Since the CanAm Series, we have turned our focus to 7s at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center (CVEATC). That doesn’t mean we’re taking a break with 15s, just that the center has returned to its original role as home of the 7s team — no more 15s forwards clogging up the dining hall, no more long scrum discussions.
On the 15s side of things, we’re in a “What’s Next” phase. We’re getting data and feedback on the CanAm series. We’re organizing times when we can meet up locally and train together. The coaches are planning the June camp and July residency. We’re into the next phase of our lifting program. At the center we’re holding some 15s sessions, and have players come into to town to attend those. We all have our sights set on the June camp, our final assembly before the July residency, and one of the selection vehicles for the World Cup.
I know this sounds a bit boring. It is sometimes. We’re nose to the grindstone into those sessions and details that get none of the glory. Game time is always the best time. We live for those moments. But, we also train for those moments, and that’s what the focus is now. We’re in that stage of refining. Since we’re not together to work on the larger structure, we’re focusing on the details of the pieces.
As far as those details go, there are the things you tweak physically and things you tweak mentally. Dissecting film and stats helps with both. At the national level, we have a video analyst, whose primary job is to record and code our practice and game film. Caitlin Singletary (“Kuno”) works with both the 7s and 15s team as our video analyst. Hers is a tedious job — one that often sees the wee hours of the morning (I have first-hand knowledge of this, as Kuno is one of my roommies).
For each of the 15s games against Canada, Kuno was responsible for filming the game on our drone and coding each of our players’ involvements. What that means is that each time a USA rugby player was involved in play, Kuno clipped and recorded that instance. So, had I played, I would, at the end of the match, have a video of all of the clips of my involvements during the game. Every time I touched the ball, hit a ruck, made a tackle, threw a lineout, fielded a kick, would be clipped, coded, and compiled into a video.
What I mean by “coded” is that my involvements are all categorized and, in most cases, assigned some sort of rating. For instance, all tackles are categorized as tackles, of course, but more specifically are coded as “positive,” “neutral,” “negative,” or “missed.” Passes are also rated, as are kicks and the quality of ruck involvements.
For some of these statistics, we get very specific. Tackles are also broken down into one- and two-player tackles. Players are rated on how fast they get off the ground after a tackle, or whether or not they were able to counter-ruck after a tackle.
We don’t just use the film for statistics and coding. As a forward, film is one of the best tools we have to help us with scrummaging. During the games, and especially during practice, we try to film our scrums at eye-level, so that we can see our body height, profile, cohesion, engagement, etc. This is very helpful in getting us all — all of the pieces — on the same page. As a sub-unit, the tight five probably spends the most time reviewing film.
For now, while the 15s team is in between events, we’re working on the details. We’re reviewing film and stats, getting feedback, and working on tweaking things that aren’t quite right and improving our weaknesses. This is all part of the building process, and we’re trying to build as much as we can from now until our next assembly, in June.
Looking forward, the June camp will mark the beginning of our final march to World Cup, and July residency will give us a chance to put the finishing touches on our structure and get some much needed field time. Right now, we’re priming for this field time. We hope to be as fit and as prepared as we can for these events.
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.
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