A dummy-and-go later, Cowan scored for the GHSAA U18s on Sunday. /// Photo: Dave Ramage •
There were two things in particular that marked the Girls High School All-American (GHSAA) East assembly. First, the U16s played their first-ever matches. And second, of the 49 attendees, only three had worn the red, white and blue before. That means many more faces have entered the public radar and exposed to the national team pathway.
Jordan Cowan made her debut with the GHSAA U18s last Friday, but the Morris, N.J., player – one of five in Emmitsburg, Md. – had sampled higher-level play, like many of her counterparts. She was a founding member of the Atlantis U16s, along with Alex DiMarco and Emily Henrich, who served as GHSAA U16 and U18 captains, respectively, last week. She’s played all-stars and has seen some West Coast attendees at club nationals, as well. But as camp approached, there were more unknowns than comforts, and Cowan was nervous.
“It ended up being so much fun,” Cowan said. “I learned so much not only from the coaches but from all the other players. We all have different coaches and different experiences, and when we brought it all together, it really enlightened me to how much there is to discover in rugby.”
And there was a lot of learning to be done. As Henrich mentioned in a previous interview, the entire group needed to learn a system of play that was replicated through the age-grade teams to the senior national team. It ended up being more of an adjustment for the forwards, who were pulled out of their traditional roles in and around the breakdown and thrust into the open field. And while Cowan was a little more comfortable having played some flyhalf and 7s, the game as a whole differed from what she was accustomed.
“My team [Morris] had a lot of new girls, and so it was: scrumhalf passes to the flyhalf, who passes to the inside center; the forwards are right next to the breakdown – that kind of setup,” Cowan explained. “[With the new system,] forwards had to join the backline, catching the ball and looking for gaps and passing. … But all of the girls are so experienced that the pattern worked out.
“The practices were intense, but it was great because I could just focus on my rugby and everything I learned throughout the week,” Cowan further extolled the benefits of higher-level play. “Just thinking back on it now, certain plays – when I scored the first try in the second game, it came off a move that I usually wouldn’t make with Morris. I just learned so much.”
In the teams’ first games, the GHSAA U16s defeated Quebec 71-0 and the U18s triumphed 48-5.
“We had a bit of trouble getting it really wide and making sure we were putting each other in the positions we needed to be in, but that was just time and once we started gelling, the communication came easier,” Cowan spoke to takeaways from game one.
Cowan spent Friday at hooker, a significant change from her regular post at flanker. She credited GHSAA forwards coach Ricardo Ramirez for aptly preparing her for the front row and throw-ins. She also looked to her props for support, especially Saint Joseph’s Annie Rolf.
“Annie is such a bubbly person off the field, but on the field she gets serious,” the hooker said. “We connected and would cheer each other on. She’s not like the props I’m used to seeing – has great vision of the field and such a strong runner. She really knows what she’s doing and is so fun to watch. She inspired me.”
Cowan returned to the #2 jersey for game two, but there was a different vibe at Mount Saint Mary’s College on Sunday.
“[Quebec] was there to play, and they wanted to put everything into that game,” Cowan credited her opponent. “We weren’t expecting that. We were expecting something like the first game and it took us a second to adjust. … It had been a long weekend, and we were starting to get lazy and tired. Our defense was falling apart.
“Throughout the week, every time we messed up, we’d come together and tap our noses like a reset button,” she continued. “After their first try on Sunday, we got together, realized that we needed to step it up, and reset. Our defense was good from then on.”
As the point differential widened, the coaching staff had the flexibility to further experiment with positions. GHSAA head coach Farrah Douglas moved Cowan from hooker to scrumhalf.
“During the second game, Farrah pulled me aside and gave me a little pep talk. ‘You’re a great player and have been leading the forwards on the field. You have a good pass, just tell your players where you want them and lead them.’ The fact that Farrah believed in me gave me confidence, and after that I thought, ‘OK, I can do this.’”
Cowan caught herself nearly diving into rucks rather than digging out the ball, but she enjoyed the challenge. GHSAA scrumhalf and Morris teammate Jess Nagie used water breaks to give her friend some tips that helped with the transition as well.
“It’s fun just learning about the game from all these different positions, which offer new views and aspects of the game,” she said.
On Sunday, the U16s defeated Quebec 63-5, and the U18s rallied back for a 49-8 victory, sending Hannah Moran, Hannah Savin, Emily Henrich, Delia Hellander and Liz Wilson across for tries. Henrich added the conversions as well.
“Even though the scores were really high, Quebec gave a good fight,” the incoming senior praised. “Their rucks and tackles were really strong. Their scrumhalf was really fast and really shifty. I don’t think the competition was weak, so much as we were able to capitalize on the mistakes they made. We have really talented players and were able to run our pattern. Maybe they didn’t play up to their potential in the first game but they stepped it up in the second.”
Although Cowan’s on-field experience concentrated on the U18s, it was the only time that the upperclassmen were separated from the U16s (several U16 players were contacted for interviews, but to no avail thus far). Cowan’s roommate was U16 hooker Kateleen Delapaz, and the two became good friends. And the silver lining to no air conditioning in the dorms saw all of the players consolidate in the one room that did have AC, and the 49 players spent all of their downtime there together.
The next opportunity for a reunion doesn’t occur until January 2017, when the All-American winter camps reoccur on the east and west coasts. It’s something toward which Cowan will be shooting, as well as her Maryland teammates.
HighSchoolAllAmericans #JordanCowan