A ball whips backwards as captain Dylan Ritzer flies down the sideline. Just as he thinks he’s about to score, he’s grabbed from behind and wrestled to the ground. The ball takes off in the oppose direction. This isn’t a football practice, however, this is the rugby team and it is making a comeback.

The rugby club was founded in 2011 and competes in tournaments and against teams throughout the area. This season the team is trying to make a comeback following last year’s low recruitment.

The team’s first season was a huge success. With over 20 kids registered, the club was easily able to field a team. However, there were challenges with putting a team together the following season, with many players leaving the Whitman team to play outside of school.

The team is trying to make a comeback this fall, with junior captain Dylan Ritzer taking over and revving up the teams recruiting. Athletes have signed up through word of mouth and recruiting from current members, but Ritzer’s work at clubs night recruited many of the team’s players.

“At clubs night I just handed out as many flyers as I could,” Ritzer said. “I felt that it was a way to introduce rugby to people who normally wouldn’t experience it.”

Thanks to recruiting, there are now over 15 players on the team, enough for a full roster and to competitively face off against other teams in the area. Many of the people who joined had never experienced rugby before but decided to give it a try.

Practices are usually once a week, except during the week before a game, when the team practices every day to prepare. They play against area teams in the Potomac Rugby Union (PRU), which includes local private schools like the French International School, who the team faced earlier this season.

Games are scheduled whenever the club can find an opponent to play, usually a few times a month, against other local schools including Georgetown Prep and Landon. The club’s fall season has been building up to the Turkey Trot tournament Nov. 23.

The Turkey Trot is a sevens rugby tournament, meaning only seven players are on the field at a time instead of the normal 15, where the top PRU and private schools in the area compete against each other.

The team is hoping to put up a strong performance this year, and while they’re young and many players don’t have much experience, they have a lot of potential, Ritzer said.

While the team has a players who understand the sport, one problem for newcomers has been picking up the smaller parts of the game.

“There are only four kids on the team who have played rugby before and they’re really good, but the others are still having trouble learning all the rules and technicalities of rugby,” co-captain Sean Ngo said.

The team will transition into normal 15-player rugby after the Turkey Trot, when athletes who will have finished their fall sports join the team.

Though rugby is like football, it allows athletes to play regardless of size, strength, or athletic ability.

“The concept of the sport interested me because it compared to football,” Ritzer said. “It’s a fun sport and its a sport where no matter how athletic you are or if you’re big or small if you put in the time you can get good at it.”

Senior TJ Stallone is joining the team after his football season because he thinks rugby will be fun and was recommended by his friend. Stallone said he thinks that his football experience will help him do well.

One thing new and old players agree on, however, is the rush that they get while playing.

“It’s one of the most fun and intense sports I’ve ever played,” Ngo said. “When you got tackled it doesn’t hurt too much because of all the adrenaline that’s flowing through your body.”