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Girls Camp Kick-Starts 1st Life Women Season

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Girls Camp Kick-Starts 1st Life Women Season

In January 2014, Life University announced the addition of Women's Rugby as a varsity sport for the 2014-2015 school year. The success of the two men's rugby teams is well-documented, having won national championships in both the undergraduate intercollegiate division, and the men's club division. Adding women's rugby was a natural progression for Life U's expanding athletics department. This week, Life U hosted its inaugural girl's high school rugby camp on the campus in Marietta, Ga.. Life U has hosted boy's camps for each of the past four summers and each year the boy's camps have reached capacity. The girls who signed up for the inaugural camp have been learning fundamentals, technique and skill specific to rugby, and are also being exposed to proper conditioning, nutrition and psychology – all of which are integral to the academic curriculum at Life. Life Women's Rugby Head Coach Rosalind Chou was pleased with the camp, saying, "This is a great first year and I'm really happy with the turn out. It's exciting to see youth rugby in the United States growing, especially on the girls' side. This camp is a fantastic way to promote the sport, and also works well with growing and building our program." Seven of the girls in the camp have already enrolled in Life University and will begin classes next week. The camp was open to high school girls ranging from rising freshmen to graduating seniors, and many of the underclassmen have been turning heads as well. Said Chou, "I've been blown away by what I have seen here and just how talented these high school players are. It certainly speaks well to the development these young ladies have received so far, and I can't wait to see what kind of players they can be in a year or two." Dan Payne, Life U's Director of Rugby echoed those sentiments, adding, "I'm extremely excited to add women's rugby to our program here at Life University. The energy and commitment these high school girls have shown this week is inspiring to everyone who has been associated with our camp." The camp began on Tuesday (7/8) and runs through Friday (7/11). The campers have undergone three training sessions each day, with film and classroom instruction interspersed. The camp staff consists of former US National Team players, current professional and college rugby players. The knowledge and experience they impart on the campers is second to none. The final day will culminate with a live match where the girls can use what they've learned throughout the week and test it in a game setting. The Life U Women's rugby team will play a series of exhibition games this fall, and will commence their inaugural season in the spring of 2015, playing in DI.