Riley Kraemer, a WSC senior, wing for the Wayne State College Rugby team shares his excitement about the NRC Sweet Sixteen playoffs.

“Our number one motivation leading up to the NRC Sweet Sixteen is a good attitude and taking it one game at a time,” Kraemer said. “We can’t underestimate our opponent because a game can flip on us in seconds.”

Kraemer said having a positive attitude is an absolute must.

“Attitude absolutely factors in when it comes to winning if you have a few players in the wrong mindset, it affects the whole team, so going into every game and having a positive attitude is an absolute must,” Kraemer said.

Kraemer talks about how he likes to prepare for each game.

“How I prepare for a game starts the day after a game,” Kraemer. “Yes, I do love to celebrate wins, but that win is in the past and it’s time to move onto the next game.”

“I usually have my headphones on and listening to my playlist also, every once in a while, you’ll see me dancing, partially to relax my muscles and keep them warm, the other part is just to have fun, because at the end of the day it’s just a game.” Kraemer said.

Kraemer said our biggest accomplishment is coming together as a team.

“The greatest accomplishment our team has had this year isn’t just the winning or making it to the NRC Sweet Sixteen,” Kraemer said. “Our biggest accomplishment is coming together as a team and forgetting how good we think we are. We’re as strong as our weakest link, and if one thing is out of place then we would have never made it as far as we have.”

Kraemer gives two examples on how he likes to motivate his teammates.

“There are a couple ways I help motivate my teammates,” Kraemer said. “First is verbal positivity, for example if someone messed up on a play, I would say something like ‘It happens, let it go and move on to the next, you got this.’ The second is physical positivity, for example if someone is struggling to keep up in condition, I’m going to be there right with them. I may not say much of anything, but I will be on their side to show that they can push themselves farther than they think they can.”

Joe Dao, Junior, Lock/8-man for the Wayne State College Rugby team shares his excitement about the NRC Sweet Sixteen playoffs.

“I think one thing that really motivated us going into the NCR Sweet Sixteen is to prove that a small college like ours shouldn’t be overlooked and should be ranked alongside other small colleges,” Dao said. “It’s been too long that the rugby world hasn’t heard about Wayne State College and we’re about to confirm that.”

Dao said that positivity leads to determination which leads to winning.

“I think having the right attitude is a huge factor to winning, positivity leads to determination which leads to winning, whether it’s at games, practices, or post practices, the guys and I are making sure that positive vibes are always high,” Dao said. “When someone makes a mistake, you won’t see yelling or shouting you’ll see coaching, mentoring and teaching moments instead.”

“The greatest accomplishment that we achieved as a team would have to be the fact that we were able to form something greater than just a team, people coming from all over the world: South Africa, Zimbabwe, England, Ireland, all over the national and so much more, coming together to form a family where everyone feels like it’s a home away from home.” Dao said.

Dao said preparing for a game is a weeklong process for him.

“Preparing for a game is a weeklong process for me, I try finding film on the team that we plan to play against for the weekend we watch, analyze and talk things out to try and counter their play styles with practices that revolve around the way they play,” Dao said.

Darrin Barner, head coach of the men’s rugby team at Wayne State College talks about NRC Sweet Sixteen.

“Our main motivation is that every single week, we’re improving the last three practices we had going into NCR Sweet Sixteen round of 64/32 was great and everyone is rising to the occasion. We’re peaking at the right time,” Barner said.

Barner said each player is held accountable for his involvement and the talents to the team.

“We for sure want all positive attitudes as a team and also as individuals, we had a real good idea on how we were sitting after the third week of school and that was when we all decided “all for one and one for all,’” Barner said. “We hold every player accountable for his involvement and talents to the team. Everyone is responsible for what they can bring to the team.”

“I would say our greatest accomplishment for our team this year is the overall player number, this team has 42 plays on our roster, we can fully scrimmage and have competitive drills, anytime you can have this much depth chart competition you have a team that’s stronger than steel” Barner said.

Barner said game film is an excellent way for video analysis and to make sure everyone is on the same page.

“Some ways we prepare for games are running very X and O type of structed offense with lots of movement and positioning,” Barner said. “Game film is an excellent way for video analysis of our games/practices to work out the wrinkles and make sure everyone is on the same page.”

“Motivation is very easy now that we are in the national playoffs, we lose we’re done, we just need to take it one game at a time, we’re only three wins away to be able to play for the national tile,” Barner said.