Pursuing excellence: Jose Rodriguez Guerra and men's rugby

Hailing from Mexico City, Jose Rodriguez Guerra is one of many men's rugby players with a unique hometown. He joined the diverse Rams squad just last semester, although he's currently enrolled in his third year of Interior Design.

However, Rodriguez Guerra has played sports all his life.

"I played soccer pretty much religiously. ??I tried a few sports in Mexico," he said from his current home in Toronto.

At the behest of his supportive mother, Rodriguez Guerra moved to Ottawa as a teenager for high school. Attending Ashbury College, he soon "fell in love" with rugby.

"When I transitioned from Mexico to Ottawa, my mom made sure that I wasn't feeling alone. I came along with a few friends," he said. "I don't know how my mom does it, but she's always around, she always finds a solution for everything."

Rodriguez Guerra credits his grade 12 art teacher for helping him choose Interior Design. After applying to schools around Ontario, he settled on Ryerson due to its place in downtown Toronto. "From Ottawa, Toronto was a little bit more scary. (But) coming from Mexico, I really wanted a busy spot."

While he found himself too busy for rugby in his first two years of Interior Design, he spoke excitedly about returning to the studio.

"The studio class is the main class that they give us. You have to tackle a big project. You bring in what you're learning in the drafting class and the model building class."

Rodriguez Guerra said he wants to stay in Toronto post-graduation, and is even considering a Masters of Architecture. His projects at Ryerson have ranged from wood workshops to drafting remodels of historic Toronto buildings.

^{Rodriguez Guerra shared these projects, including a software rendering of a building and a}^{practical mockup. His work also includes sketches and other physical designs.}

Meanwhile, the Rams rugby club was established in 2019, and is not yet a part of the OUA.

"We all have the same passion for the sport and we all take it seriously," said Rodriguez Guerra. "There's definitely ambition. Just this offseason, we were trying to push to (get) a chance to go to the OUA."

Rodriguez Guerra was given high praise by teammate Ian Custadillo, who co-founded the team with Rajiv Bahadur.

"Jose is a great athlete and rugby player, so his impact on the game was huge right away," said Custadillo.

"(He's) a great leader. We really pride ourselves on our diversity, with players coming from all over the world. Jose coming from Mexico is a testament to that and it's something we really celebrate as a club."

Custadillo mentioned that increasing training intensity is one step the team is taking going into their third season. Prior to COVID-19, the squad was eyeing the 2022-23 season to enter the OUA. Nevertheless, the team was bolstered with a new head coach.

An "inclusive culture" is one aspect Custadillo described when discussing the program's growth.

"The team has been really (committed) to this jump and we've all been working super hard," he added, noting that they will play more exhibition matches with OUA clubs like Toronto next year.

While they continue to compete and improve, Rodriguez Guerra gushed about the fun he has with his "pals" on the young rugby team.

"It's cool to join some guys from the same school and fight for something you want - you want to win."

While currently in the off-season, more information on games or joining the men's rugby team can be found on their Instagram, @ramsmrugby.

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Players Mentioned

Ian Custadillo: 5' 7"; 2

Rajiv Bahadur: 5' 6"; 2

Players Mentioned

Ian Custadillo
: 5' 7"; 2

Rajiv Bahadur
: 5' 6"; 2