Galaxy San Diego won the USA Touch Women’s Open. •
As the San Diego Surfers ramp up for the Women’s Premier League (WPL) championships this weekend, a selection of players will be looking for a second national title this fall. In mid-October, current and former Surfers fueled the Galaxy San Diego team that won the USA Touch Women’s Open National Championship.
Galaxy Touch Worldwide has more than 140 teams playing in 12 countries, and San Diego is one of two American outposts (Washington, D.C., is the other). Founder Peter Walters created the first Galaxy team in Auckland, New Zealand, nearly 30 years ago, and he was on hand when the San Diego arm committed to forming its first women’s team. Until 2015, women playing in the U.S. had to compete on mixed (co-ed) teams. But then the USA entered its first women’s-only team at the 2015 Touch World Cup, and USA Touch followed with its first Women’s Open championship at 2015 nationals. Pair that need with the athlete pool in San Diego, and that’s a recipe for a good touch team.
“Coach Grant Ford really started pushing it since he started to really notice the potential of just the athletes we have in San Diego,” said Surfers 7s coach and longtime Galaxy San Diego player Liz Strohecker, who was Ford’s first stop in gauging interest for a women’s team. “I talked it over with [Touch World Cup veterans] Hunter [Griendling] and Kyla [Roth], and we decided to give it a shot.”
The women’s team needed more commitment from players than previous years. Obviously, more numbers are necessary for a women’s team versus a mixed team. Additionally, as Strohecker explained, it’s uncommon to see women play in middle positions, or playmaker/decision-making roles, on mixed teams. So even players like Griendling and Roth, who have international experience, would have to build a team and also focus on their own development.
“It helped that the touch community in San Diego started a league that we were able to play in,” Strohecker said. “That really helped get everyone interested. And we were able to get people out to experience touch before asking them to commit.”
The winter league placed women on mixed sides, and then good numbers saw the Galaxy field the league’s only women’s team in the spring/summer session. The official build toward nationals began in May, and Walters flew out for a week-plus of clinics and training sessions to put Galaxy on the right path.
The prep occurred alongside the summer 7s season, and several players – Roth, Griendling, Danielle Miano, Kara Mathews, Tia Blythe – doubled up on the weekly practices and tournaments. And then the WPL pre-season overlapped with 7s, and the WPL conflicted with USA Touch nationals, which was scheduled for Oct. 14-15 in Orlando, Fla. To say the least, the second half of 2016 was dense with all of rugby’s versions.
Teams applied to attend the Women’s Open national championship – a process akin to the women’s club 7s championship before it was sanctioned by USA Rugby. Seven teams entered, resulting in a long, six-game round robin on day one, followed by semifinals and final on day two. Galaxy San Diego started with a 4-3 win over San Francisco, and ties against Portland and then-reigning champion New York marked the toughest competition of day one.
“It was neck-and-neck in pool play. The field was pretty competitive,” Strohecker said. “Seven of the 13 girls have never played touch prior to this season. Even though we played in a league for a few months, it’s much more difficult to play against women who have been to nationals before. And the game’s faster. We played on a regulation-size field [unlike league], so the first game was an adjustment. We hadn’t experienced the full pace of a game like that.”
But it was enough to advance to the final four. When Galaxy San Diego returned to the pitch, the team was much more comfortable in its understanding of the game and focused on tidying up the details.
“The thing about touch, I think it brings everybody to a more level playing ground, because you can’t just muscle your way through it,” Strohecker compared the contact versions of the game. “You have to know the game, read space, be in the right spot – do the little things correctly. It really comes down to the small details – what shoulder you’re touching on, if you’re initiating touch on offense, if you put the ball down quickly enough – and they end up winning the game.”
Galaxy San Diego beat Portland in the semifinals and then posted a 7-3 victory over New York for the title. Griendling was named tournament MVP. The event produced the player pool for the 2019 Touch World Cup, and USA Women’s 7s coach Richie Walker (a Galaxy alum) was on hand to watch it all.
“For us it was really nice to have Richie Walker come and give a voice to the women’s side,” Strohecker said. “As with every other form of rugby, women are pushing for equality when it comes to recognition and treatment at tournaments – that kind of stuff. It was nice to have him representing the women’s side of rugby.”
Galaxy players like Mathews, Miano, Griendling and Blythe have one more big weekend of rugby this year, and then attention with turn to the San Diego touch season. Strohecker indicated that new female players will be incorporated onto mixed teams, which will have hand-selected veterans driving instruction.
“It’s a great sport for anybody looking to develop rugby skills – the ability to read space, make decisions, communicate – or anyone who’s done with contact but loves the competition,” Strohecker concluded.
GALAXY SAN DIEGO
2016 USA Touch Women’s Open Champion
Tia Blythe*
Leanna Corpus*
Carolyn Ford
Hunter Griendling, co-captain, MVP*
Skye Howard*
Kristy Lear Blue*
Marea Lear Blue
Derika Legg
Kara Mathews
Danielle Miano*
Kyla Roth*
Liz Strohecker, co-captain*
Mandy Wilson*
Coach: Grant Ford
* In Touch World Cup pool. See full list here.
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