For many members of the Dartmouth men's rugby team, Summer term provides a refreshing break from the grueling training and game schedule of the regular season. For 19 team members from the Class of 2013, however, summer will entail a strict training calendar to prepare for the fall Ivy League season.
Although it is a club sport, Dartmouth rugby has many of the demands of varsity athletics. The team competes in the Ivy League in the fall season, requires a rigorous strength training regiment in the winter and participates in the College Premier Division in the spring.
"We have practice two or three times a week during the summer," Shea Smith '13 said. "During the year, we generally have four or five practices a week plus games on Saturday."
Team members also emphasized the importance of improving physical development over Summer term.
"Summer is a time to work hard and get stronger," Matt Robinson '13 said. "We have a three or four-day weight training program. By the end of the summer, I'm going to be in the best shape of my life."
Dartmouth rugby's recent win in the 2011 National Collegiate Sevens Championship gives the team an extra incentive to work hard this summer.
"After Dartmouth won the National Collegiate Sevens Championship, the team has high expectations," Chris Zhao '13 said. "We all want to train hard and be ready to compete at that level next season."
Coach Alexander Magleby will frequently be away from campus this summer as he travels to coach the College All-American Team, increasing the responsibility of team leaders.
Christian Fisch '13, the team's membership chair, said recruitment is also an important part of summer preparations.
"Members of the Class of 2015 will contact me this summer, and when they visit I'll show them around and talk about rugby culture and show them the clubhouse," he said. "I'm also trying to get more current Dartmouth students to come out and try rugby."
Although the team plays 15-man rugby in the fall, the summer squad plays sevens because there are only 19 players on campus.
Sevens is a game that focuses more on quickness than the 15-man game, which is much more physical in nature. Several players have emphasized that the training for sevens will make them much faster on the rugby pitch.
Since the team is much smaller during Summer term, many team members have recruited their friends from other sports teams to play sevens this summer.
Chris Hanson '13, a member of the men's squash team, said he is excited to practice and compete with the rugby team this term
"Quickness and leg strength are extremely important in squash," Hanson said. "I think using rugby as cross-training to aid in those areas can really help my squash game."
Chris De Souza '13 a former member of the men's soccer team also said he will join the rugby team this summer, citing his friends' involvement on the team as a primary reason.
"A lot of my friends play rugby and I've always wanted to try it out," De Souza said. "I think the informal nature and intimate setting during the summer makes it an opportune moment to try something new."
The team will aim to compete in four tournaments over the summer months. Most of those tournaments will be against club teams, since a majority of colleges are not in session.
"We just signed up for our first tournament," summer treasurer Casey O'Keefe '13 said. "We have a solid group this summer, and ideally we'll finish strong in the three-four tournaments where the club is planning to compete."
The team's first tournament will be on July 7 at the Eric White Memorial Sevens in Springfield, Mass. The team is also planning a sevens tournament at home during the weekend of July 30-31.
