Trina Lear

When the Lions jet down to Nationals this weekend, the women’s team’s founding members will be anxiously waiting for updates from their various corners of the country. Yet one original member will not only be there to root them on, but will be playing as well.

Philly native Trina Lear, 29, joined the Lions after hearing about the start-up club from Amherst College teammate Cassie Abodeely. As a sturdy center with a knack for finding a hole in the opposing backline, she won honors as Most Valuable Back. When holes in the pack emerged, Lear shifted to the forwards, and currently lines up at flanker.

Now in grad school for a Masters in social work, the last standing lady Lion shared a pint just before heading down to Florida for her third trip to the National Championship, and a shot at a second title.

A PINT WITH: How’s the team looking going into the weekend?
TRINA LEAR: I think we’re looking good. I really do. The big advantage is that we have a huge side – 26 or 27 players going down to play, so we can put 22 in for each game. With 90 degree heat, and with three games on the weekend, being able to rotate people in and out is what’s gonna do it.

And we’re a tournament team. No matter how badly we play at certain points, we seem to pull it together when the pressure is on.

APW: If someone said to you when the club formed that you’d be going to your third Nationals five years later, what would you have said?
TL: I never thought we would’ve come this far this quickly -- we’ve come very far, and the level of intensity in our team has really gone up. But the fact that we won the league -- being able to easily beat a team like Morris that used to pulverize us those first few years -- for me that’s more significant than these championships.

APW: Do you come from an athletic family?
TL: Not particularly. My dad’s an athlete, but the rest of my family is really not athletic or competitive. I have a brother and sister, and neither one has any interest in athletics.

APW: What does your family think of you playing in the Nationals?
TL: I don’t know that they really get that it’s as big a deal to us as it is. But my parents are very supportive of the team, and of me playing – they come out as often as they can. My dad is usually more excited than my mother – she’s more concerned about when my flights land.

APW: When you think of what the women have accomplished in five years, who stands out in your mind?
TL: Jess Houser really carried us through those first few years – on the field for sure, but off the field too. In the beginning, she was doing almost every single administrative thing you could possibly think of. There are so many people that’ve done so many things. People like Ginny, who’s done so much to energize the women’s side [Editor’s Note: Yo, Ginny, where’s my DVD?], and Susan Pellechia, who has so much enthusiasm and whose level of work on the field raises all of our games. Whenever you’re dragging and you see her, you say, Susan can run that fast, I guess I can too. Erin has done wonders for the club, and some of the girls who stopped playing, like Lara Larson and Rachel, with their dedication and their consistent play. Karen McGraw is another spectacular Lion – someone who’s been so solid.

Honestly, our new players are really impressive too. Sophie Dennis is going to be a spectacular player – she’s learning really fast. Jen Doman is a great person to have on the team – really social. We have a good mix of new players who are great athletes and great rugby players, and also just really great people.

APW: What’s your pre-game routine like? Crank your Walkman?
TL: No. I’m the sit-by-myself-and-be-quiet kind of girl.

APW: Bad mood?
TL: No, it’s not a bad mood. I’ve never been one of those athletes who gets psyched up by yelling. I’m not a cheering kind of person. I tend to take myself aside and quietly try to focus. Karen and I always do some tackling before the game to get ready.

APW: Prediction for this weekend?
TL: I think we’re gonna win. I really do. I think we can definitely win our two games Saturday. And in my opinion, if we get knocked out in the final, it’s as good to me as winning.

APW: You think you’ll feel that same way come Sunday?
TL: I think so. I usually have like five minutes of feeling like the world is ending. But if you made it to the final and you lose but you played a good game, you’ve thrown everything out there, I’m happy. If we play a nasty, bad game, I’m not so happy.

But I think we can win the whole thing.

Quick Facts:

• Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
• Occupation: Graduate Student
• Favorite Beer: Brooklyn
• Most Valuable Teammate: This is an unfair question. All of my teammates are valuable, but I would say that the ones who are closest to my heart are the ones that I got to play with the longest, or feel that I have played with the longest -- Houser, Karen, Erin, Rachel, Larson, Tomi -- simply because it's so rewarding to play with people who you are used to.
• Best Lions Memory: More than a best memory, I have a favorite Lions feeling. This is a fantastic group of women and athletes, and one of the things that I value most is the sense of happiness and wholeness that I feel when I am able to take the field with them. It is truly a privilege to play with this team. That, and when Houser and I scored last spring at the National tournament. That was fun.