At the end of my sophomore year, I'm pretty sure my friends didn't get it. "I can't go out, I have a rugby game," I would say every Friday night to quell their pleading questions as to why I wasn't out, dressed and ready to party.
I said this just about every Friday night for the next two and a half years, through groans and moans, "I can't go out, I have a rugby game." Sure it was tough watching the mobs of stumbling co-eds hike to their next party or bar, but Saturday was not that far away.
Being on the rugby team here has taught me a great many things; positive body image and self-confidence, how to ruck, scrum and maul, team and leadership skills, as well as how to drink from a dirty boot. I'm not the only one who has learned, I have had the pleasure of watching my rookie class learn the same lessons as I did, and together we watched rookies after us learn the same things. Through the good, the bad and the ugly, we have survived everything imaginable and we survived it all together.
Rugby didn't make up my entire college career. I am a Southwest-South girl at heart and my friends from Poli-Sci TAP and Sweet 16/third floor of John Adams Tower deserve a hearty shout-out. But in the end, there are just some things that only my rugby girls can understand.
Together, we invaded Cocoa Beach with our bikinis, board shorts and sports bras pretending to cover our massive black-and-blues. Where ever we went, it looked either like the battered women's shelter or a female detention center on a field trip because between the bruises and our rough-housing, it was often hard to tell.
We learned how to win and lose together. I never in my life thought that I would spend more time crying about a lost game or a missed try instead of a torn ACL - but I did. We were all like that and still enjoy the same "rugger" mentality. I have seen people play with broken bones just because our coach, Frank, asked them for a second half, Most of the time, Frank wouldn't even need to ask because we wanted to play.
We grew as a family on and off the field, becoming more like sisters than friends or just teammates. I trusted the girls of the rugby team with my proudest moments and also my most shameful. We shared hilarious stories of weekends long forgotten and reminded each other of one's that we wouldn't let ourselves live down.
Rugby has shaped a large part of who I am today. I would be lying if I said it didn't. I have met some of the best friends a girl could have - the toughest trash-talkers this side of Springfield and girls brave enough that they would try anything at least once.
I would like to say that I will never forget the times that we have shared; on our pitch, at Frank's or at socials, formals and in the football stadium bathroom dripping wet after a game. Thank you for making me Slam and never stop being creepy and weird, and don't forget that Saturday is a rugby day.
Amber "Slam" Vaillancourt was a copy editor and part of the news staff at The Daily Collegian. She was also a prop for the UMass Womens Rugby Team.
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