First-year Trent University student, Madison Falls got off to a great start when she started training with the Excalibur back in January. She was competing at the high school level in her hometown of Bobcaygeon when she first met Excalibur women’s rugby head coach Peter Hercus. She subsequently reached out to him, indicating her desire to attend Trent and play rugby, and the rest is history.

“How much I loved rugby after my first game kept me going; I was excited to see where it would take me,” recalls the Ms. Falls, who is pursuing a joint major in Forensic Science and Psychology. “Competitive sport was my main thing growing up. I absolutely fell in love with the game, and the mental processes around playing fair and playing safe. And I really liked the contact part of it.”

“I toured a couple of bigger universities but Trent felt like home…a smaller community like Bobcaygeon. My classes are all online but everyone has been great reaching out. And my teammates are wonderful. I was really nervous but they were so welcoming. It was like coming into a big family.”

While Ms. Falls shares the disappointment of her teammates that the varsity season looked different this year, she hasn’t been idle, training and “watching a lot of rugby on my laptop to keep up to date with different plays and rules.”