Last weekend, 11 U19 girls' teams attended Nashville's Nash Bash, and while not all of the teams won (of course), many came away with something useful.

Some teams ended the two-day tournament with a renewed confidence for the upcoming season; others left Nashville knowing that in order to succeed in their regular season, they would need to improve.

The Nash Bash consisted of the Brunswick, Carmel, Columbia Central, Germantown, Hudson High School, KC United, Riverdale, Storm, Chiefs, Tribe Rugby, and Warren Country girls' teams. The tournament gave coaches and players an opportunity to evaluate themselves against a variety of game styles. Hudson High School was a team of speedy bruisers, able to score good team tries. Coach Brittany Campli said she is excited to see how her players use what they learned at the tournament through the rest of the season.

"This was kind of our opportunity to go down there and see some teams we'd never see before - that we didn't know anything about," Campli said. "We had nothing built up in our heads before, and we put it all together."

Hudson has finished as the runner up for the Ohio State title the last two seasons, and they are determined to achieve a better outcome this year.

"We think 2016 is going to be our year," Campli said. "Our girls performed really well down in Nashville, and we had a lot to learn from it.That's what we went down there for - to see what we needed to fine tune before we got back into our regular season in Ohio."

Hudson's game changer No. 8 Hannah Trommer is always a constant reliable player for Campli. Her leadership within the captaincy role and her physicality in the breakdown make it easier to keep the Hudson strategy rolling throughout the game. Flyhalf Amy O'Connor has been vital in Hudson's ability to move ball and put players into proper space in order to make large breaks.

"Our strategy is to push the pace - to win the ball and get it out quick. A lot of teams are in shock when they see our back line plus a majority of our forwards running in the line, moving the ball. I honestly haven't seen a team that's able to keep up with the way we move the ball.

Tribe coach Buck Billings was particularly impressed with the way Hudson was able to take on teams and never let up on their attack.

Tribe found a different outcome from Nash Bash than Hudson. For the Tribe players, there was a lack of experience but not talent. Billings was proud of his players and how much they've learned in such a short period of time.

First time flanker Macey Womac used her strength within the weight room to power through the defense and dot down at least seven tries throughout the tournament. The freshman moved from her position as a prop due to a back injury and has been fulfilling her role as the pitbull on the field.

Although many of Billings players thrived on offense, Tribe's defense needs heavy work. Yet, the goal is to win the state championship, and Billings believes his team's adaptability will get them there.

"I just want to see them playing good rugby and having fun," Billings said. "This is truly a highlight in a lot of my kids' lives. I just want this to be really positive for them - to build them up and help them learn the success skills they can use outside of rugby."

For Tribe and Hudson and many of the other U19 teams, Nash Bash was the beginning of their 15s season. The teams will be entering their regular season shortly.