#2: The making of a Hooker

A message from Ella Seltzer, American University Forwards Captain and Hooker

My fun fact about myself for almost eight years now has been that I play rugby. I was lucky enough to be exposed to this incredible sport in high school, and bringing that experience with me to my time on AUWRFC has been indescribably special. When I joined the team my freshman year, Fall 2018, I never could have imagined the team would be where it is now-having just finished our second matrix game of the season with a win. In the lead up to the game, all we could remark on was how this was the biggest week for AUWRFC since Fall 2019, and that was truly an understatement. I would say this week, and this win, proved to be even bigger than that. We were working not only for the W, but as a part of a stronger, more unified team which is built to last for many more years of rugby.

What is now my last season playing rugby in college reminds me so much of my very first season on the team. With a huge rookie class now integrated into the starting lineup, the team is full of new life and faces, which as a former Rookie Mama makes me so happy to see. Every semester that we get a new class of rookies, which seem to grow in size each time, the women’s rugby community grows and so does AUWRFC team history.

The history of the team is something we have witnessed change so much over the past four years, for us five seniors left and I look back and see a legacy we are proud to leave behind. Transforming the team from what it was, into a powerful force in the mid-Atlantic league has been better than we could have ever imagined-and getting to finish out that time as one of the captains of this team makes me indescribably proud. Getting to lead this team through my last year is something that I will never forget and all I can say is I hope we get to finish it out with a conference win, and so much more.