Photos courtesy USA Rugby / KLC fotos (www.klcfotos.com) •
Rugby World Cup Eagle Phil Thiel is leading Atlanta in the Women’s Premier League’s (WPL) eighth season, which begins this weekend. The Harlequins travel to the traditional Red Conference leader, Twin Cities Amazons, for the Sunday season-opener.
The post marks Thiel’s first official job coaching a women’s team, however, the Life alum has worked with the Running Eagles women’s scrum and player camps, as well as Atavus camps.
“It’s been a lot of fun and a lot of learning,” Thiel said after a month of training with the Harlequins. “We’re working the kinks out but there’s a lot of positive energy, and they’re gelling well. I’m excited about the year.”
Thiel is hoping to facilitate a new perspective on the game, relying on insight he’s gleaned from two Rugby World Cups and a stint with the English Premiership’s Saracens. He partners with Life alum and backs specialist Jake McFadden, who helped the collegiate women to USA Rugby and CRC 7s titles last season.
“My one big goal – with anyone – is growth and development, and turning athletes into the best players they can be,” Thiel said. “I’m really working on elevating skills and working on details that they maybe haven’t seen before, even though they’ve had good coaches. … Simple things like how to approach the contact area, and how to prepare the attack and defense. It’s a little bit of a shift.”
Thiel has been impressed with the players’ response thus far.
“I’m a big believer in throwing as much [information] as possible, and then a bit more, at players to see what they can handle. Then you see who rises up and can absorb it and push themselves to a new level,” the coach said. “They have been unbelievable. They’re intelligent, good athletes and are absorbing what we’re trying to do. It only takes them a few reps before they really latch on.”
There’s a good mix of veterans – like Patty Jervey, Ros Chou, Carly Harrington – setting expectations at the WPL level, and players like Becky Martin, Lara Gartner and recently capped Eagle flanker Nicole Strasko keeping things interesting. And watch for Mo Compito, who returns to Quins and highlights a young, fast backline.
“I’m so new that I’ve been relying on everyone’s input,” Thiel indicated that many players have had the opportunity to step up and lead during pre-season. “It’s the work rate and positive energy that have been the biggest blessing as a coach, because you can’t coach that.”
The players also self-aware. The entire club has been training as a whole, but when it came time to separate into WPL and D2 squads, the players knew where they fit in.
“It’s been a very natural kind of progression, where they believed they were going to be playing,” Thiel said. “I wasn’t surprised by anyone’s decision [to align with D2 or WPL]. Not to say that someone can’t work up into the WPL, but people understand where they’re at. It’s good to have – you want people to evaluate themselves directly and then get the level of play they need.”
That proclivity toward self-evaluation will come in handy, as Thiel sets goals for the WPL season.
“I’m a big believer in deriving results from your own performance,” the coach explained. “The scoreboard is a good indicator of how you faired on game day. But when you review the film and if you played the best game of your life but the team lost – you want to focus on yourself and grow. Everyone steps out to the season and wants to win the championship or league, but the biggest point we’re going to be push is being evaluation driven, and results will take care of themselves.”
The other Red Conference match occurs in New York, who hosts the D.C. Furies. In the Blue Conference, San Diego travels to reigning champ Glendale, and Berkeley heads north to ORSU.
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