Lady Cavs in Action!

Dr. Dad

Growing up in a family of four athletic girls it was always nice when we got injured to have a doctor in the family.   I think we may have taken it for granted when we sprained an ankle to have an immediate diagnosis and a plethora of braces and ace bandages.  We have all been through numerous injuries and so have many of our teammates.   Our Dr. Dad has always been there to not only help alleviate our pain but also any of our teammates that needed assistance.   Still to this day our dad is always willing to come to the rescue with any aches and pains we may have.

My favorite part of my dad's profession was his 'team doc' status at Chico State.   I remember feeling untouchable as my dad flashed his team doc badge and we were quickly ushered into football games. I loved going to football games with my dad.   I felt so special as I sat on the sideline with him and watched him work.  My sister and I would sit on the bench and giggle as watched the athletes spit and our jaws would drop when we heard them cuss.  This was a fun experience I vividly remember.  

For show and tell my dad would come to class and and put a cast on each of us.  He would patiently explain the casting process and how this fixed broken bones.  We had all our classmates sign a message on our cast.  We had the best show and tell in the school! 

No matter what the issue our Dr. Dad is our super hero and has always been there for us in our time of need. 

Ben and Ashley Azevedo

Try try try again...

In rugby when a player scores it is called a ‘try.’  It seems a very fitting name as it usually takes multiple attempts to put points on the board.  The team has to work together, passing the ball, creating holes and gaps in the defense, so that a player can hopefully sneak through and score.  Many times players will be knocked off their feet and get a mouth full of grass as the team works towards a try.  When this happens it is important you can trust you have teammates to protect you and the ball.  If you do not have ‘friends’ with you the ball could be turned over and the other team has major scoring potential. 

Many times you have to attempt different options in life and mark different ideas off your list before you are able to reach the back of the try zone and ‘score.’  I am finding it more difficult than I had expected to narrow down the many career options life has handed me.  As a friend told me you have to turn over ever puzzle piece before starting to connect and put the puzzle together.  I can truly identify with that.  I work diligently towards turning over my pieces one by one so that I can find what fits together. 

As in Rugby it is important to have a team with you for support and protection when life knocks you down.  Treading murky waters alone can be difficult and will not have the end result desired.  It is a lot less difficult when support is swimming alongside of you and encouraging you at each stop.   I may not know what exactly I want to do next, but for now I am enjoying seeing the try zone and running as fast as I can to get there.  Sometimes I reach it, but the times I don’t I know I can trust that my team will be there to back me.

Congratulations to the National Champion Lady Cavaliers!

 

How We Bean

#HowWeBean

In 2010 I was fortunate enough to join the likes of Amory Rowe and In The Arena.  It has been exciting to watch to the nonprofit grow and to now be partnered with L.L.  Bean.  The values the of the company fit nicely with the core of what In The Arena and all the athlete mentors stand for.

After receiving my new L.L. Bean tote I started to think about how my life has drastically changed over the last few months and how the items I carry have shifted.  I have ditched my helmet and traded my bobsled spikes for cleats.  The transition from bobsled brakeman to rugby rookie has been difficult, but enlightening.  Instead of heading to the Boys and Girls club, I now put my rugby ball in my L.L Bean tote and head to my new ITA project working with the high school rugby National Champions.  I try to be an example to them and hope they understand it is important to make the best out of every situation. 

I have also added school books into my L.L. Bean tote.  Along with all the changes in my life I am working towards narrowing down the career choices that interest me and taking a few classes seems to be the perfect way to do that. I keep a notebook with me to write down progress and contacts that I have made each day.    

In addition to the physical items in my L.L Bean tote bag I also have the things that I stand for and who I am.  My tote is sewn and stitched with my core values of integrity, honesty and courage.  No matter how the contents may change in the upcoming weeks, months and years these values will forever be ingrained in the fabric of my bag.

From Veteran to Rookie

I couldn’t help but laugh as I jogged out on the field to bring water bottles to my new teammates.  Here I was coming off what could have been considered my best bobsled season and instead of being at the Olympic Games I was running water out onto a Rugby pitch.  I was three days into my new found rugby experience and was already learning to put my ego aside and be patient with myself.   I have been considered a veteran in the sport of bobsled after an eight year career, but now here I am starting back at ground zero and being called a rookie, a word that I have not been called for close to a decade.  A rookie in rugby and what feels like a rookie in my new life.

I have beat myself up literally and figuratively over the past few months.  I now work on taking each day as an opportunity to find out what I want to do next.  And I try to take each practice as a learning experience.  I often find myself getting wrapped up in the idea of how I ‘should’ be doing instead of slowly enjoying the experience.  It is interesting how much sports can parallel life.  I can become overwhelmed with the idea of what I want to do with my life rather than being patient with the process and taking things one step at a time.  It is 100 percent the same in rugby.  This is a brand new sport that I have never been involved in, so regardless of anything I have accomplished in track and field or in bobsled I am a rookie.  I can, however, transfer over the athletic skills I have learned from 28 years of sports to help me progress just as I can use the contacts I have created to jumpstart my next life plan.

For now I am going to enjoy performing my rookie skits, completing my rookie ‘duties’ and you better believe if I am asked to run water out on the field I will be sure to get it there the fastest!