Tiffany Nguyen discovered rugby in 2008 and played all four years in high school. She remained in-state for college and joined the formidable Indiana University, representing the Redstorm for five years. She played some senior club ball after graduation, but it’s those teenage years, when her love for the sport took root, that drew some of the fondest memories. [lead photo c/o Stephanie Duncan]

“When I was in high school, we had an all-star team,” Nguyen contrasted her experience with today’s offerings. “Coaches nominated their players, and then the team would travel to play against Ohio or Illinois or Canada. Today, there isn’t an opportunity for these high schoolers to get together outside of their regular season and play. Covid made it hard [to restart all-stars], but also no one showed interest in restarting this group.”

Nguyen took some time off from the sport and then after the pandemic returned as a youth rugby coach. She then joined the coaching staff for Mudsock, which is a combination of Hamilton Southeastern and Fishers high schools. This past spring marked Nguyen’s first full season in the girls’ high school sphere.

Photo: Stephanie Duncan

“We had a game against Penn High School up in northern Indiana, and Chago was there spectating,” Nguyen said of Ricardo “Chago” Ramirez, the Univ. Notre Dame Women’s Rugby head coach and former USA age grade coach, among many other high-level posts. “We were just chatting and it occurred to me that there wasn’t a summer event for the players. There’s this gap between the end of a high school season to playing in college, or playing on a regional team like the Midwest Thunderbirds. I wanted to bring back an all-state kind of event, and he offered to help.”

The duo had approximately one month to get all the logistics sorted, and Nguyen was big on the back end. They reached out to all of the coaches to engage and nominate their players, and locked down the lined rugby pitch in Broad Ripple’s Riverwood Park. Close to 40 players and six coaches (listed below) reported to camp on Saturday, July 13.

“We did two things with the event that made it a little different,” Ramirez explained. “We did a coaches workshop with it. I got the idea from my time working with [former USA Women’s National Team head coach] Pete Steinberg when he created the [USA Rugby] Coaches Pathway about a decade ago. I worked with coaching staffs in the same manner I had with Sue Whitwell, Martha Daines and Fred Bardot, to name just a few. Little mentorship in real time.”

Ramirez was the lead at camp, directing the player and coach sessions. The players were then divided into two teams, and three coaches (including Nguyen) were placed with each squad. Then each trio of coaches ran their own session with their team — the second aspect that was unique to this camp. A 15s game followed and capped a long, fruitful (and hot!) day.

“I kind of pushed this event, but I went into it blind,” Nguyen said. “I wanted to see what I could do, and if it happened, it happened; and if it didn’t, then it was just more time to plan for next year.

“Everyone got together and collaborated, and players and coaches were able to network and connect,” Nguyen was pleased with the outcome. “The players got to learn new styles of playing and learn from each of the coaches, and they liked playing with people from other teams.”

Looking ahead, Nguyen would like to see this event also serve as a selection venue for the Indy Speed, a select side program that travels to out-of-state competitions. Once that piece comes to fruition, then the next natural step – the Midwest Thunderbirds – becomes more tangible.

“Not everyone knows about nominating players for Thunderbirds,” Nguyen referenced the visibility of pathways. “When I was working with Mudsock this year, the head coach didn’t know you could do that, or lost contact. You have to reach out and find scouts and contacts for your players. It’s just progressing girls’ rugby overall.”

INDIANA HS RUGBY CAMP

SAT JULY 13 @ RIVERWOOD PARK

PLAYERS
Lainey Akins
Ella Barker
Lachlan Brown
Jaden Chin
Avery Christian
Lexi Cloud
Kelli Crawford
Alexis Davis
Emily Dawson
Sophie Dunham
Alyssa Fox
Breanna Gordon
Aissatou Goudiaby
Isabel Graham
Amirah Griffin
Rylen Hackett
Sophia Jimenez
Melanie Jones
Kaiah Long
Masha Newsome
Sonya Newsome
London Nicholson
Adelina Parrish
Addison Prieshoff
Caitlyn Reese
Kenzee Richey
Ellie Robison
Emma Rodefer
Kenzie Runayan
Emma Rutledge
Noimie Samaranayake
Kassandra Smith
Jayla Staten
Kalli Stock
Lilly Van Duyn
Aubrey Vines
Sydney Wade
Jayana Williams

COACHES
Chris Ballard
Trevor Cracknell
Gabe Metz
Tiffany Nguyen
Nate Pulley
Jazmyne Spear-Assaf