He wakes up at 6:25am to start his day. He aims to eat around 3000 calories a day, so he eats a healthy breakfast that provides nutrition necessary to build his body for rugby. He says he does not eat lunch to keep his weight light enough to allow for his body to withstand the high-intensity rugby practices and games, which highlights how even a new player is disciplined and serious about rugby.
During school day, he spends his time just like an ordinary student, focusing on work so that he can spend his afterschool on sports. Although he struggles in balancing academics and sports, he says that he tries to get sufficient sleep every day so that he can be more focused during classes. Lack of sleep is a challenge among many student athletes, and this rugby player is no exception.
He says that the “afterschool is the most exciting and also exhausting time of day”, because of the rugby practice. As a new player, he explained that the difficulties of practices are the complex drills that can be confusing to rookies, and also tackles that feel intimidating. Despite his towering frame standing well over 6 feet, Mark admits that the complexity of drills and the impact of tackles can be intimidating. This honesty highlights a side of the sport rarely seen: that even the most physically gifted rookies feel the pressure of the pitch. “I am scared that I might get injured during the games,” he admits, proving that discipline is what carries a player forward when natural size isn’t enough.
Despite that, he continues to have a disciplined lifestyle, sleeping “relatively early” to allow his body and mind to recover. Since he is new to the sport, he has not experienced any real matches yet, however he commented that he will “continue to work hard on the field” during practice to prepare for it.
