learning how to scrum and ruck and everything in between.

Today, I learned how to play rugby! It is one of the few team sports that I have yet to try so playing was an exciting experience. We were taught by the Trojans coach and a representative from the Australian rugby league at the same place that we saw the Trojans have their training session (practice) last night. We started off with dynamic warm ups all of which I had done before in track and cross country. Then they taught us the basics of throwing and catching. My initial reaction was to throw it like a football, but apparently you're actually supposed to toss it from your hip. I was also surprised by how light the ball was and the basketball-like texture it had. Once we mastered that, we added in running to throwing and catching. So far the drills were simple enough, and once we did a mini scrimmage I was feeling pretty good about it. Then we started learning how to properly fall and how to tackle. Luckily I was partnered with Lexi so we had fun with it and weren't afraid to deck each other. After some more tackle drills and learning how to ruck and scrum, we played a real touch scrimmage. Although I do not foresee myself becoming a professional anytime soon, it was fun to learn how to play a new game. It also helped me understand the rules of the game so I won't be lost when we watch the Trojans play tomorrow!

We had the afternoon off, so a group of us went on a walk to Lennox Pointe, which is the same place I had ran to a couple of days ago. Today was probably the nicest day we had experienced so far (sunny and 70s--I wish this is what Michigan winter looked like) so I'm glad we were able to go on a short and relaxing hike.

When we returned, we had a reflection session within the athletic training students which was actually helpful because we were able to discuss everything we had encountered so far. Our main topic of conversation was athletic training in other countries. Since the athletic training career is only present in the US and starting to grow in Japan and Taiwan, it is interesting to see what other countries do instead. Most other countries utilize a combination of physicians, emergency medics (for competition) physios (physical therapists), and strappers (people who solely 'strap' which we call tape). All of their roles put together make up some of the duties of an athletic trainer. It makes me curious why it is other countries do not have athletic trainers because there is obviously a need, but I cannot even imagine the process of trying to begin that career in other countries when it is still growing and gaining recognition within the US after almost half a century. It is for this reason that I chose to take this international sports medicine course abroad--to learn more about what other countries do instead and maybe figure out a way to spread athletic training to other countries.