We are delighted to have resumed rugby training at our facilities at the Prusmack Rugby Complex. It has taken a significant effort from the players, medical staff and coaches to get us back safely.
We commenced phase one of our re-socialization to rugby, three weeks ago, on the Yard. During phase one, the Midshipmen trained in small pods with the main focus on conditioning. If any player demonstrated symptoms of Covid-19, we could shut down the pod of players as opposed to completely halting all rugby activity. Thankfully, no Navy Rugby player has shown any new signs of coronavirus to date.
During phase one we came up with a “bus plan” to get us safely back to the Brigade Sports Complex. It proved challenging to get our 170+ Midshipmen transported to by two buses, while maintaining social distancing guidelines. As a result, our men’s and women’s teams are currently training on alternate days at the BSC. We are nearing the end of phase two of our re-socialization to rugby, which has seen our pods size double and more focus on rugby skill work.
We are hoping to enter into phase three of our plan by the end of the week which should see some more easing of restrictions on the size of our training pods and allow us to slowly build up our levels of contact. We will continue to train on alternate days for now and will continue to abide by our re-socialization and bus plans.
I want to commend the Midshipmen for their patience and commitment to making these plans work.
We hope to play against our fellow Service Academies this Fall with tentative dates against Army scheduled on October 31st in Annapolis, followed by November 14th at West Point. We are waiting for Army to confirm these fixtures. We are exploring all options to try to get to the Air Force Academy in early November as well as hosting a return game in Annapolis. Details to follow once the games are confirmed.
Our Decades’ Zoom calls have been completed and were a lot of fun! It was great to meet so many Navy Rugby alumni and to hear so much about our rich history.
I would like to extend a warm welcome back to USNA to LtCol Roy Nicka ‘00. LtCol Nicka played hooker for Navy Rugby, before going on to serve as the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 251 Commanding Officer. LtCol Nicka is the USNA Marine Detachment Chief of Staff. We are delighted to welcome LtCol Nicka and his family back to Annapolis and are excited to have him on board with us as our Officer Representative.
Our “Meet the Mids” feature is up and running. Each month we will chat with rugby playing Midshipmen and find out why they came to rugby and what they have learned by being part of the Navy Rugger family. We kick off the series with conversations with 1/C Elena De La Rosa and 1/C Jacob Dewey.
With You,
Gavin
