ON THE ROAD AGAIN
There’s something about a long road trip that brings out the best (and worst) of us. Let’s start with the challenges.
A long ride. A packed van. A seat with no leg room. A van member who won’t stop snoring or chewing so loud you want to smack him. These are many of the challenges we have all faced on our annual trip to Utah and back. But I’m not done … A late arrival (I-70 traffic). A queen bed too small for two full grown rugby players. A continental breakfast that doesn’t inspire confidence the eggs were freshly cooked (spoiler alert … they weren’t). Add another additional 1000 feet of elevation, and you’ve got a mountain of things to whine and whinge about.
When you list all of these things out in succession as I have, it may all just sound like a list of excuses.
“Here are the reasons we struggle on the road”
“This is why it’s tough to win in Utah"
But let’s flip the script on road trips … let’s look at the positives.
A long ride = time to sit still and rest your mind.
A packed van = the chance to learn more about your teammates.
A seat with no leg room = a learning lesson to show up earlier to the carpool lot.
Late arrival due to traffic = more time to sit still and rest your mind.
An uninspiring continental breakfast = bonding with teammates over early morning yogurt cups.
A queen bed slightly too small for two = a chance to take one for the team and sleep on the floor.
My point is this, with a positive mindset, every challenge presents an opportunity.
The last Barbo team to win on the road in Utah. Fall 2021. Three players return this weekend (five years later) for redemption (Steve Karas, Dante Brown, Alex Schultz).
We have two options this weekend:
1) Keep making excuses, and keep losing on the road.
2) Turn challenges into opportunities and win the damn match!
It’s up to this group to decide which option we choose!
Gracjan Kujawa
Jacob Valdez
Ian Priest
Jacob Moss
Steve Karas
Jack Miller (C)
Alex Wormer
Ian Wormer*
Austin Moyer
Julian DeRaffele
Dante Brown
Alex Schultz
Henry Hackett*
Jack Vassar
Todd Oswald
Benji Hund
Sabin Simba
Kyle Hilyard
Logan White
Dillon Stander
Hunter Praksti
Juan Bialy
Will McCormick
*Barbarians Debut (XV’s League Play)
As Always, Bleed Green