Brunswick Produces Confident Cancian

When one sees Molly Cancian stall and step past the defense and speed away for a try, the idea of “intimidation” seems incongruous with her on-field persona. But the Brunswick Valkyries senior captain always pushed herself into uncomfortable, challenging scenarios, and had to overcome initial bouts of self-doubt to emerge as the confident leader she is today.

When Cancian was in 6th grade, her mother suggested she add rugby to her swim team and Irish Dancing activities.

“I’m not sure why she recommended it. You’d think most parents would want their kid to stay away from rugby,” the 18-year-old reflected. “I thought rugby was lacrosse so when I showed up to my first practice, it was, ‘Hey, where are all the sticks?’

“I was terrified,” Cancian continued. “It was snowing and freezing cold, and I didn’t know anyone. But we played two-hand touch and it was so much fun. Everyone was so supportive, all of the time, and I knew after that first practice that this was something I wanted to do.”

Cancian joined Brunswick Rookie Rugby and could either play co-ed touch or join the middle school tackle team.

“Most 6th graders played flag, but I wasn’t interested in co-ed,” Cancian said. “I was the only 6th grader on the girls’ middle school tackle team.”

She spent the next three years with Rookie Rugby and developed that deep appreciation for community and support in the way that only rugby can foster. She entered Brunswick High School as a freshman in fall 2016 and represented a class that highlighted the impact of Rookie Rugby as a feeder program. But high school was a shock.

“The head coach of our team [Dan Prater] sent me home crying as a freshman because he was scary and yelled at us. But looking back, that was important,” Cancian said with the appreciation of a senior. “It made me realize that this is a different game than junior high and it’s going to require a lot more work. However much he yelled at us, he was always really encouraging and proud of us.”

The Brunswick teams from Cancian’s freshman and sophomore years included players who helped the Valkyries to the 2014 DII 15s title, and then had to rebuild from a large graduating class while adjusting to Division I.

“A lot of the upperclassmen were coming from really difficult times – 80-0 losses – and those girls were very eager to help the team grow and get past that,” Cancian said. “I felt a lot of pressure to do well. All teams want to win, but those girls really wanted to win.

“Getting used to the high school team was definitely a challenge,” she added. “I was always so nervous and wanted to play on the JV team because I was scared of the varsity girls and didn’t want to mess up for them. We didn’t do great my freshman year … but we had our moments and we took our losses well and moved forward.”

Cancian started playing with the Celtic Elite, a reputable select side program in Ohio that plays tournaments around the Midwest, and continued to do so throughout high school. Sophomore year began with promise, and the Valkyries won the 2017 Rugby Ohio Fall 7s Championship.

“That was sort of when we knew we had a really good team. ‘We did this for 7s and now we move onto the 15s title, too,’” Cancian said of the ripple effect. “We didn’t win the 15s state championship, but for me, it was such a better year. There was better chemistry – and that could have just been me on the team longer and playing with the girls more – but I felt like we were improving.”

Brunswick also made its debut at the Girls High School Club National Invitational Tournament and traveled to Tennessee in spring 2018.

“I’m not going to lie: We got crushed,” Cancian said. “That was really good for us because we did well in Ohio and then were exposed to teams from other states and realized there’s so much competition out there. You can learn a lot from a loss. We stayed really positive and worked as a team and recognized what we needed to work on.”

When Cancian returned to school as a junior in fall 2018, she was working through an epiphany regarding her game.

“My biggest strength is my speed. I’m a huge offensive player. I like to get the ball and run and hopefully score,” said Cancian, who plays outside center and fullback in 15s. “A lot of people look at me and say, ‘You can’t play rugby; you’re so small.’ But I make my tackles and my defense is really good. Late sophomore year into junior year, that’s when I found my technique for defense.”

She was named a captain alongside two teammates and got more involved in the off-field preparation, and became more of a vocal leader when mentally focusing the team before games.

“There was pressure to repeat. We didn’t want to take a step down,” Cancian said of the 2018 fall 7s season. “So it was definitely a big deal winning that title and being a captain for that team.”

Another milestone followed as Cancian was selected to the Midwest High School Thunderbirds tour to Florida in January 2019.

“That was a huge deal for me and helped with my confidence, but it was really scary at first. I didn’t necessarily feel like I belonged because I tend to undervalue myself,” Cancian confessed. “But all of the coaches and my teammates were great. They helped when I had questions, because it’s a way different game with those athletes, and the teams we play against are built with all-star players.”

Cancian performed well was invited back on tour as a senior, and the return trip to Florida wasn’t as charged.

“The biggest difference in the Midwest game is how we work the ball on offense,” Cancian said. “At that level, you recognize that you’re not always going to make the line-break or be the one to break those tackles, so you’ve got to use your support and know when to pass, or you end up making more work for everyone else.

“That is something we definitely brought back to the high school team,” she said of transferring concepts to Brunswick. “Especially starting my junior year, we had a way better offensive structure and although we weren’t at the Midwest level, we were able to better use our support and know when to use it.”

A tough first-round match-up saw Brunswick bow out of the 2019 state 15s tournament earlier than desired. Cancian indicated that through the disappointment, the team committed to working hard and returning even stronger the following season.

Cancian continued to push herself and played summer 7s for the Cleveland Rugby Coalition, which drew collegians and senior club players. Again, her game developed when the talent pool evened out.

“It was terrifying because they have so much experience,” Cancian said of her older teammates. “I couldn’t really rely on my speed because there were players who were also fast and could catch me, so I definitely had to know where my support was and to use my team, because we were all really good players. It was really good for me to see what the competition might look like in college.”

But first: A third-straight fall 7s title. Cancian was the only senior on the pitch (the other two are recovering from injuries) and worked nicely with co-captain and junior Lou Justice, also a Thunderbird. The duo compliment each other well, as Justice is brutal through the middle of the pitch and Cancian has that turn-the-corner maneuverability out wide.

“It was really important to win three years in a row,” the senior said. “We went undefeated for the whole season and that was a big deal.”

Cancian scored 23 tries in the fall and was named MVP of the state 7s championship. Coach Prater was cautiously optimistic that this group could challenge for the Ohio 15s title this spring.

“There was definitely the feeling that this was a special season,” Cancian said. “We had a such solid group of girls who had been working together a long time. You could see the support and the chemistry on the field, and there was a lot of hope for this 15s season. We should have had a great year.”

Brunswick was able to compete at the Carolina Ruggerfest but then COVID-19 eventually cancelled all of the spring season. Cancian is the only starter who is graduating this year, so the rest of the team will have the opportunity for some redemption next year.

“The junior class is very strong and there’s a ton of them,” said Cancian, who pointed to Justice as the major driving force. “But there are also a ton of promising new freshman. They’re from the Rookie Rugby program and they’re amazing. I have loved watching them improve every day during fall 7s and since then, and I’ll miss that.”

Cancian praised all of the first-years, but freshman flyer Emilie Dobranski drew particular attention.

“She is super fast,” she said. “I watch her play and she breaks the edge and scores, and all my teammates say, ‘Molly, she looks like you!’ I can’t explain how proud that makes me, that people use me to compare a good player.”

Rugby isn’t over for Cancian, as summer 7s hasn’t yet been cancelled and then she will join Baldwin Wallace University (Berea, Ohio) as a collegiate freshman this fall. The Yellow Jackets are rebuilding and intend to compete in the Ohio Valley NSCRO conference this 15s season.

It’s another new scenario for Cancian, but that element of intimidation that has marked previous transitions is missing from the graduating senior’s outlook today.

“It’s going to be interesting,” Cancian said of being a new yet experienced player joining a reviving program. “I know there are girls on the team who played in high school, and just playing in college there will be good leadership. If I can help with that leadership and help players grow, then I want to be able to do that because I do have a good understanding of the sport. But I know my place as a freshman.”

The prospect of college salves some of the current disappointment with which Cancian and Brunswick are dealing, but she does foresee a positive impact coming out of the COVID-19 shutdown.

“There are so many things I thought I’d have longer to appreciate and I wasn’t ready to let go this year,” Cancian said. “For me, moving forward, I will appreciate every single minute. I think of all the conditioning and how I hated every minute of it, and now I miss all of it.”

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