"I just thought it was an interesting sport, how it's such a contact sport," the 17-year-old Muskego High School senior said. "It just looked like a lot of fun to try something new. There are not that many other places that have rugby."

The girls were so smitten by this major league contact sport they looked into forming their own team. Now the city of Muskego boasts both boys and girls rugby teams.

When the first practice was announced earlier this year about 30 players showed up. Some decided the sport wasn't for them. Others, like 17-year-old Anna Lewis, also a senior at MHS, enjoyed her first taste of rugby. She has played a few other sports but none wowed her as much as rugby.

"It's awesome," she said. "It's so much fun. I've been raised up in a family that plays football all of the time, but I thought this was one of the coolest things. People are always worried about hitting, but after the first hit, your adrenaline is pumping so much that you just want to get out there and go again. It's the funniest sport I have ever played."

Rugby is a bit like soccer and football. The ball is bigger than football and you have to pass the ball backwards. Players don't have to wear any protective gear and the oval ball may be passed, dribbled with the feet or carried. The game is fast, continuous and often very wild. There are 15 girls on the field at one time.

Karen Pizur remembers the first time her daughter, Jessica, came off the field during a game. Jessica also plays on the MHS varsity soccer team.

"I'll never forget the first thing she said when she came off the field," Pizur said. "Her first opening comments were, 'Mom, this is unbelievable.' She said, 'Mom, it is so exhilarating.' When you come off that field it is an intense high; a very, very intense high."

From the beginning

The players, who range in age from 11 to 18, relished these athletic highs because of the groundwork laid in the beginning. Enlisting the help of boys coach Jack Albert and Pizur, who is also the team's manager, the team held a number of fund-raisers to offset costs.

Players pay a $36 fee, which includes shorts and socks. But there was also a $420 charge to the team for post covers at each end of the field for safety purposes, and the referees for the games need to be paid as well. Home games are played at Minooka Park in Waukesha.

The boys team, formed six years ago, lent the girls jerseys this year. The girls are looking to wear their own tops next year, providing they find a sponsor.

To raise money for this season, the club players worked at the New Berlin Lions' corn roast stand at the State Fair in August. They also participated in a car wash and spent six hours on a Saturday bagging groceries for customers at Piggy Wiggly on Janesville Road.

"You've got to support them, and that's why I got involved," Pizur said. "I figured that if we were going to start, we might as well do it right and get everything going. There's a lot of paper involved in the beginning but it's been worth it."

The club's first rugby lesson was in August, when the team attended a Marquette University workshop. Among the things they learned were conditioning, backward and lateral passes and player placement on the field. The camp also featured a seven-on-seven tournament for collegians and adults that turned out to be an eye-opener for the girls and their parents. They never realized that prominent individuals in society, including doctors and attorneys, are playing rugby in their free time.

"It blew me away," Pizur said. "But they get a major high off of it because the love the sport."

Trio building program

Muskego's debut season began last month under the direction of Anna Marie Jarecki. Fellow University of Wisconsin-Whitewater grads Kate Lapeck and Nikki Peters help her coach. All three have significant rugby experience, and Jarecki speaks highly of the sport that has continuous play and features kicking, lateral passing and tackling.

"I think it's an all-around athletic sport," Jarecki said. "You have to be good at so many different things. You have to be a good runner, and there's endurance. But there is a position for everyone. So even if you are not the fastest, there is a position for you. There are 15 people out there, and it's all about your teammates."

The Muskego roster currently consists of 17 players, 15 of whom attend Muskego High School. The squad also includes a New Berlin West High School student and a seventh-grader from Mukwonago.

"We are hoping to get a lot more girls involved because right now we have just 17 girls on the team, so practices are difficult because you can't have a full scrum (a play in which the forwards of each side crouch in a tight formation with their arms locked)," Jarecki said. "But hopefully word will get out about it that a lot more girls will get interested as well. It's not as intimidating as it seems.

Jarecki said she recommends giving the sport a try and those who do try seem to get hooked right from the beginning.

"I've always thought it's good to be on a team. If you are not excelling in any other sport, to me it's something that you should definitely try. It's new, so I think that's one thing right there that you should take a chance at. It's a sport that you can't fail at all. I've never had anyone come on a team and not like it."

That includes Anna Lewis, who cherishes the knowledge and expertise Jarecki, Lapeck and Peters bring

"(Jarecki's) been great," she said. "She has been really patient with us. You can't exactly go and teach someone the game of rugby like you would teach somebody basketball. It's not like, 'Stand here and get two points if you make in the basket.' There's so much going on the field at once. Her and Kate and Nikki gave been great."

First season a building year

The club is currently in the midst of playing a six-game schedule against Divine Savior Holy Angels, the Kettle Moraine High School Club and the Highlander High School Club out of Mequon. Kettle Moraine has two teams because it draws from about four high schools in the area and fields a total of 50 players. Divine Savior has two teams as well.

"The other teams are delighted to have us because there are no other teams to play," Pizur said. "Having one more team in the league is a step in the right direction."

Though the team has a 0-2-1 record, its opponents have taken notice of Muskego's play, Jarecki said.

"I've heard some awesome things from the coaches in the area that we've played," she said. "They are really impressed with our girls. They are really aggressive. I don't know if it's Muskego or what, but they are very impressed with their tackling abilities."

Muskego has made some mistakes, but that hasn't scared off any of the team members.

"When we played our first two games, we had no idea what was going on," Amanda Picord said. "But it's just like everything, once you get in there, everything clicks and you understand what's going on. Now that we've played, we know what we have done and how to improve."

Once the games are over, the competition is left on the field and the players and coaches gather for a social, a tradition in rugby that generates a high level of sportsmanship. Muskego has hosted a dinner for more than 100 people following a home match.

"It's so important for these girls to like each other when they get off the field," Pizur said. "The girls sit and talk with each other and become friends off the field."

Muskego has a couple more games left on the schedule -- Divine Savior on Oct. 16 at Dretzka Park in Milwaukee and the season finale Oct. 23 against the Highlanders at Minooka Park in Waukesha.

After the season concludes, the Muskego players will undoubtedly look back on the past several months with fondness. They have created a new sporting opportunity for females in the Muskego area and they have given next year's team a jump-start.

"It's really neat that it's all new and that we are starting this for Muskego," Anna said. "We're hoping that it continues on, and they are strong enough and gather more girls on the team. And I'm just glad I'm playing this year because it gives me a basis for playing in intramurals in college."

That goes ditto for Amanda.

"Oh, definitely," she said.