The club will be traveling to the Can-Am Tournament in Lake Placid/Saranac August 2-4. The women will be having a captain's practice on Wednesday, July 24 and full practices Mon. July  29 and Wed. July 31. Practices will be held at Dick Green Field from 6-7:30ish. All are welcome (new players, visiting players, college players, etc.). Please contact us for more information.

The coed indoor sessions will start on the Wednesday, the 9th of January 2013 @ 9,45pm and are open to everyone, so please invite friends and anyone interested in playing.  The sessions will be held at Afrims Soccer Center in Colonie (636 Albany Shaker Road, (518) 438-3131).

You cannot wear studs or molded cleats.
 
There will be a $1.00 charge for the space per person per session, so please be responsible.  If you have any further questions and/or concerns, please either call or e-mail Charles.

Another fitness research that was provided over the summer were some links to training sites. Everyone needs a little something different, so find out what works for you!

Summer Conditioning for rugby players: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ss12.htm
Fitness conditioning in rugby training: http://www.fitnessvenues.com/uk/rugby-fitness-conditioning

When I am on the road or have limited time, I like to use short workouts posted by Albany Crossfit. These require no equipment, just space and determination! You can also use these to benchmark yourself, write down how many reps you do in a certain time, or how long it takes you to complete the workout, then the next time you can see how you are doing!
ACF WODs on the Road: http://www.albanycrossfit.com/information/wods-on-the-road/

Over the summer, Shannon posed this challenging workout to the team as a way to set a standard for yourself and to monitor your fitness.  It is pretty grueling!

Here it is:
75 burpees
75 jump rope (if you do not have a jump rope you can jump onto a 45 lb weight laying on the ground or something of similar height it, but they are only like $5 and good for quick explosive training. hint: we use those types of motions in rugby)
75 mountain climbers
75 squats (just air squats, but keep your chin and chest up)
75 crunches 75 lunges (75 for each leg, alternating, don't cheat biatches)
75 tricep dips (use a stair, a curb, or in a pinch a chair but that is a little high so you better do it right.)
75 alligators (these are the things we did toward the end of spring season, feet flat against a wall and in straight armed plank, then bend your knees to pull in toward the wall & push back out. Keep your back as flat as possible)
75 under the fence (on each side so if you dip right, then left, etc. Also called "under the wire" if you want to google it.)
75 seated rows (seated rows are when you sit and then pull back on the band so your hand get to your chest and then forward, back...like rowing a boat. All chest height. We use therabands, but this may be something you will have to modify depending on your resources, bands on a machine at the gym, maybe rows on a weight bench)
75 sphinx pushups (these things are cool, you start with a straight arm plank, then go down on one forearm, down on the second and then up and up, that is 1)

The goal is to do the whole thing in 40 minutes but if it takes longer, finish. Time how long it takes and that is your goal to beat next time you try it. You do not have to do each thing 75 times at once, form is more important. So if after 25 burpees you are looking more like a froggie jumping with a broken leg, switch to something else and come back to it. Or if you can only do 10 pushups in a row before you fall on your face, then do sets of 10. Have fun and drink lots of water during and after your workouts and replenish your salt (gatorade has lots of salt for example).

You should follow this up with some time doing abs (suitcases, knuckle touches, plank, toe reaches) if you can.

The Fall season is a big deal and we need to make the commitment to be in MUCH better shape. D1 is calling and we think we can show them what's up, but not if we have to start from ground zero in September. Whoop Whoop!!!

We know you missed it...Captain's Fitness Corner has returned!
THE Miss Shannon Wallace gave provided this workout to me last week and I will say...it's a doozy!

Do a little warmup jog or whatever you like first.

Note: Rest 15-30 seconds between consecutive sprints

(4) 25m sprints 
(10) pushups
Rest 1 minute

(2) 50m sprints
(15) burpees
Rest 1 minute

(2) 75 m sprints
(30) situps
Rest 1 minute

(1) 100m sprint
(20) squats
Rest 1 minute

(1) 100m sprint
(10) Star Jumps (I'm a star!) 

Woooo you are done and will probably want to lay on the ground for a bit.

Make sure to take some time to stretch when finished.

We need everyone to keep up their fitness this summer for the fall so be sure to do some fitness each week. And if you are really lost on how to do fitness, come to 7s practice on Tuesdays at 6 where Jo will happily whip you into shape for 2 hours!