COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – It was one of the coldest weekends of the entire year. Who would be doing anything but laying in bed? Ruggers, that's who. Because inside a basketball gym there was about 40 of us having a grand old time. Roughly half and half from high school or middle school and from our institutions. At the beginning it was just passing and catching up, swapping names and positions and schools. Then the real fun started with passing lines. Some of us Bennies couldn't stand to just watch, and we made a line of our own. 

Every single drill had such an intensity to it, and the participants really brought their all to the table: Defensive drills where they showed their quick feet; a catching drill where they jumped through the air with grace; A kicking drill that had balls flying everywhere, but also players hustling after them. All the while they were being advised and cheered on by our Bennie/Johnnie Ruggers. Nothing slowed those kids down – not skills they hadn't practiced yet, not playing with college players, not playing against college players.

Seeing those kids play was awesome and terrifying. Because wow, they were really great players, some of them weren't too far from the skill of our Bennies and Johnnies. It's awesome to know that they're the ones who are going to make the sport better, and on that day, they were already becoming better players themselves. Every single one of the Ruggers in college was so happy to be there to help them improve.