U.S.A. Rugby recently announced the creation of the Girl's High School All-American program. We spoke with Julie Prentice from Serevi Rugby and coach Mollie McCarthy about how the program came together and future plans.
TIAR: The Girl's High School All-American program seems like a no-brainer. Why do you think it taken this long for the program to take shape?
Julie Prentice, Serevi Rugby: Like many other sports in America, women’s rugby has been playing catch up to our brothers in rugby since the beginning. I think anyone would recognize there are certainly some social stereotypes around female athletes and contact sports that have impacted adoption of the sport and therefore the creation of an All-American program for girls. Like any similar All-American program, there needs to be a certain critical mass around the sport before there is traction for such a team. We’re absolutely committed to creating that critical mass and pushing the sport to the tipping point that is needed.
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| Head Coach Mollie McCarthy |
TIAR: One of the difficulties on the boy's side is the lack of an organized competition and instead they rely on tours. That difficulty is even more pronounced in the women's game. Who do you see the Girl's HSAA's playing?
Mollie McCarthy, GHSAA Coach: USA Rugby, Serevi and myself (and staff) are committed to the growth and long-term development of the GHSAA's program. Getting this off the ground and running was the most difficult challenge. Now that the program is established and supported I am confident we will be able to find and create good competition. Being the entry point for both the 7s and 15s version of the game, we will have multiple opportunities to come together as the GHAAs at tournaments, fixtures, tours and camps. We have been in talks with multiple rugby unions regarding matches and will be excited to announce in January at the USA Rugby National Development Summit when and where our first 15s match will take place. At this time we will also be presenting to the rugby community our 1-3 year plan for this program.
TIAR: What are your plans for the first year?
Julie Prentice: In the program’s first year (2015) we will look to create as many playing opportunities for the HS All American team as possible. We will have two 7s teams participating in the Las Vegas Invitational in February and we are currently in the process of confirming at least one 15s later in the year.
GHSAA coaches Emilie Bydwell and Katie Wurst will be scouting players at the Atlanta high school tournament in March and Mollie McCarthy will be scouting players at the Fullerton tournament the same weekend. Coaches hope to have the opportunity to see players in a variety of settings and over time, via USAR powered by Serevi training camps, regional tournaments, Regional All-Star Tournaments (RAST), Stars and Stripes camp and coach nominations. Our goal is to host a winter camp at the end of December 2015 to selects girls to the next GHSAA team for 2016.
TIAR: At the U-20 level the men have the JWC and JWRT, do you think the IRB needs to establish something similar for women or are tournaments like the U-20 Four Nations enough?
Mollie McCarthy: The women's game is continuously growing and evolving, not only in the United States but Internationally as well. With this growth comes a demand to identify, train, expose and create experiences for girls at younger ages. I absolutely think that their needs to be more opportunities for our athletes to play, learn and compete both domestically and internationally at the highest levels. I believe it is important that men and women have similar opportunities and consistency in their pathways.
TIAR: For those that aren't aware, how has women's youth rugby grown over the last several years?
Julie Prentice: I think anyone you ask will tell you how there’s an increase in the overall growth of the women’s game, but let me try to point to some things we’re seeing as examples.
At Serevi’s youth programs for kids as young as 4 years old, over the last few years we’ve seen a big leap in the number of young girls who want to give rugby a try. At those younger ages, we hear and see the enthusiasm that touch rugby bring for girls. As our after school and summer camps continue to grow, we expect girls to make up a large portion of the kids we see.
At our middle and high school age programs, more and more newcomers are trying the sport for the first time and diving in full force. Here we’re seeing soccer players, basketball players, swimmers, lacrosse or field hockey players crossing over to apply their athleticism to our sport – perhaps seeking a safe contact sport that is often lacking for girls elsewhere. Some young girls stick with rugby, some continue with their other sports and play rugby in their offseason. A related increased number of collegiate programs, both varsity and club level, has opened doors for these girls to keep playing rugby while getting an education. That’s a powerful combination for young women.
Finally I have to mention the role of the addition of rugby to the Olympic will have. With this move by the IOC, a whole new generation of girls will see our sport on the world’s biggest stage and drive more young women to try rugby. I don’t think this can be underestimated. Just as the 1999 Women’s Soccer World Cup provided an American team full of role models for young women, starting in the lead up to the 2016 Olympics, we will have a similar set of role models for female rugby players. It’s very exciting and we can’t wait.
TIAR: How important is this program in helping the Women Eagles 7s and 15s teams?
Mollie McCarthy: We see this program as the entry point into the Women's High Performance Pathway for both 7s and 15s. Our goal is to begin to identify players at a younger age and bring them into a High Performance environment that gives them exposure to what would be required of them as they move up through the pathway. This process assists in creating consistency amongst our pathway and ultimately create more educated, experienced and skilled athletes who are better prepared when they get to the National Team level.