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Out of school and away from their teams, how do McMaster's athletes spend their time off?
In December, the Silhouette asked athletes how they spent their winter break. With a much longer summer break quickly approaching, it only seemed right to check back in with Marauders athletes as to how they’ll be spending their summer.
McMaster’s men’s rugby team played their last game of the season on Oct. 23, but that doesn’t mean their training has stopped. Matthew Bazinet, a member of the team, took the time to discuss the training that the team has undergone thus far and the training that its members will be taking on over the course of the summer.
Heading into the summer offseason, or as Bazinet called it, the “pre-season,” the team continues to hold high expectations of their players in preparation for the season to come. They are provided with training regimes prior to their departure which they must follow almost religiously, regardless of whether they’re able to stay at the school.
“During the pre-season we are [supposed] to go to the [high performance area] at McMaster. There are certain workouts that you have to complete two to three times a week . . . We focus on growth, so getting bigger and staying healthy and functional,” said Bazinet.
“During the pre-season we are [supposed] to go to the [high performance area] at McMaster. There are certain workouts that you have to complete two to three times a week . . . We focus on growth, so getting bigger and staying healthy and functional."
Matthew Bazinet, a member of the McMaster Men's Rugby Team
He really stressed the importance of building muscle for the team, mentioning the HPA several times as a critical component for pre-season training. During the summer months McMaster keeps the HPA open through extended hours in an effort to aid its athletes in finding the time in their schedule to keep improving. However, this is only a help to those who opt to remain in Hamilton during their time off.
“The HPA at McMaster, for people who stay in Hamilton, stays open, and they widen their times so that people who work different shifts are still able to come in and make their lift times. Then, for people that go home [outside of Hamilton], they have to have a sit down with the coaches to discuss where you’re going to be working out, how you’re going to be working out, if you can’t follow the HPA lifts [exactly], how are you going to substitute the exercises,” explained Bazinet.
The HPA is a go-to spot for athletes that has been mentioned by athletes countless times through the year, as one might expect given the elite atmosphere and training capabilities it enables. Using the HPA or trying to emulate that experience elsewhere for the athletes who don’t remain in Hamilton is just one part of the summer training experience.
As a team with a fairly short regular season, the rugby team realizes that there’s more to training than just muscle building. Although it is a key component and remains a massive focus for a majority of the summer, it’s also important to keep your game skills sharp.
As a team with a fairly short regular season, the rugby team realizes that there’s more to training than just muscle building. Although it is a key component and remains a massive focus for a majority of the summer, it’s also important to keep your game skills sharp.
“It’s really hard to progress as rugby players if you only play six to eight games in a season during the OUA. [Coach] uses the term ‘it’s absolutely vital to our success as a rugby team that everybody, whether they stay in Hamilton, or go home for the summer, that they are playing some form of rugby.’ Those are the requirements in order to uphold your role on the team — two lifts in the summer per week and playing rugby,” said Bazinet.
Over the course of the pre-season, the team typically has a general goal to work towards. For the upcoming pre-season, the goal is muscle building. Despite that, they still make sure to switch up their training programs through time to continue working towards a well-rounded result before getting back on the field.
“We do change our regimens usually about once every one to two months . . . We’re mainly focusing on hypertrophy or getting bigger. As we get closer to the season we start to add in more conditioning, we start to add in more functional movement. That’s because you’re now preparing your body for sport, not just getting bigger. That’s just to try and make sure less people get injured over the season,” explained Bazinet.
"As we get closer to the season we start to add in more conditioning, we start to add in more functional movement. That’s because you’re now preparing your body for sport, not just getting bigger. That’s just to try and make sure less people get injured over the season.”
Matthew Bazinet, a member of the McMaster Men's Rugby Team
In the later months of the summer nearer to the start of the season, the team eventually comes together for a training camp at McMaster. This high intensity camp is meant to get the team back together and working towards a common goal as a unit. Between fitness testing, gelling together and polishing your in-game skills, the team is using this time to ensure they hit the ground running once the season starts.
“Five days a week during those weeks we practice and get ready for the season . . . The training camp isn’t about brushing up your rugby skills. The training camp is about getting back together and working collectively as a team. That’s the goal of the whole training camp, take in new players, see who’s gonna fit in and build a squad before the season begins,” said Bazinet.
There is a long journey ahead before many of McMaster’s teams return to play and in that time the Marauders will be found continuing to train all summer long, whether it be in the HPA or in a gym closer to their hometown. There’s a reason why university athletes are so talented and dedicated — even during their time off, the high intensity never stops.
Rugby season at McMaster is officially over. As teams pack up their cleats, it’s time to assess their past season and plan for the challenges ahead. For the Marauders’ men’s rugby team, the 2018 season ends without a medal, despite coming off an Ontario University Athletics Bronze Medal last year.
However, that does not mean this season was a failure for the program, as there were several changes made to the team that have set up the team for success in the near future. One big change for the men’s rugby team was how they approached their training camp and the implementation of their playbook, moving to a problem-based learning method.
“It was very high-intensity. I think it's what we needed,” fourth-year Mitchell Richardson said. “If you want to play in the OUA and you want your team to do well, I think you have to practice like you play and play like you practice. I think [coach Dan Pletch]'s practices and training camp where exactly that, which helped us win a couple of games this season.”
Character Building Weather #risengrind @McMasterSports pic.twitter.com/K75keimA0K
— McMaster Men's Rugby (@MacRugbyMen) October 1, 2018
Richardson has been a mainstay of the men’s rugby team over the last four seasons, anchoring the team at the fly-half/centre role and a name you would regularly see in game reports. The veteran was one of four key players that made up the team’s leadership group this past season, along with Jack McRogers, Jamie McNaughton and Brett Sullivan.
“We're there to provide a leadership role to the team, not just in a rugby sense, but in school and a mental state as well,” Richardson said. “We're there both on and off the field.”
Taking on this leadership role in his second year, Richardson has found this position on the team to be an extremely beneficial experience at a personal level.
“It's really helped me as a person because I think it gave me a few things that I didn't think I had,” Richardson said. “Being a vocal leader, having guys look up to you… it's a really cool thing to be a part of.”
Thanks @UofT for a brave battle @McMasterSports pic.twitter.com/HxasPLpdnp
— McMaster Men's Rugby (@MacRugbyMen) October 13, 2018
The team hoped to collect some more hardware in 2018, and it looked like they had a chance after a 4-4 regular season. Unfortunately, the men lost to the Wilfred Laurier University Golden Hawks in the OUA quarter-finals. Despite the early exit, there is a lot to be positive about for the program.
“I think the season went well. I mean we are a very young team, mixed with a few older guys. So if anything, it's more of a developing year,” Richardson said. “It's really good to see new faces come in, and only gives you a better idea of a brighter future to come. I think in the next two to three years, Mac's going to be a powerhouse again.”
Richardson still counts the team’s quarter-final loss to be a highlight of his season, a game in which the team showed the grit and perseverance that characterized them throughout his tenure.
“I think the last game, when we were at Laurier and we are up at half, we kind of fell down but never gave up,” Richardson said. “I think that was kind of my highlight of the season, just playing to the final whistle, even in our last game.”
[spacer height="20px"]For Richardson, who had been eyeing the McMaster program since he was in high school in Stoney Creek, he will always remember his time at Mac fondly.
“It's amazing. Couldn't have pictured it any other way,” Richardson said about his time at Mac. “It was an amazing experience… I would say the best years of my life to this day. Getting to learn off Dan Pletch… and then making new friends. I have best friends now on this team. And then getting to provide that leadership role for the younger guys that came in this year.”
Although his time on Back 10 Field is over, Richardson is far from done with the game of rugby. Richardson will be on the roster of the Toronto Arrows Rugby Club, Canada’s first professional rugby team to join Major League Rugby.
Although statistically this season may not have gone as the men’s rugby team had hoped, it is clear that the culture of the team has formed a strong foundation for what’s to come. With players like Richardson moving on, there will be holes to fill, but the impact he and other team leaders have made will surely remain.
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