Liberty vs. Warriors @ Show Me Classic / Photo: Sara Wiltse (see more)
Missouri Youth Rugby is readying for its high school state 7s championship on November 4 in Jefferson City. Seven girls’ teams participated in the three-legged series and there are more eager to join in the near future.
RELATED: Missouri Youth Rugby Site • Girls’ High School State Champions • Women’s Rugby Results: Oct. 20-22
The league hosted three official tournaments, each of which included two league games per team and 1-2 friendlies for more game time. Only the league games counted toward standings, which affect state championship placement.
The teams also participated in the Show Me Classic, a social 7s tournament with teams from other states. This year, Oklahoma’s Yukon and Broken Arrow joined the lineup.
The Independence Warriors ended the regular season 6-0. The new team made its debut in the league this fall, and it is led by seniors Avery Sika and Milliama Sua, who previously played with the Park Hill Dragons Rugby Club. Additionally, the Warriors have KC United standouts sophomore Taua Key and senior Annie Nauer.
2016 state champ Liberty North / Photo courtesy Missouri Youth Rugby
“Overall, all the Missouri high school girls teams have dramatically improved this season and have built up their programs this fall,” Missouri High School Girls Commissioner enthused. “Any one of these teams could win the state championship this year. It should be a very exciting event!”
Reigning state champion Liberty North (5-1) enters the state championship in second and is followed by Park Hill (4-2), Liberty (3-3), Jefferson City (2-4), Fort Osage (0-5-1) and NKC SNOW (0-5-1). All seven teams will compete in the championship.
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Meanwhile, Katie Scott is keeping an eye on the high school 7s circuit. Having formed senior women’s team Queen City Chaos – in cooperation with Springfield president Bryan Bevel and with great help from current coach Jody Lawrence – Scott is all about providing girls and women more opportunities to play at any age. And that motivation came about in an interesting way.
Scott was in medical school in the Cayman Islands, and as a means to assuage stress, she started playing rugby. She had never played sports before and was won over by the expat rugby community that was so willing to teach and welcome her. Two years later when she landed in the U.S., the closest women’s teams were 3-3.5 hours away. Bevel directed Scott to Lawrence, and Queen City started playing in spring 2016.
Like any team, recruitment and retention are ever-present topics.
“It feels like we have the, ‘This is a rugby ball,’ conversation every other week, which is wonderful, because that means someone else is getting an opportunity to play,” Scott said.
Efforts to form a girls’ high school team have just begun, and while developing a high school feeder could boost Queen City’s senior recruitment, Scott indicated that wasn’t the main driver.
“We have a couple of high schoolers at practice with us, just no contact. They both want to play rugby in college,” Scott said. “We’re essentially training them for someone else, and I’m OK with that. To build a developmental pathway is always a good thing, but it’s more than that. If they’re lucky enough to play at the next level or the national team – that’s amazing. If they come back to us after college, that’s great, too.”
Scott formed Queen City to provide athletic ops to women; same motivation drives the high school push.
Youth rugby in Springfield itself is getting a boost, as rugby has been introduced to the middle school and high school P.E. curricula. Students are receiving an “ultimate rugby” version of the sport right now, simply familiarizing themselves with the ball and some passing basics, and there is leeway in terms of the game that is actually being played. Next semester, touch rugby will make its way into the P.E. classes.
“You can wildly change the rules of touch depending on the group you have, and now every kid will see a rugby ball and knows it exists. If they like it, maybe they keep playing,” Scott enthused.
Scott hopes to work with the schools’ athletic directors next year and spread the word that there is a girls’ high school club in Springfield. And then maybe the Missouri girls’ high school league will have a new entrant.
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