that I don’t care, my life right now is centered around Rugby. I started exercising more so I could be a more dependable player for my coaches. I try to be a leader during practice so I can help other people understand, which helps me understand my teammates and build a relationship with them” said Price. 

When it comes to any team there are always goals for the players and coaches for the team as a whole, but their individual goes as well, “the goal for the team would be to continue to improve on basics and win at least one game. My personal goal for myself is to create an environment where players learn, have fun, and feel a sense of belonging” said Rouse.  All the players have their own goals too, Walek said for her goal “My goal for this season is to gain better endurance, aggressiveness, and strength along with being encouraging to others. My goal for the team is to gain as much trust as we can in one another so that we can all rely on each other. Another goal I have for the team is to become better athletically and to have good sportsmanship, communication, and to increase our fitness”. The girls this year are going to do whatever they can to achieve their goals. 

The girls had their first game last weekend against CMH, Muskego lost but the girls fought hard and didn’t give up. A lot of things went well for the game but just like any other sport, there is always room for improvement. Walek says “things that went well after our first game against CMH was that we were all able to work as a team. We all pushed ourselves and we all helped each other. Some things that could be improved is further developing our skills, form, and endurance along with further developing our communication with each other.” The girls will work on developing their skills during practice so they can be ready for future games. 

This weekend the girls are taking on DSHA at 9am. The girls have been working hard this week at practice to try and win this weekend. The girls have their goals on how they can improve themselves from the first game we had,  Price said “For our next game, I can improve throwing people into rucks and being that crash behind the scrummy, so she has someone to depend on. Drinking more water, watching more games, learning how to run and keep up a good pace after I am tired, practicing our defensive line up, cheering our players on. All these things I can work on but a big one is practicing tackling or getting tackled so I learn how to fall correctly and not get hurt”. DSHA is a good team, but Muskego has been practicing a lot, Rouse says “if we follow through and ruck our players, we will have a good chance of keeping it close”. 

Goodluck to the girls this weekend against DSHA and all the upcoming games!