Thunderstorms doused the Montville Community Park Saturday, as the township's youth rugby club hosted Ridgewood, Jersey City and Cranford for tournament play. The rain sent coaches and parents running for cover, but did little to drown out the athletes' enthusiasm for the sport.
The day got off to an inconspicuous start as the athletes touched down for tries amid sunshine, but then the clouds started to roll in.
While the adults stood on the sidelines cursing the weather gods, the kids were too busy playing pick-up games, running and passing without regard for the weather. After seeing that the kids weren't affected by the weather, the parents and coaches returned to the playing fields to cheer their teams on.
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What could have been a lost day turned into an example of how to make the best of a situation.
When a Ridgewood girl was asked why she and her friends played through the storm, she replied, "Because we're rugby players, we're built tough and we never back down from an opponent, even if it happens to be Mother Nature."
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Scores are not kept at the youth games.
