Meet The Eagles--Episode 9 (Tess Feury)

Short, impromptu interview with Tess. Watch the Penn State youngster talk about her rugby family and muse about playing herself in a potential future movie called Feury.

Meet The Eagles--Episode 8 (Jess Wooden)

In this week’s episode, Jess Wooden talks about her rugby beginnings, playing overseas, and Canadian fans. Jess has been in the 15s National Team pool since 2012, and earned her first cap in 2015. In this interview, Jess and I let the conversation take us on some good tangents.

Meet The Eagles--Episode 7 (Catie "Peanut" Benson)

Catie “Peanut” Benson earned her first cap in 2015, and
scored her first try in the Eagles’ most recent match against Canada. In this
week’s interview, Benson talks about her favorite thing about rugby, what she
does outside of rugby, and The Great Peanut Conspiracy, among other things. The
WNT gang also make an appearance in this ad lib interview. 

Meet The Eagles--Episode 6 (Jordan Gray)

Watch Jordan talk about her family, rugby career and favorite music. Jordan earned her first 15s cap in 2015 and will represent the Women's National 7s team in Japan in about a week.

Meet The Eagles--Episode 5 (Hope Rogers)

Hope, who was one of the starting props in the 2014 World Cup, talks about all of the places she's played rugby, the difference between a 15s tour and a 7s tour, and Disney movies.

That Ten-Dollar-Milkshake

If you guys haven't had a chance to read my latest article on The Rugby Breakdown, check it out. In it I talk about my experience in Vegas, while on my first 7s tour. If you have read it, then you'll probably remember the part about the $10 milkshake (well, you'll remember if a part of you is still that eight-year-old kid who licked cake batter residue off the inside of your mom's mixing bowls...or that 33-year-old kid who did it this past Christmas). I'm sure most of you are probably thinking this thing must have been some giant vat of ice cream and milk if it cost $10. Not even close. It was a regular sized milkshake, but no regular milkshake was it.

I got the $10 shake at Milk Bar in the Cosmo. While a lot of things cost way more in Vegas, than they do anywhere else (go ahead and try to get a plain black coffee for under $4--I'm talking airport prices here), this slice of sweet, buttery heaven wasn't a markup by any means. It was palatable perfection, and if Milk decided they wanted to charge $10 for a little slice of the promised land, then $10 it is.

The thing had a piece of pie in it. Pie, guys. It was a combination of pie and ice cream, two of my favorite things. Of course, anyone can drop a dollop of ice cream atop a slice of pie. Hell, I wouldn't pay over $5-6 for a slice of pie with a dollop of ice cream. This was different. It was a cup of ice cream with pie, and mixing them together created some sort of synergistic sugary reaction that took the milkshake to another level--they couldn't even call it a milkshake; it's called a MilkQUAKE.

Now let's talk about the pie. No question, it was the pie that made the Milkquake the prodigious masterpiece of a dessert it is. If you can see the ingredients in the picture, the crack pie, features butter and brown sugar. My order with the cashier went something like this:

Me: So what is 'crack pie'?
Cashier: It's made of brown sugar, butter...
Me: Yup, go ahead with that. Crack pie Milkquake.

Turned out to be a great decision. When you're trying to stick to a high performance diet, your cheat meals and snacks mean something to you. There's nothing worse than biting into a dry brownie or a burnt cookie when you've been looking forward to a sweet treat. The Crack pie Milkquake didn't disappoint. Scooping out big hunks of pie from a shake while hanging out with friends was a wonderful way to wind down after my first 7s tour.

Meet The Eagles--Episode 4 (Kelsi Stockert)

Get to know Kelsi Stockert, from her family and rugby background to her love of good jokes. Kelsi is a capped 15s player, and is poised to earn her first 7s cap this weekend in Vegas.

List of Great Apps

Since I've given my loyal readers a sample of my taste in podcasts, I figured I'd do the same with my apps. There are a ton of apps you can use to enhance performance or improve your quality of life in general. Here are 10 of my favorites. Hopefully, you'll find something worth trying. Please feel free to send me recommendations as well.

And yes, that is a screenshot of some of my apps. Yes, I have titled that group of apps "Get shit done."

Planner Plus--A planner that combines events, tasks and notes, Planner Plus not only lets you plan the events of your day, it gives you an organized way of keeping track of your To-Do list. I like this app better than the Google Calendar app, because it gives you more freedom to plan tasks and keep notes on your day.

WOOP--This is a one-of-a-kind goal setting app. The WOOP method employs strategy along with visualization to reach goals. Based on years of research into the science of motivation, WOOP forces you to consider obstacles instead of being lulled into the positive thinking trap, in which you "think you can," and get all of the good feelings about the achievement without actually achieving anything first. You think of your Wish, the Outcome (best case scenario), Obstacles (what in you prevents you from achieving this wish), and then make a Plan for those obstacles.

Kindle--This one is a must. We always have our phones on us, and so often get lost in reading "news feeds" on social media. Why not read something that is mentally stimulating or that will teach you something? Get the Kindle app and start reading more.

Audible--Feel like you don't have time for a book? Try audible in your car, while in the shower, when doing chores, etc. I have a subscription that costs about $14 every two months and will get me one audio book with that rate. Basically I get the book and someone reading it to me. On my playlist now is Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives, by Tim Harford.

Calm--Calm is a meditation app that requires a subscription for full access. I tried both this app and the Headspace app before deciding to buy this one. It has many meditation programs to get you accustomed to practicing mindfulness. Along with the programs, there are options for unguided meditations, and there is a daily meditation. It will also keep track of the days you meditate and time meditating. I preferred it over Headspace because of the helpful advice given at the end of sessions in each program.

Ram Dass--Ram Dass is an American spiritual teacher, who is dedicated to improving society's spiritual well-being. This app has daily spiritual quotes, articles, videos and podcasts. I enjoy the material it offers, and I find that it is all rooted in compassion and human connection. If you're looking to improve your spiritual life, check this one out.

Sleep Cycle--This app tracks your sleep patterns, using your phone's microphone or accelerometer. Not only that, the alarm wakes you when you're in a restless phase of sleep, ensuring that you wake easy. You set the time at which you have to be up then give the app a window of time (15, 20, 30 minutes, etc). It will use that window of time to track when you start to get restless and then wake you. For instance, if I have to be up at 6am, I may set a 20 minute window, from 5:40-6. If I begin to stir at 5:45, the app will play the alarm.

Daily Yoga--Since I've gotten older and am trying to prolong my athletic career, I've decided to become more vigilant about my body. Yoga helps, and this is a great yoga app. You have to buy a subscription to have full access, and full access gives you a ton of programs, articles and even some meditation workouts. My discounted, $20/year subscription has been well worth it thus far.

Yoga Poses--This one is a free app. If you want to go freelance on a yoga session, and need some ideas, this app is the place to go. It gives you a plethora of yoga poses, with descriptions, pictures, benefits, modifications and tips.

Intervals--There are a ton of workout apps you can download. I don't really use any of those, because I feel I have an expansive knowledge of exercises and benefits, but I do like having this app for interval training. You can set the time for each exercise, rest time, number of sets and number of cycles. It's great to have if you're doing a HIIT workout.

I hope you have found something here that you may like. I use all of these apps frequently, but the two I use most are Planner Plus and Calm. Give them a shot, and let me know what you think.

Meet The Eagles--Episode 3 (Kate Zackary)

Kate is a capped 15s and 7s player from Kansas. She recently captained the USA Falcons in the Okinawa 7s Tournament, which the Falcons won. She plays locally for the San Diego Surfers.

Meet The Eagles--Episode 2 (Naya Tapper)

Check out Naya Tapper talking about her roots and giving us an interesting "would you rather" question. Tapper is a capped 15s player and 7s player. She recently earned Player of the Final honors when the Eagles took Silver in Sydney earlier this month.

Meet The Eagles--Episode 1 (Bulou Mataitoga)

Get to know more about USA Rugby National Team member Bulou Mataitoga. Bulou earned her first 7s cap this year in Dubai and is a current USA 7s Resident.

Rainy San Diego

San Diego is known for its beaches and mild, year-long climate. More specifically, it's always sunny and 70 in San Diego (or as close to "always" as you can get). However recently, like several National Parks Services twitter accounts, San Diego has gone rogue. For the last three weeks, it has been raining constantly. Wednesday was our first day of sun in eons.

These pluvial and windy days have uprooted trees, caused power outages, yellowed cacti, and flooded our fields at the OTC. For a while, we were able to slosh around on the fields, but we have missed one day of training (unheard of) and have had to train a couple of sessions on the field hockey field.

On one particular day, we played rugby games on the field. This turned into a combination of mud-wrestling, dirty slip-n-slide and a little rugby. Most of us wound up looking like I do in the picture to the left.

This is the first day we found our field under a bit of water. On the sidelines, our bleachers were in a pool of water, and our workout tires were either underwater or just peeking above the surface. None of this deterred us from our work, but it certainly made for some fun in between sessions. Check out the photos below, and watch the video, for a glimpse into how rugby players make the best out of a not-so-ideal situation.

Tubing in the Canal

Gone Fishin'

Kris Ledecky...errr...Thomas

Some Great Podcasts

I am an avid listener of podcasts. Recently, I was recommending a few to a teammate, and my old pal, Stacey Bridges, suggested that I post a blog and share my favorite podcasts. I figured I could post the blog and ask for your recommendations as well, so that I too can expand my toolbox. So without further ado, here are some of my favorite podcasts:

1. Hidden Brain--This is one from NPR, and it tends to run neck-and-neck, for my favorite, with another NPR podcast. It addresses the brain's unconscious patterns, biases and triggers that affect our lives, from our behavior and choices to the course of our relationships and political leanings. I like this one, because I'm into anything dealing with our wetware. Though it is often difficult to change behavior and eliminate bias, awareness is the first step, and any time we can catch automatic thinking (especially if it's negative), we can have opportunities to better engage with our world.

2. Upwire: Hacking Human Nature--Another brain-related podcast, Upwire is presented by neuroscientist, Dr. Robert Cooper. The material addressed in Upwire will give you insight to how the brain works and help you to "unlock your true potential in life and work." While the content is great, Cooper's stories about his grandfather are perhaps my favorite part of this podcast.

3. Invisibilia--I've yet to miss an episode of this wonderfully insightful podcast. Hosts Lulu Miller, Hanna Rosin and Alix Spiegel, combine narrative, offbeat facts, and scientific research to keep the listener entertained and informed. The podcast touches on the invisible forces that control human behavior--ideas, beliefs, assumptions and emotions. Check out the one on Fear. It's my favorite.

4. The Art of Charm--No, this isn't some douchebag "how to" on getting laid. This is an informative podcast that addresses social science, cognitive psychology, behavioral economics, biohacking, etc. Where this one differs from other cognitive and behavioral podcasts is that it delves into the genre of fan mail and the advice column at times. The host, Jordan Harbinger, typically interviews some insightful and intelligent guests, but there are Fan Mail days and Minisode days that tend to be less science-driven and more advice-driven, but helpful nonetheless.

5. Bulletproof Radio--Though this one isn't my absolute favorite, I will say that it probably has the most Top 25 episodes on my list. While I think the host, Dave Asprey is a little full of himself at times, he is a smart guy and brings on his show experts in their respective fields. While most of the episodes touch on diet, exercise and/or biohacking, they also dig into the spiritual, emotional and cognitive worlds. Some of my favorite interviews are his talk with Robert Cooper (of Upwire), Mark Sisson, Vishen Lakhiani, Tony Robbins & Peter Diamandis, Dr. Richard Veech, Anthony Coletti & Joe Martino, "The Ibogaine Experience," and Alberto Villoldo.

6. Primal Blueprint--Done by Mark Sisson, this podcast is comprised mostly of articles, read by Sisson's team, that Sisson has written for his website. Sisson also interviews experts in their respective fields, and these episodes are my favorites. Primal Blueprint gives information and advice on how to be healthy, strong, fit, happy and productive with the least amount of pain, suffering and sacrifice.

7. Tackling Live--I only recently started listening to this one. It was recommended by Sara "Par Par" Parsons. Hosted by Ray Lewis, this one takes a "life mirrors sport" approach. Lewis throws in his sports knowledge, and co-host, Dr. Christian Conte, draws on his experience with emotional management. So far, I like it.

8. 99% Invisible--Yet another recent recommendation. Kelly Griffin turned me on to this one, and I have listened to one episode, Dollar Store Town, thus far, but I like what I've heard. Hosted by Roman Mars, this one explores the process and power of design and architecture.

9. This American Life--If you know anything about NPR, you know this show. This one has won all of the awards and is heard by 2.2 million people weekly. The awesome thing is, you can get it on your podcast app!

10 Poem of the Day--Yes, Poem of the Day. Keep your creative mind charged and active, people. Done by the Poetry Foundation, this podcast is exactly what it says in the title, a poem of the day. Featuring both classic and contemporary poets, the poems are read by both poets and actors.

Of course, I listen to more podcasts than just these, but I thought my readers would benefit most from this list. If you have any you love, feel free to share them with me. If you can't tell, I welcome all suggestions. Enjoy listening!