A New Challenge... Monday, September 16

It was a brutally rainy day, with meetings and a few fighters having to cancel their boxing with me because of it.  And yet there I was, in the early evening, jumping on an Angkas to trek through the total downpour, heading to a rugby meeting I wasn't even sure why I had got asked to attend. 

Tonight there was a rugby meeting for the 2019 and 2020 Wider Training Squad for the Women's Seven Program, a new collection of female rugby players launched by the Philippine Rugby Football Union.  Most of which, I should note here, are Lady Volcano players -- players from the national team.  A good number of these national team players actually are on my Lady Mavericks team, am proud of that, and the skill they bring to the game is nothing short of inspiring and awesome.

Anyways, the point of this new Wider Training Squad, from my understanding, is to further support not only the national team members but also those whom they see in potential in becoming national players.  I take it that's why I was invited because I am not actually a national player.  I can't be one till I've been in the Philippines for three years and, of course, up my skills (trying on that!!!).

Those in this squad have the potential to participate in the following:

• Tokyo 2020 Olympic Qualifications
• 2019 Southeast Asian Games
• 2020 Asia Seven Series

That alone is enough reason why to kick up my training and zoom in more on upping my rugby skills.  I don't think I'll get picked for any of the above, definitely not at the level of game I'm currently playing, but I definitely appreciate the potential opportunity and being considered.  I've been asked to start training with this squad also, in addition to training with the Lady Mavericks, so I'll be doing rugby 4 nights a week now.  

I'm definitely humbled at the idea of being allowed to train with the national team but it's also very intimidating.  I know many of the players and they're all super encouraging and supportive, but my concern is that in training with them, I don't want to hold them back during their training or possibly discourage them with my own struggles to up my skills.  I guess, at this point, all I can do is give it a try and see how it goes.  After all, if they didn't think I was a good potential, they wouldn't have proposed this to me and asked me to join.