Player retention is a big issue in girls’ and women’s rugby, and thus a single club that can provide playing opportunities at every age is valuable. Kids who join Morris through its youth flag program (established in 1999) can follow a clear path to the middle school, high school and senior club teams. Additionally, Rugby New Jersey and Morris especially do their best to keep members playing in college and active in the summer. The results play out on the pitch, but more importantly, the club fosters this mutually beneficial relationship between players and the sport. [lead photo: Jordan Cowan / PC: Deanne Cowan]
RELATED: Women’s Rugby Results: April 29-30 • Northeast Invitational Preview • 2016: Morris Wins NE Invitational
Last weekend, the Lions (and Maryland’s North Bay) went 3-0 at the Northeast Invitational. Both are heading to club nationals on May 19-20 in Elkhart, Ind., and Morris used the competitive tournament to answer some roster questions and supplement its weak league schedule. (Morris also had 18 players on its middle school team for the 7s round robin.) The team features nine seniors, most of whom have played for four years, as well as players who started in the flag program.
The weather was good, the turf field was wide, and everyone was healthy. Morris defeated State College 31-12, West End 29-8 and Doylestown/White Horse 22-17 (see full results).
“This team is different than other years. There are no standout stars,” Morris assistant coach Tom Feury said. “This group is a better team.”
USA Rugby scout Lance Connolly was on hand and singled out Morris No. 8 Jordan Cowan as tournament MVP. The senior is one of two Canterbury High School Players of the Week.
“She definitely does the dirty work in the breakdowns and on defense – those are her strengths,” Feury said of the forwards captain, who partners with backs captain Jess Nagie (Wyoming ’21), a level-headed scrumhalf. “She’s not afraid to throw a shoulder into anyone. Her natural body shape – pretty short and strong – allows her to do well in those contests.
“She’s a real competitor,” the coach continued. “She’s one of those people who brings passion and emotion to every game and is absolutely dead at the end of the game. There’s no hesitation with her; she plays instinctively.”
The Girls’ High School All-American (GHSAA), who has committed to DI varsity Quinnipiac University, has been playing since junior high and has experience in the front row, back row and everywhere in the back line. Also a four-year varsity winner in field hockey, Cowan has accompanied Morris to every high school national championship since the Lions started competing in 2014. The team finished runner-up to Pleasanton in the DII final that first year, and the program has been hooked ever since.
“That experience taught all of the players and coaches that we can compete at a higher level, and then that became the goal,” Feury said. “When you have a high-level goal like that, it helps recruitment and helps players become ‘all in.’”
Nationals also draws college coaches, and Morris currently has 18 players competing at that level. Recent highlights include Eagle Tess Feury at Penn State, GHSAAs Delia Hellander at Harvard University and Kat Ramage at Dartmouth, as well as Wheeling Jesuit’s Emily McHugh, who is trying to revive the team after its untimely cancellation.
“Each year there’s more of these players who are getting these opportunities, and the younger ones and their parents see it. That’s helping me build the player base a bit,” Feury said. “It’s not just the wins on the field but how rugby can help with their futures.”
Feury referenced freshman lock Jackie Blumhoefer, who entered the Morris organization through the flag program and has developed into a tall, lanky, solid athlete with excellent jumping skills. She also plays lacrosse, a spring sport with decent college scholarship potential.
“I’m able to have a conversation with a good athlete like that and her parents: If you choose rugby as your primary sport, there’s no doubt in my mind that you can either get into a better school than you were hoping for – she has good grades – or get some money to play,” Feury said.
Rugby New Jersey does its part in helping Feury’s statement remain a reality. The state rugby organization hosted its second annual player combine and college recruiting event back in February. Forty-two schools and well over 100 players participated.
“These are the ‘all in’ kids who want to play in college or make the all-star team. Those are the kids I’d want to meet,” Feury said.
“Also – I have players going to Sacred Heart in the fall – and I can give [head coach] Michelle Reed all of the combine scores, film from our games. That’s what other varsity sports do. It gives them a better look than what they might get.”
For the Morris high school team, the immediate future focuses on club nationals in Elkhart, Ind. Both the high school club and single-school fields are packed with team and individual talent.
“As a team we want to improve on 7th place,” Feury said. “Last year the schedule was really weird with the play-in situation. We wound up playing an extra game and the same team twice. We’re hoping this showing [at the Northeast Invitational] will get us a decent seed and give us a chance to move up the podium from where we were last year.”
For Feury, who has been spending the year transitioning from the head coach role, is taking on another head coach role. With so many players competing in college and joining teams like Old Blue and New York during the summer, Feury doesn’t want “to send any more kids across the river.” So he’s joining the Morris Women’s 7s staff with the goal of competing at the national club championship in two years.
It’s all about the full circle, and Morris is one club that is doing such a good job creating it.