Coastal Dragons’ Mabel Ames /// Photos: Alex Tosheff •
The Coastal Dragons is one of the largest clubs in San Diego, and 2016 saw its first girls’ program enter the SoCal 15s league. The team is now rounding out its first summer 7s season with a trip across state lines to play in the North American Invitational (NAI) 7s. The tournament will feature a U18 Open Division alongside its highly anticipated U18 Elite Division (previews forthcoming), and the Coastal Dragons will measure itself against competition from Utah and Idaho.
It might be ambitious for a first-year team, but the Coastal Dragons have head coach Hannah Lockwood leading the way. The Eagle progressed through the age-grade ranks and knows first-hand the value of travel and exposure for the young rugby player. Lockwood is also the COO of the Institute of Rugby, so she’s well versed in player development. That influence helped first-year players onto the Southern California Griffins 15s team and has carried over to 7s. Several players will be boarding their first plane Wednesday when the team departs for Utah.
“It’ll open their eyes,” Lockwood said. “They’ve been fairly successful as a first-year team with first-year players. Now they’ll be playing against unknown competition and have to grind through it. Win or lose, they’ll learn from it.”
The Coastal Dragons have played good competition this summer in the form of Fallbrook, South Bay and Fullerton, which is also competing in the NAI 7s Open Division. In Salt Lake City, the SoCal side will diversify its experience against teams outside of California.
“Ultimately, you always you want to win – that’s the point of sports: coming out on top. But it’s more than that for them,” Lockwood looked toward this weekend. “It’s their first rugby tour, which is exciting in itself. They’ll experience a different level of play with different expectations. They’ll play two consecutive days of rugby, which is a new challenge both physically and mentally. Many of them want to play at the next level, so they’re going to experience what that feels like.”
Watch for recent grad Nikita Wollerman to lead the way. She’s heading to Colorado-Boulder to play rugby and is one of two 7s players who made the SoCal Griffins 15s team. Incoming junior Eleanor Burnett also represented SoCal at the Great Northwest Challenge and has her eye on West Point rugby after high school.
“We have three little ones going, and it will be interesting to see how they fair in the older division,” Lockwood said. “Tara Tosheff [photo] is a very physical, younger player who loves contact. She’s a key player for us defensively. Sophomore Avalua Lafitaga is one of those players who, when she decides to be spectacular, is really spectacular. That’s what I’m hoping for this weekend.”
The trip across state lines will also afford insight into some of the best girls’ high school 7s in the country. The Elite Division brings eight all-star teams – one from Canada – that have sourced players from coast to coast. There was a scheduling conflict that forced several NAI 7s commits to consider their invites to the Girls’ High School All-American East camp, but the top division will still be an excellent showcase.
For more information, visit www.nai7s.com.
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