Scion returns to nationals as an NDA. /// Photo: Jackie Finlan •
This year there are essentially three National Development Academies (NDAs) competing at club 7s nationals (11 of 12 Old Blue players are also Northeast Academy players). It will be interesting to see what impact they have on the field other than upping the level of competition. Expect different levels of influence, though, as each NDA has a different set-up and slightly different mission.
The American Rugby Pro Training Center (ARPTC) broke ground last summer and won the 2015 title in its inaugural outing. In retrospect, it was no surprise that a full-time team living the high-performance lifestyle won the trophy, but the untested academy wasn’t the favorite heading into a field with more star-studded rosters. But ARPTC beat them all – Seattle twice, Scion (which wasn’t an NDA yet), Life West, San Diego and also Boston – to back itself.
This year will be different. The ARPTC is returning six championship players (Bria Bohanon, Emily Magee, Ashley Perry, Beth Stratton, Abby Vestal, Jess Wooden) who have another year of full-time residency behind them. They’re no longer a surprise and some of its graduates have gained notoriety on the national teams.
“Yes, we want to [defend the title] for sure,” said 7s Eagle Perry, the first ARPTC resident. “Especially for the girls who are returning, that’s definitely in the back of our minds. But the culture is not focused on that. The focus is on the process.”
The core brings stability to the program, which has undergone some changes in its sophomore year. In addition to seeing several elite colleges represented in camp this summer – DI Elite’s Penn State, Life and Lindenwood, to name a few – a trio of New Zealand exchange players have injected their brand of rugby into the group. Additionally, ARPTC founder Julie McCoy is focusing on the men’s team, while former Eagles Ellie Karvoski, Laura Cabrera and Donna Thomas serve as the women’s daily coaches.
Watch for Wooden, the unofficial spokeswoman for the NDA, to be influential. She’s the most visible athlete, having returned to the Super Series group for a second summer. Collegians Emilia Ferrara (Notre Dame College), Sierra Morris (Marist College), Sophie Pyrz (Penn State) and Christina Swift (Life University) will look to showcase their improvements before heading back to school, while New Zealanders Michaela Baker and Laurae Blake will mix it up.
ARPTC finds itself in Pool A along with Old Blue, whose 12-person roster features 11 players also enrolled at the Northeast Academy. There is a lot of crossover there, with players obviously but also coaching and strategy.
The Northeast Academy operates three hubs – New York City, Boston and Buffalo – and is not a full-time operation. It requires its members to also belong to a local 7s or 15s club so that the benefit of this higher-level training trickles back into the local scene. Old Blue embraces that same mindset, and although its roster has summertime players from New Hampshire to Georgia, the majority have local roots. So while the Northeast Academy wants to prepare those athletes angling for USA selection, it also wants to feed local growth.
Old Blue missed out on last year’s championship and returns with a relatively young but potent squad. Kate Daley, Rosalie MacGowan and captain Tiana Stroughter are far and away the most experienced players on the squad. Sarah Buonopane and Stanford All-American Nikki Richardson have a year of senior club ball to their credit, and the rest of the roster is college-aged: Tahlia Brody (SUNY Geneseo), Kaitlyn Broughton (Life), Corinne Heavner (Penn State), Kat Ramage (Dartmouth / also 2015 ARPTC alumna), Frankie Sands (Norwich transfer to Dartmouth), Danielle Walko Siua (Notre Dame College) and Denisse Zambon (Norwich).
Scion has had an interesting evolution as well. The Sirens existed as a 7s-only program and upgraded to an NDA earlier this year. Eagles Kimber Rozier, Sam Pankey and Stacey Bridges have served as the poster players for the full-time training environment, although there isn’t athlete housing like the ARPTC. Additionally, the USA 15s pool players have picked up with the Capital All-Stars (and hopefully with a WPL team this upcoming season) to stay 15s sharp. Scion has also fielded a girls’ high school team.
Scion’s ranks bloom in the summer, with young returners like Maggie Myles and Eagle Kiki Morgan highlighting the roster. NOVA transfer Emily Fulbrook has aligned with the NDA, as has fellow talent Fumie Reyes from Hawaii, 15s loose forward Sara Parsons and former OTC resident Abby Gustaitis. Niamh Byrne and Megan Gilmore account for the new faces.
Predictions wise, don’t expect the NDAs to drastically alter the look of the national championship. For ARPTC, the big question will be what an extra year of full-time rugby has done for the core of the team. Will the single-score wins over the top club teams in the country continue, or will there before more separation?
Old Blue and Scion didn’t receive too much push-back until their respective regional finals. Boston and NOVA, respectively, represented club teams that had taken a little longer to find their 7s form, but found it nonetheless in strong finals’ performances.
Ultimately, however, the NDAs should be competing against each other – for the good of their players and also the club teams that want to play good 7s, but might not be angling for national team selection. It appears that something of the sort is underway. The Atavus Women’s Performing Resident Camp is occurring the week after nationals in Colorado, and the Women’s Collegiate All-American 7s are also training that week. Initially the NDAs were supposed to join the groups at week’s end for a tournament, but the logistics were prohibitive to the NDAs competing at national. Both ARPTC and Northeast indicated that they couldn’t participate, but Scion is sending a team. Hopefully, however, the seed has been planted for an all-NDA and All-American competition, and a USA Falcons team can join the fray.
Club nationals occurs Saturday-Sunday, Aug. 13-14 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo.
NATIONALS ROSTERS
ARPTC
Michaela Baker
Laurae Blake
Bria Bohanon*
Emilia Ferrara
Emily Magee*
Sierra Morris
Ashley Perry*
Sophie Pyrz
Beth Stratton*
Christina Swift
Abby Vestal*
Jess Wooden*
*On 2015 championship team
OLD BLUE
Tahlia Brody
Kaitlyn Broughton
Sarah Buonopane
Kate Daley
Corinne Heavner
Rosalie MacGowan
Kat Ramage
Nikki Richardson
Frankie Sands
Tiana Stroughter
Danielle Walko Siua
Denisse Zambon
SCION
Stacey Bridges
Niamh Byrne
Emily Fulbrook
Megan Gilmore
Abby Gustaitis
Kiki Morgan
Maggie Myles
Sam Pankey
Sara Parsons
Michelle Perna
Fumie Reyes
Kimber Rozier
#NDA