Photos: Colleen McCloskey
Navy used to be a regular fixture in the DI collegiate post-season, but the Annapolis, Md., program hasn’t made a legitimate push for a title since fall 2013. Some of the shift aligns with the changing landscape of women’s collegiate rugby, but more accurately, the team’s struggles relate to coaching turnover. U.S. Naval Academy alum Dan Burr (’99) has returned to the women’s team and hopes the stability will aid a post-season run, and beyond.
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Burr picked up rugby at the academy and spent four years under men’s coach Mike Flanagan. He served five years as a Naval Submarine Officer and then resurfaced in the D.C. area as a civilian. He started coaching rugby with the Maryland Exiles girls’ U18 team and remained informed of the Navy rugby program’s goings-on.
Burr took over the women’s team in spring 2017, and he inherited a team composed of players who had never played rugby prior to the academy.
“To be honest, I was a bit surprised,” Burr said. “Given the increase in and availability of high school girls who are playing rugby, and the fact that we have the ability to offer full-ride scholarships, I was surprised that there wasn’t more emphasis on recruitment.”
Burr immediately built a recruitment plan, but the effects won’t be felt until fall 2018, as the application and acceptance process is lengthy. Nevertheless, Burr traveled to high school all-star tournaments, established relationships with Maryland programs, and even flew out to Catholic Memorial High in Wisconsin after the Crusaders expressed interest in the academy.
“While I would love a stable of High School All-Americans, I realize that’s not realistic, just because of the process here,” Burr said. “You want players with rugby experience, but in reality, they have to make good naval officers and not necessarily national team players.”
When Burr arrived at the academy, it was spring 7s season, and the team focused on building toward the USA Sevens CRC that June. There were no seniors on that squad, and 3-4 freshmen started every match. The Midshipmen placed 7th, a finish with which Burr was completely satisfied. Additionally, Jenna Jones won the Penn Mutual Life of Significance Award. She donated the $5,000 purse to Girls on the Run Annapolis.
Jones is now the president of the team, and she’s supported by vice president Alissa Whyte. Academic All-American Elizabeth Pittman serves as captain. They met with the coaches and officer reps in advance of the fall 2017 season to discuss whether DI fall playoffs should be an objective.
“There were some questions about whether we are good enough. … Our recent history doesn’t necessarily dictate that,” Burr said. “But I was confident in the personnel and their effort that we could get there and be competitive in playoffs. We all agreed that you have to have something to play for. Having fall games is wonderful but when you’re playing for a DI fall championship, it’s that much more to stride for.”
Navy opened up its independent season with a scrimmage against DII club Severn River (26-10 win), and then its A and B sides combined for 117 unanswered points against DI Mason Dixon’s James Madison last Saturday. Everyone showed up, including the newcomers. In particular, freshman Olivia DiCarlo had a good day as the main try-scorer.
“They were very happy with the win,” the coach said of the players’ reaction. “We did a team debrief to start this week, and one of the senior leaders on the team said, ‘A lot of times, we’ll play down to a lesser opponent. … We didn’t do that. We executed in our set pieces and open play the way we were supposed to.’ They were very efficient from the starting whistle to the 80th minute, from starters to subs.”
Since Navy is an independent team, it must apply for an at-large bid to the fall playoffs. USA Rugby will evaluate applicants’ strength of schedule and results when offering those berths. Games against reigning DI fall champion Air Force (Oct. 7) and varsity Army (Oct. 22) will serve as data points for playoff consideration, while games at Rucktoberfest and against DII Georgetown will help develop depth.
Burr and team are focused on returning to the playoffs, but the coach hopes that his place within the program will set up long-standing success.
“The biggest reason that [the program’s decline occurred] was from a lack of consistency with coaches,” Burr reminded. “When there’s a new coach every season, it’s difficult to get in the mindset of building a culture. When you’re relying solely on walk-ons, you’re not winning games and you don’t have the same coach, the program doesn’t appear very attractive. They’ve dealt with a lot of adversity.
“For me, this is the sport I love and it’s my alma mater, and I consider this my dream job,” the coach concluded. “My plan is to be here as long as possible, get us back to the national stage, move toward DI Elite or varsity status, and put us back on the map.”
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