My first sports memories date back nearly 30 years – playing catch with my parents and going to their softball games, sliding around the dugout and tagging along with my dad as he coached his Little League team. My father got me into Little League baseball a year early – just before I turned five – and from the moment I laced up my cleats, I dreamt of being a professional athlete. Tossing the ball to my brother on a summer day, suddenly it was Game 7 of the World Series, bottom of the 9th, bases loaded, two outs. I was the first female pitcher in the majors, and I had come back from a 3-1 count to strike out the batter and win the series.
RELATED: Sam Pankey’s The Rugby Sidelines • USA Falcons Win Okinawa 7s • Eagles to Consolidate in San Diego •
Baseball wouldn’t be my sport of choice as my athletic career progressed, but there are times when I step out on the pitch at the Elite Athlete Training Center (EATC, formerly Olympic Training Center), in Chula Vista, and I remember throwing that last strike in my imaginary World Series. Earning a position as a resident at the center has been a proverbial “dream come true.” I’m living “the life.” Of course, “the life” isn’t as breezy as “dream come true” would imply. To give you all a glimpse of this life, I’m going to take you through a typical day of training.
To add a little context, the women’s rugby residents at the center are both contracted 7s and 15s players. There are four of us who are contracted through the 15s program, including myself, but we are all in the 7s player pool as well, and we train full-time with the 7s team. The other 10 players at the center are contracted through the 7s program, but they are all in the 15s player pool, too.
I live in an apartment with the three other 15s residents: Hope Rogers, Megan Foster and Nicole Strasko. There’s no juicy roommate drama – we’re all a bit on the boring side. But boredom is relative, and we live an exciting life. We’re all out of bed by 7 a.m. and in bed by 11 p.m. Our “parties” are cookouts of rugby film sessions, where the worst thing we do is cheat on our high performance diet.
Normally, our breakfast at the center is scheduled for 7-7:30 a.m., so we’re all up by 6-6:30 a.m. to make our coffee at home (coffee from the center is a last resort). I like to have my breakfast and coffee at home, because it gives me time to set my daily intention(s) and focus, with some journaling and mindfulness. I am a big proponent of mindfulness and setting intentions. My days are full to the brim and taking a half hour to do these things will save me from that idleness, inattention and falling into the blur that occurs throughout the day.
Some days I have time for both my morning routine and breakfast at the center, but I’ll make time for both if real bacon or sweet potato pancakes is on the menu. The omelets are also top-notch at the EATC’s cafeteria.
After breakfast, we do prehab and check in with the training staff for any injuries or nagging pains. The EATC’s training staff is composed of the best in their trade, and our trainer, Sarah Leslie, is amazing. Basically, our prehab consists of stretching, myofascial release, range of motion exercises, a little priming and lying on the floor Snapchatting. We also have to fill out a daily wellness monitoring form, so that the staff can better monitor how training and/or outside stimuli are affecting us, as well as an end-of-the-day “Rate of Perceived Exertion” form.
After prehab there is usually a weights session, in which we pick up heavy things and put them down, or push around things quickly, or throw things at one another, or jerk one another around with resistance bands. We do gym things, and we have fun in the center’s “Athlete Greenhouse” for about an hour.
Then we have a team meeting, which is usually an overview of the day, followed by a field session. We don’t really have a weekly field session routine. We work on our weak areas the most, and each week, each session is different. One week, we’re building or polishing our skills and so the sessions will be highly focused on specific, detailed drills. Some weeks we’re working on our system, and the high-rep sessions allow us to use mistakes as learning opportunities and then flush them. Sometimes, we’re working on executing under pressure or fatigue, and so we put in a lot of miles on the field so that we can be sure that our brains stay sharp when our muscles are weary.
And then it’s time for lunch. Let me take a moment here and talk about the food and cafeteria staff at the center. First, the food. When you hear, “cafeteria food,” you may paint a school lunch picture — chocolate milk in a carton, a glob of instant potatoes, the pizza that fits neatly into the large square on your tray. But at the EATC, that tray is full of leafy greens, colorful vegetables and some well-cooked, tasty protein source. There’s a salad bar, a sandwich station, a kiosk for grilled chicken or turkey burgers, the meal options of the day, a “healthier” (jello, apple crumble) dessert station and beverage section.
The staff ensures that the athletes are happy. They’re friendly and helpful. They customize food for us, they answer our menu questions, and they’ll make extra food for those of us who sometimes miss a meal because of work.
Our afternoon meeting is usually a film session. We’ll watch film on our opponents, game film (if we’ve recently played) and/or practice film. Sometimes film runs long, especially when Andy [Locke] is leading the session, but it’s always helpful.
There’s usually an evening field session, and then the physical part of the day is over. I’ll take my post-workout tart cherry juice to the training room, sit in the leg compression machine for 15-20 minutes, head to the pool or hot tub or take a nap, and then have dinner. But there’s still more rugby to be had. All of us will usually review film from practice so that we’re more equipped to head into the next day of training.
A few of the players, myself included, also have jobs. On the days I have to work, I head from the evening field session to Mission Valley, where I coach classes and do personal training at the UFC Gym. I’m usually at the gym for 4-5 hours, but on weekends and off-days, I can be there for eight hours or more. I’m typically home by 9:30 p.m., so I have enough time to wind down for the night and be in bed by 10:30 p.m.
My typical day is busy, especially with work, but I love both of my “jobs” – a term I hesitate to use because I feel less like I’m working and more like I’m playing. I get to wake up every morning and hit the gym as a part of my job. I get to lace up my boots and toss around a rugby ball most days as a part of my job. I get to play for work. How many people get to say that they’re doing something they imagined themselves to be doing in their childhood daydreams?
I get to say that. It may have taken me nearly 30 years to realize that four-year-old’s dream, but I get to say that. Sure it’s hard. It’s fatiguing and taxing on the body. It’s difficult to balance a small budget from your athletic career and another job. It’s not the World Series, not a million dollar contract, not big houses and flashy cars. It’s living with your teammates. It’s sharing space, rooms and lives. It’s grueling every day. It’s getting bruised and tired, and then having to work after your work. And it’s amazing. Every bit of it.
SAM PANKEY earned her first USA Women’s National Team cap at the 2011 Nations Cup and is a current member of the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup and USA Women’s 7s player pools. A three-sport athlete in high school, Pankey received an athletic scholarship to East Carolina University, where she played basketball all four years and served as captain as a senior. She also earned Strength & Conditioning All-American and Academic All-American honors and graduated first in her class. Today, Pankey spends her days at the Chula Vista EATC, living the rugby dream as a resident.
#SamPankey USAWomen15s USAWomen7s