Rugby?

[zachary2777]

I know there are some ruggers on this board and I have a question for you. I'm a 1/C middie and have been selected for SNA. Now I love playing rugby, but I'm worried about getting injured this semester. Two of my good friends wrecked their shoulders bad enough last fall to warrant surgery and 6 months of recovery. I figure that if something like that happens to me in the coming months, I'm reasonably fucked for flight school right? So, right now I'm leaning towards hanging up my boots and just PTing. Thoughts?

Thanks.

 

[Slammer2]

When I found out that I was selected to go to OCS, I stopped playing. I just practiced with the team and didnt play any games. I had a mild knee iinjury that I didnt want to screw up.

 

[Afterburner76]

Ah, good ol' ORM. Risk vs reward. I'd say, it ain't worth it, stop playing... once you wing, play in local union/summer-7's leagues all you want!

 

[NeoCortex]

I played for 2.5 years in college and stopped once I was in flight school. I figure after I get my wings I can start playing again. I'm just alittle too worried about injuries.

 

[zachary2777]

yea I figure the navy has a better reason to hang on to me after they spend all that cash if I get hurt. Well, off to practice, might be the last one! Fuck astroturf btw... that shit burns.

 

[scoober78]

Good advice so far...you seem to get the point. I stopped riding my motorcycle until winging.

 

[Junior]

Landing on the boat was a greater high than rugby ever gave me. I still miss playing but can't justify the risk.

 

[insanebikerboy]

Well, I guess I'll go against the grain here. I play, not as much as I'd like with being busy with flight school, but I play nonetheless, plus I'm a tighthead prop so I take some pain and beating. My point of view is that you can break a leg walking down stairs or throw your back out taking the trash out. May be considered stupid to some but I enjoy the game so I'll keep playing.

Oh, and the motorcycle ridin' gets me there and back

 

[MasterBates]

Yep, I rode my Motorcyle during flight school. (Still do, its my primary transport).

Did not race MX anymore though. That would have been asking for trouble if I got hurt..

Remember, if you totally aviod all risk that is not the "intention" of ORM. However, if some sort of PPE is needed, you best be wearing it, or the LODI is not going to be kind to you.

Not sure what your wing is like, but here in TW-4 you have to do a deliberate ORM on any high risk activity, and get a letter/page 2 from STUCON.

I walked into the office with pretty much every form filled out. They were cool about it. But, I would not want to be an ENS that got fvcked up on a Jetski or Mountain bike that did not have his paperwork done..

 

[zachary2777]

yea I'm a lock so I'm right in the shit... I'm not some pussy fly half or some other back. I might play once I get my wings, but based on my previous thoughts and those of others on this board, I think I'm going to hang up my boots. I love rugby, but I love the idea of flying more. I could play and I'd probably be fine, but it's just not worth it in the ORM sense. Thanks for the replies guys.

 

[insanebikerboy]

Not a bad decision at all, that's the beauty of "ORM'ing" stuff like rugby.

One thing to think about once you get out of school is that the level of the rugby may go down compared to what you're used to right now. For example, around P-cola are several teams, with a mix of guys right out of college and then guys that are in their 30's and 40's. So, the intensity level may not be the same as when you were in college, i.e., won't hit as hard, the game doesn't move as fast. Just something to consider once you get down here.

Oh, and not saying guys in their 30's and 40's don't hit hard, I've had my bell rung plenty of times. It's just that they, as a majority, learn how to tackle better (yes, American rugby players tackle like it's football, causing many more injuries) than when younger b/c they need to to be just as effective.

 

[raptor10]

I know there are some ruggers on this board and I have a question for you. I'm a 1/C middie and have been selected for SNA. Now I love playing rugby, but I'm worried about getting injured this semester. Two of my good friends wrecked their shoulders bad enough last fall to warrant surgery and 6 months of recovery. I figure that if something like that happens to me in the coming months, I'm reasonably fucked for flight school right? So, right now I'm leaning towards hanging up my boots and just PTing. Thoughts?

Thanks.

My mom doesn't think you should be playing rugby... in fact she doesn't think you should be doing lots of things, like drinking for instance

 

[Rugger]

I played a lot of rugby before getting to NPA but hung up my boots while I was there. (Confession - I did get in on some 7s every now and then, just to get my fix. I found that the extra time I put into running instead of rucking and hitting made me much quicker.) You can play rugby into your 40s, but that window for flight school is pretty narrow.

As for quality of play, I found that a lot of younger ruggers tend to play like frustrated football players. I've really enjoyed playing with bubbas more time on the pitch who've really finessed their skills.

After you get winged, if you can get your command to sign off on it, you should try out for the All Navy/All Marine Corps/All Militay teams. It's the closest most come to being a professional athlete. Messages come out about once a year, in the spring, I think.

 

[Fmr1833]

Any ruggers in Oak Harbor? I've been looking but there doesn't seem to be a club here at Whidbey. WTF?