Invasion of Privacy: Caitlin Schirmer, backs captain of Women’s Club Rugby
Photo courtesy of Caitlin Schirmer
Caitlin Schirmer, is a current Geneseo senior studying Biology with a minor in Human Development. She joined club rugby her freshman year, having never played before, and is now the backs captain for the New York State Division III champion team. Schirmer remembers how “it was really intimidating at first, like not knowing anything about rugby, but then…the environment was so good that I felt really comfortable, like learning and staying.”
Schirmer notes that this welcoming and community-oriented environment has only grown while she’s been on the team. The team boasts 15 new players this season and intends to expand and grow so that new players can learn rugby and find their place in a supportive team environment. With so many new players and returning veterans, the Captain positions are essential to facilitating safe rugby practices and constructive learning moments.
In this position, Schirmer has gone above and beyond to deepen her knowledge of rugby so she can be a better rugby player and better equipped to coach and guide her team’s players. In this pursuit, she has even become a “certified USA rugby coach.” All of Schirmer’s efforts have helped bring the team to the conference playoffs for this Fall 15s season.
For the first time in 10 years, the Geneseo Women’s Rugby Team has won its conference championship and is heading to Regionals in two weeks. This has been a hugely exciting moment for the team. Schirmer revealed how gratifying it has been to see the team finally have a winning season after all the work that every member has put into every practice and game. When asked about the most important thing for the team to remember moving into this big game, Schirmer noted that success in the regional game will come from “staying locked in, not letting that imposter syndrome kick in when we do start playing other teams [or] when we travel.” It’s been a hard and long season, so pushing back against burnout for the next two weeks will also be imperative for the team if they hope to conquer the Regional title.
The experience of being a part of the rugby team has been a huge part of Schirmer’s college career, and she plans on keeping rugby in her future, post-Geneseo, whether that be playing for a women's All-Star team, a divisional graduate school program, or as a coach.
After graduation, Schirmer plans to enter a graduate program in physical therapy (PT). She believes that PT is a professional path that can bring together areas she has always been interested in, such as “healthcare and wellness” and coaching. Through her major classes at Geneseo and the hands-on experience she’s had through classes such as her ecology-based research lab, she has discovered that research in exercise science interests her. She notes that “it would be really cool to work with athletes, but I also think it would be really cool to work with people who have suffered, like, traumatic brain injuries, like concussions,” especially considering there is a lot of up and coming research being done “into concussion prevention.”
As a senior, Schirmer will be leaving the rugby team following the Spring 7’s season. Still, she is confident in the future success of the team, noting that “they will have a firm base level of players, and that I'm sure, maybe not next year, but the year after, they're going to have another really good season, and they'll have another winning season.”