Housing Assignments and Sprints

After paying my deposits I have registered for classes and been granted a housing assignment in the CWU dorms.  I lucked out and got into the brand new building, which are a set of suites.  I wasn't trying to share a room with someone (I've done that dance, both by my will and by Uncle Sam's) so this is a pretty substantial weight off of my shoulders.

Unfortunately, every Paramedic prereq was full, so I'm in for at least a two year ride at Central... which is fine, but I was hoping it would be a choice rather than a mandate.  Taking gen ed classes, Health, Comp Sci, Geography.  Doing the whole student thing.

As far as furthering myself as a rugger, it's been sprints in cleats, shuttle runs, and runs that start from being on my back.  Desert Hills has also rolled out their blocking sled for football.  Something tells me that they don't appreciate me pushing it a complete 180° from how I find it every evening, but that's life, and I gotta practice my scrum push somehow.  Squats probably work well, but it feels a bit more savage to slam into a device created to resist you and defy it's design.

Also my shoe fetish is rearing it's head again, and I want a second pair of boots regardless of the fact that I've never set foot on the school's pitch.  Oh and that whole deal that boots are a pretty position-dependent item and I'm not guaranteed the position I want, regardless of how superb a 7 I will be.  I was reading an article about open-side flankers that used the line, "a position of flair and workmanship." 

Sounds like me.

This Blog Is Now About Rugby.

3 weeks ago I received some life-changing news.  I have been admitted to Central Washington University.

It isn't Yale or CSU Fullerton or Johns Hopkins or any of my other dream colleges, but it is a real university with the program I've come to see as my calling in life: EMT-Paramedic.  And for a kid with parents just poor enough to fuck him out of financial aid but not able to actually assist with college fees, this is a pretty big deal.

Yet what I am most excited for is the fact that Central has a rugby team.  And it is a good, competitive rugby team.  For someone who was undersized for athletic endeavors in high school, being able to take up a team sport where people are unlikely to have an experience edge is incredibly appealing.  So appealing that I have been busting my ass nightly with working kicks and sprints to get where I am not a detriment to my future squad.

If I end up doing 4 years at Central, I want to be the captain of the team before I leave the pitch for my final college game.

No point in playing if you aren't competing at the highest level you can.

Or really doing anything, in my opinion.

Boring specifics that only ruggers will care about?
I want to play openside flanker.  Often trusted to be the most physical and fit person on the team.  At 5'10 I'll be undersized and plan to put on an extra sheet of quality muscle before the season starts to help compensate.
I ordered a pair of Canterbury Wero Pro boots, and love them.  It is strange to run in screw-in cleats though, they seem much heavier than any other footwear I've owned.

4 weeks until first practice.

20 until first game.

Tomorrow I go up to Ellensburg for advising, housing, and VA help.

Wish me luck.