May Player Of The Month: Jared Bosma

        As Jared Bosma closes out his career here at UMRFC it is an important to celebrate how much he has given to the club. Jared stepped up immediately upon joining the club to help fill any role that was required of him on and off the field. He served in many leadership roles within the executive board including president this past season and his oversight on the 50/50 plan helped ensure a substainable future for Michigan Rugby. He also stepped up on the field playing in almost every position on the back line. His toughness, work ethic and no quit attitude earned him Big Ten 7s second team honors this past Spring. Jared was a great example of what it meant to play rugby and Michigan and we wish him the best in the future.

Name: Jared “The Boz” Bosma
Height: 5′ 7 3/4″
Weight: 175
Year: Senior
Major: Business Finance
Hometown: Hastings, MI

Why Rugby?
I came into college knowing I wanted to try something new. I had always been a physical athlete but my dad wouldn’t let me play football at a young age, so I played soccer instead. Rugby seemed like a perfect opportunity to both try something new, and play a sport where i could hit people and not get yellow cards/penalties for it. So I came out and basically ran around like a chicken with it’s head cut off, tackling anyone who came near me, and immediately knew it was for me. Additionally, as anyone on our team will tell you, you cannot match the camaraderie of Michigan Rugby, which definitely drew me in as well.

What have you liked about Michigan rugby the most so far?
As I previously touched on, the camaraderie of the team has been by far my favorite part. It doesn’t matter if you’re a veteran A side starter, or an academy side substitute who just came out, you’re just as much a part of the team as anyone else. There aren’t many teams/organizations on campus that could say the same thing.

Most memorable moment on the pitch?
The CRC was definitely my most memorable rugby experience. It was all around an amazing experience and unforgettable to say the least.
However, if I had to narrow it down to a specific moment, it would be crushing OSU’s center on live national television before proceeding to defeat them 21-5. It was a pretty close game at the time (7 – 5), and OSU was on the verge of scoring. We were bunched at the ruck, so I knew if the ball got wide we were screwed.I decided to rush as hard as I could to cut the pass off, and OSU’s scrummy generously threw a nice hospital pass to the center, allowing me to lay a perfectly timed hit . Obviously the crowd proceeded to go wild, we got the ball back, and went on to get the W.
And that wraps up the story of the peak of my athletic career….

What’s your favorite rugby drill in practice?
My favorite drill is StuFit so I can beat Joel and prove I am superior to him.

What other sports have you played?
I played basketball and soccer in high school. I also was into watersports like wakeboarding during the summer, and would pretty much do any pickup sport that was going on.

In 5 years, what do you see yourself doing?
Ultimately, I would like to start my own business, but have yet to decide on when or what I would do. Hopefully by then I’ve had a few years of work experience, possibly finished an MBA,and have some ideas to pursue along that pathway.

What’s some embarrassing childhood memories you can share with us?
My freshman year of high school, someone decided it would be a good idea to have a chocolate fountain w/ fruits, cookies, and etc at our winter dance. Well, this quickly turned out to be a terrible idea once I showed up.

I accidentally dropped a poker stick into the bottom of the fountain, and it immediately was sucked into the center tower. It then managed to get lodged into some fixture of the fountain, which triggered the center console to shoot upwards and start spinning. As you can imagine, chocolate was flung everywhere, and i mean everywhere.

Amazingly, it only took all of 10 seconds for the entirety of the chocolate fountain to get shot into the surrounding vicinity, covering me, my buddies, and one innocent chaperon in chocolate (luckily i wasn’t quite the ladies man i am now, so no girls were harmed). After getting picked on by about the entire High school, the principle let me change into my semi clean gym clothes, so I could go back into the dance and continue not dancing with girls.

Favorite place in Ann Arbor?
I recently grew fond of the Huron River for floating in the summer heat.

Soon to be replaced by “The Other House” hot tub.

Biggest Fear?
My twin, Kevin, beating me in an anything.

Favorite food/meal?
Anything my mom cooks or dad grills (shooting for some brownie points), but some of my favorites include: her canned hot peppers, spare ribs, Mongolian beef, Cuban pork sandwiches, and just a classic steak 

Any game day superstitions?
Not really. I usually just stick to a general warm-up.

However, i am a firm believer in using mental reps and various mental situations to make you lose the nerves and feel ready to go.

Favorite superhero and why?
Not really a superhero guy but I would have to say Spiderman just because I have always loved to climb things, much to my mom’s dismay.

Best advice you’ve ever received?
“Use your head” – My dad, about 1,283,182 times throughout my childhood (could possibly be an underestimate).