The Independence Lady Warriors, in its first 7s season, capped an undefeated fall with a Missouri High School Championship. In the spring, the player pool funnels into one 15s program – KC (Kansas City) United – that will travel for competition.
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After watching their daughters succeed with other 7s teams, former Eagle Maika Sika and Brett Sua decided to form a team of their own. They brought on assistant coach Kathryn Zahn, who not only coached their daughters on the KC United 15s team but also has playing experience at the high school (Minnetonka), high school elite (Minnesota U18s) and collegiate (Winona State) levels. Today, she continues to develop her coaching experience with KC United and the Mid-America senior all-stars, and now adds high school 7s to her resume.
Photo: Sara Wiltse
“Having the opportunity to coach alongside Maika is an honor,” Zahn asserted. “His wealth of knowledge and passion for the game was apparent at every practice and every match. His daughter, Avery Sika, was a force on the pitch and you can tell where she gets it from.
“Brett Sua is a dedicated father and a lover of rugby,” Zahn added. “He has such a wonderful way of breaking things down for the newer players and helping them understand more complex concepts of the game. Not only that but he was invaluable on the sidelines, helping girls understand infractions, and even assisting our injured players as best he could.”
Photo: Sara Wiltse
Five players showed up to the first practice and the roster slowly grew to 11 committed athletes. Of those, four had played rugby before, and seniors Sika and Miliama Sua stepped up as leaders and sources for advice and guidance.
“Avery Sika is an excellent scrumhalf. She has learned how to read the field quickly and make effective decisions off the breakdowns,” Zahn lauded the Outstanding Team Leadership winner. “She is also an incredible hooker in both 7s and 15s. I look forward to seeing her back at the hook position this spring for 15s, since I really think that is where she shines.
Photo: Sara Wiltse
“Miliama Sua is a powerhouse runner and one of our strongest props,” the coach continued. “She is extremely perseverant and has really played at a high level this year. I think she will be a huge asset to my forward pack in 15s. She was granted the award for Most Perseverant this season.”
Annie Nauer and Taua Key also injected previous playing experience into the squad, and Zahn indicated that they were both pleasant surprises. The duo played spring 15s but, with fewer players on the pitch for 7s, really stood out in the fall. Nauer ended up winning Biggest Tackle of the Year and Key was named Most Dedicated.
Photo: Sara Wiltse
But the whole team was a bit of surprise, as Independence opened up the fall with two wins.
“After our first tournament the coaches realized that we had a good chance at getting to the state championship, but I don’t think we ever imagined that our first season would be undefeated,” Zahn reflected. “I think the fact that we were considered a bit of an underdog team, since we were new and only had 11 players, made other teams underestimate us.”
As the season evolved, coach Ross Sua kept building the team’s fitness base, and the newcomers started expressing themselves. Fast wing Destiny Potter was crucial on defense and awarded the Dare Devil Award for body-sacrificing tackles and weaving runs; Fiana Tuione learned to use her size as a weapon and became a great support runner; JC McMillian became a defensive work horse; and Ikia Bailey thrived as a scrumhalf, making smart decisions and controlling pace.
Zahn singled out sophomore Olivia Tali and freshman Laine Williams as up-and-comers.
“With a forward’s build but a back’s running talent, Olivia always made trouble for our opponents,” the coach lauded. “With her size and power she could easily break through tackles and force the opposition to use two, sometimes even three, players to bring her down, which created excellent overloads that we often exploited. I am very excited to see how she will do in 15s, and being so young with so much ability, I know she will be a powerhouse rugby player and a huge asset to any team she plays for.
K.Zahn Photography
“Laine caught on to the game quickly and used her family’s [rugby] knowledge to learn maneuvers and details that we didn’t have time to cover in practice,” Zahn continued. “Laine is another dangerous player on the wing, with the speed for the position and the ability to read the offense and know where to be on the field, and when to make the best tackles. She was excellent at interrupting and intercepting the offense and she often surprised not only our opponents but also our entire team with her sneaky abilities.”
After winning all of its league games, Independence entered the championship tournament ranked No. 1, earning a bye through the first round. Then the Lady Warriors faced Liberty in the semifinals.
Photo: Sara Wiltse
“That was a challenging game for the girls. Liberty has a lot of talented players, but in the end our offense overcame the challenge,” Zahn recalled the victory. “The final game came as a bit of a surprise to us. We were all prepared to play who we thought was our toughest competitor of the year, Liberty North, but they lost in an upset to the Park Hill Lady Dragons. Going into the Park Hill game we kept our warm-up very easy, and we stayed calm and reminded ourselves who we were playing for and how we got there.”
Independence defeated Park Hill 35-0 for the Missouri 7s title. It was an incredible finish, one that relied on the contribution of all the players and reflected the work put in during the team’s inaugural season. Looking ahead, Zahn is going to encourage as many players as possible to play for KC United 15s in the spring, especially as the program plans to return to the club National Invitational Championship among other destinations.