Rugby Boys Step Up Their Game

All that was missing was pink leg warmers.

As the Harvard men’s rugby team lumbered into the large recreational room in the MAC, it was hard for any of them to keep a straight face. The boys could hardly believe their coach had scheduled a step aerobics class as part of their training. Not only were they going to be bopping on small exercise blocks to “Jock Jams,” but their workout would be in full view of the babe-filled MAC cardio room.

The team’s step class began early this winter, when head coach Bob Karetsky sought out the help of athletic instructor Dawn Murdock to design a “boot-camp style” weekly workout for his boys.

“It was a great way to break up the pattern of training,” says Karetsky.

Though he was skeptical when he first heard about the addition, Colin P. Kelly ’08 says ultimately the classes were “the toughest workouts of [his] week.”

Those workouts were essential for the impending spring season, which will include the team’s upcoming trip to Brazil to battle the under 23 National Team in Rio De Janeiro. Once they dealt with their embarrassing lack of rhythm, the hard work started to really pay off.

Backs captain Timothy R. Naylor ’06 has “noticed a significant difference in the overall fitness of the team.”

He did not say whether he had noticed any of his teammates buying leg warmers.