"In all my years traveling around the world, I have witnessed soccer as the one thread that many cultures and people have in common," -Doug Band.

Help bring the World Cup to the United States in 2018/2022! Please visit gousabid.com for more ways you can support the sport- and the country- that you love.

What it Means to be a Real Team: USA Women's Rugby

posted by MarieS, a Women Talk Sports blogger
today, August 7, 2010 at 11:29am PDT

About MarieS:

Marie Spano, MS, RD/LD, FISSN, CSCS is one of the leading sports nutrition and nutrition communications experts in North America. Currently serving as Vice President of the International Society of S...more

The Women's Rugby team members hail from throughout the U.S. and Canada. They come from very different backgrounds, have different jobs and range in age from 21 to 39. And I've never seen a team more cohesive then this group of women.

In July the team gathered in one place, Brunswick, ME, for pre-World Cup training camp. I flew up to ME to work with them on the performance nutrition aspect of their training program. Many players did a lot of things very right (as evidenced from their diet records) and they had an array of delicious healthy choices available in the cafeteria at Bowdoin College. But what struck me more then their diets, supplements and overall lifestyle habits (which really impact what someone eats and how they train) is how cohesive the women were. Then genuinely care for one another. They look out for their teammates, provide a helping hand when needed, gather together at night to enjoy their free time by playing Guitar Hero on the Wii or biking around campus and hold each other accountable. Led by a handful of women including former World Cup players and now coaches Kathy Flores and Candi Orsini, this team has molded together to form one functioning unit.

I can make an athlete bigger, faster, stronger and help them shed body fat. But, what I saw in Maine was something so unique, so special that it left me speechless at times. I have no idea how you build a team like that (other then on TV aka Friday Night Lights). I can only guess it has something to do with the women Flores and Orsini choose to be on the team and how they interact with their players to take a group of players and make them a World Class World Cup team.

To learn more about our US Women's Team road to the World Cup, click here.

The youngest and oldest members of Team USA

View MarieS's Profile

Filed Under:
Rugby

Calendar

Women's Rugby World Cup

No one has commented on this yet. Be the first!

SIGNUP FOR A WOMEN TALK SPORTS ACCOUNT:

A Women Talk Sports account allows you to maintain a profile at www.womentalksports.com and login to comment on posts using your WTS identity.

Fields marked with a * are required.

Your First Name*:

Your Last Name*:

Your E-mail*:

Your Website:

Your Location:

Your Twitter Username:

Create a WTS Username*:

Create a Password*:

Confirm Password*:

Check here to receive bi-weekly emails from Women Talk Sports and partners highlighting discussions on our site and upcoming women's sporting events, as well as informing you of new products, services and special offers.

I accept the Terms & Conditions for joining Women Talk Sports