After scrimmaging on the muddy West Campus fields for four hours, Women's Rugby Captain Kristen Snyder realized that her team roster could be the biggest it has ever been.
The women's rugby team held its annual Rookie Day on Sunday inviting new players to come out to get a feel for the game, drill, scrimmage and become aquatinted with the present team.
All the girls that participated in Rookie day will join the veterans this weekend in the Bean Town Tournament in Boston.
"We use Rookie Day to show new players who we are, what we're about and to break any negative stereotypes. The amount of girls that came out this year is incredible. All we did was post information on our web site and gave out flyers and more than 40 girls showed up. It's nuts," Snyder said.
Returning players taught the newcomers the basics with an inner-squad scrimmage, conducted various tackling and passing drills, and showed them a DVD of a professional game. Although the team is focusing primarily on speed this upcoming season, Coach Pete Steinburg has been attempting to attract multiple types of players for his team.
"Rugby is the only tackle sport for women and the female students who are now at Penn State grew up in a culture that says it is OK for women to play sports. They are now saying, 'My brother can tackle, why can't I?'" Steinburg said.
After breaking the ice on Rookie Day, the team is utilizing the Bean Town Tournament for team bonding and experience and concentrating less on winning.
"Every year we're usually successful at this tournament. We've won it the past couple of years, but this is more of a fun experience. It's a perfect time to mix the players and we can all teach each other and improve together," Snyder said.
Since the traveling roster is so large, the playing time for each player will be limited. Steinburg has a positive attitude and high hopes for the season after the team fell to Stanford in the finals during the final play last spring. Using the fall as a time for development, Steinburg hopes to bring the rookies up to speed with the collegiate game of rugby.
"We have some great incoming freshmen who have played before, and will end up contributing when we get to the playoffs in the spring. Penn State rugby has a tradition of success (12 out of the last 13 final fours). This team has the potential to continue that run," Steinburg said.
Throughout the week, Snyder said that the rookies that came into practice showed exceptional talent and competitiveness and even tackled some of the veterans. Snyder has no doubt that they will fit in with the rest of the team.
"[Coach] Pete has a famous quote that we always say right before we play our first game. 'You go to the Bean Town Tournament as a rookie and you come back a rugby player,'" Snyder said.
