Throughout my tenure with the Denver Barbarians, I’ve always appreciated the experience of succeeding as a team. A full-contact sport (for 80 minutes with minimal breaks) forces the group to tighten up and act as one.

As a young player, I was blessed with the opportunity to do my one and only job: play rugby for the Denver Barbarians. I was in my early 20s, working throughout the week to play a beautiful game on the weekends. When we were victorious, the joys of a Saturday night out with the boys were hard to top.

What I did know was how much fun I was having.

What I didn’t know was how lucky I had it.

I was too young and naïve to understand how much support my team was receiving off the pitch -- too clueless to comprehend how much work, planning and organizing the Executive Board was doing each year -- too blissfully ignorant to understand how our club funded our fun.

All of the “behind the scenes” work was exactly that. It didn’t come with a badge of honor or a thank you card. It’s the type of work done by those who are selflessly invested in the next generation of our legacy. It’s the work that allows the players to do their one and only job: play rugby for the Denver Barbarians.