Jack's First Rugby Game!

The Smith Family's First Rugby Game

Trayon, Craig, Jack, and Johnny...fathers and sons

Saturday was it...the big day. The day that, honestly, I have been waiting for for the 7 years Johnny and I have been together. We finally brought our family out to a rugby game. It was a precious moment...the first of many.

You may wonder why I would be so excited for Jack's first game. After all, I'm not the one who coaches rugby and I've certainly never played it. My excitement can be traced back to the first time I ever saw anything related to rugby at all. One afternoon I was walking on the track at Pritchett Field at Sam Houston. I noticed that some guys were out on the field playing with a strange looking ball, tackling one another, and occasionally kicking. I quickly gathered that this was rugby. As I walked, I watched and admired the physicality of the game but also noticed something that I thought was even cooler than guys hitting one another. On the sideline, one of the players was standing there with a stroller next to his wife and in the stroller was a very cute little baby girl. When the boys came off the field, they would coo at the little girl and she would coo back. I thought there was nothing better than to see young men who were not afraid to show their "softer" side without fearing retaliation from their peers. I thought to myself at that point that I would love to be a part of that family atmosphere. 

Fast forward about 10 years. God has answered my prayers to have my own little family be part of an even bigger rugby family. I have a wonderful husband who, while he would love for Jack to play rugby, understands that he can't force it on him. My little boy loves being outside and watching the players and other people. He seems perfectly content to be on the sideline. We have wonderful friends who love and support us no matter how long it has been since we've seen them. I love that my son will grow up seeing young men laugh, cry, sweat, and bleed together. I love that he will always have role models and know what it means to be a humble winner and a good sport. Most of all, I love that we will spend our weekends doing something as a family. Welcome to rugby, Jack. It's going to be a very important part of your life. 

(Oh...for the record, A&M won all 3 of their games in The Woodlands tournament...what is it you Aggies say? Whoop?!)