Max Shimp has no concrete post-college plans, although he's beginning to piece together ideas for when he graduates from Augustana College a year from now.

Becoming a rugby spokesman isn't out of the question.

"There is a lot of room for growth with the sport," Shimp said. "I think rugby could really take off in the U.S."

It has him hooked.

The former Quincy High School football standout who played linebacker for two seasons at Augustana gave rugby a chance last spring at the urging of some of the players already involved in the club sport.

"Things just didn't work out with football," Shimp said. "There were some things the coaches and I didn't see eye-to-eye on. I came to the conclusion it wasn't worth my time commitment if I wasn't going to see eye-to-eye with the coaches."

What he discovered was an experience so vastly different from football that he embraced it immediately.

"The camaraderie is certainly unique," Shimp said. "After the game, there are socials where everyone gets together. You get to meet a lot of people from a lot of different backgrounds. It's been interesting to see the cultures come together."

Last spring, he played on the Augustana club team but was encouraged by Augie coach Earl Strupp to join the Palmer College of Chiropractic club team last fall. Organized in 1960, Palmer's program won four national titles in the 1970s and last finished in the top four at the USA Rugby Championships in 2001.

Although there are several graduate students and as many as four foreign-born players, Shimp found his niche immediately.

"I liked it a lot," he said. "And I liked all the guys."

Apparently, Palmer's coaching staff liked him. He was invited to play with Palmer this spring with the chance of being selected for the USA Rugby Championships team.

"It's a great experience," Shimp said.

Everything about the sport has been. Shimp likens it to hybrid of football and soccer, where physical play and tackling are as instrumental as constantly running all over the field. And there are no breaks in the action.

"The change in pace has been hardest thing to get used to," Shimp said. "When you're playing defense in football, you want to be the guy to make every tackle and follow the ball wherever it goes. In rugby, you can't do that. You'll die because of all the running."

You might get beat down, too.

"It's just as physical as football, in some ways it's more physical," Shimp said. "It's not uncommon to see a couple of fights break out on the field. There's 30 guys and one official, so you can expect at least one scuffle a game."

Typically, there is no lingering animosity.

With kegs on the sidelines, how could there be.

"You work extremely hard in practice and during the games," Shimp said. "And you enjoy the socials afterward. It is something special going on here."

-- mschuckman@whig.com/221-3366