Stephen Taylor: Southeast Polk girls rugby team gearing up for another strong season
During my high school days football, basketball and wrestling were the major sports. These were the activities most athletes competed in, and although other sports were offered, they took a backseat to the big three. Since I did not excel in the big three, my competition took place in cross country and track.
Thankfully times have changed, and the sports offered on both the boys and girls levels receive a great deal of coverage.
The sport of rugby has been around for a few years and continues to grow. Southeast Polk has a boys team that plays in the spring and a girls team that plays a fall schedule. Rugby is an interesting sport; for me it took a little reading to try to understand the game.
After viewing a recent post about having a meeting for prospective players for the girls team I contacted the coach and gave him a few questions to get a little background on the team, and a look forward to the coming year.
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Coach and years as head coach at current school: Joe White, two years as the girls assistant coach (2015-16), five years as the girls head coach (2017-present), nine years as the boys assistant coach (2014-present)
What was the team’s record last season? 11-2. We lost to Cedar Falls and Waverly Shell-Rock during the regular season.
What senior regulars and other players are lost from last year’s team? Five seniors graduated this spring. All were regulars on the varsity team, so we lost a lot of experience. However, we are returning some great young leaders that had plenty of game time last season.
Emma Schaeffer is leading the All-Iowa Select team this summer and will also be playing for the Eagle Impact Academy in Ireland next month. Also, Felicity Servers, who was voted the MVP of last year’s state tournament, will be starting her junior year.
We also have solid returners like Lauren Hansen, Sienna Lewis and Brooklynne Brown, who all had the opportunity to play for the first All-Iowa 15s team this spring. They are bringing some great experience back to our team.
Updates on recent graduates who have continued in the sport: Of the five who graduated this past spring, three are going on to play rugby in college. Two of them are going to Iowa State and one is going to Iowa.
New prospects (name and grade): Last fall, we had a couple of 8th-grade girls, Savannah Oleson and Skylar Slade, who were able to get into some JV matches and get some experience. We are looking forward to seeing what they can this season.
There also were several 7th- and 8th-grade girls who attended our preseason meeting. Although they won’t be able to play in varsity matches, we hope to develop their skills and understanding of the game and plant the seed for future seasons.
Outlook and/or goal for the season: We are trying to build more popularity for the sport and provide girls another athletic opportunity. It’s the same goal every season, we are out to win state. I feel we are going to have a good team due to having a good mix of new and experienced players.
How many high schools currently have a girls rugby team? The Iowa Youth Rugby Association is doing a lot of work right now to increase the number of teams, especially in eastern Iowa. By the time the season opens, we are hoping to have 16 or more teams.
When does practice begin, and the season officially start? We are going to start practicing on August 15 at the Sam Wise Sports Complex in Altoona. Any junior high or high schooler who is interested should reach out to us. They can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
What are the chances of the sport being sanctioned by the IGHSAU? I do not know what criteria the IGHSAU uses to determine what sports will be sanctioned, but I do know that we currently fail to meet those requirements. It was great to watch girls wrestling get picked up as a sanctioned sport this past winter. I would love to someday see the same thing happen for rugby.
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It appears the team is using this summer to get ready for the upcoming season as evidenced by a recent Facebook post by coach White. To summarize, a recent trip for a tournament held in Texas resulted in an undefeated record versus some of the best teams in the nation. Five of the 13 players were from Southeast Polk.
So in the words of coach White, “If you have a teenage daughter who is still looking for her ‘thing’ or maybe your daughter is looking for something new to try, I encourage you/her to give rugby a chance. There is a place for all girls on our team.”
Stephen Taylor is a Pleasant Hill resident and retired minister.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Southeast Polk girls rugby team gearing up for another strong season
