Rebels Consolidate MS Girls Rugby

U14 Rebels at TN HS 7s Championship

Dean Pappas discovered rugby through his middle school daughter, Arianna, who booted up with Rebels Rugby in Roswell, Ga. Initially he cheered from the sidelines, but his support became more proactive as his daughter’s success and ambitions grew. Pappas worked toward creating more competitive opportunities for girls Arianna’s age; meanwhile, he was keenly aware that he’d move through the age grades alongside his daughter. He needed to recruit the right adult leadership to keep his projects thriving after his departure, and he found that key element in Marietta, Ga., native and Life University sophomore Jenna Salyer.

Pappas had heard of rugby through Arianna’s godmother and namesake, Ari Ray, and was delighted to see his daughter gravitate toward more physical activities like football and MMA.

“We also went the traditional sports route with soccer. It was O.K. It just wasn’t fun,” Pappas said. “Then we went to an open rugby practice by one of the clubs, and she walks off the field, ‘This is for me.’”

Arianna joined Daan Pretorious’ club in Roswell and played co-ed tackle rugby. She lived for the contact, experienced success quickly, and would have debuted for the USA South Panthers had Covid-19 not canceled the Tropical 7s (Orlando) and NAI 7s (Salt Lake City).

Arianna Pappas

“She’s amazing in the sport,” Pappas enthused. “For the first time in her life, this was something that she really wanted to work on.”

The youth club had good numbers and parental support, but there was no girls-specific programming, including high school. Pappas indicated that it was Pretorious’ intention to add girls’ rugby, but with three sons and a recent, permanent return trip to South Africa, it never quite materialized.

“I learned that you’ve got to create [the opportunity] because it’s not here to be had,” Pappas said. “Necessity is the mother of all creation, right? So I had to take an active role.”

Pappas sought to collect all of the U14 girls in the Atlanta region under one umbrella, so they could have a team of their own. The idea was to play under the Rebels banner during the fall, and then return players to their respective home clubs for the Rugby Georgia co-ed seasons, which begin around this time of year. The movement began in earnest this fall, and after a couple of months, Pappas has 13 girls.

The recruitment and retention of players is integral to a healthy team; so is uninterrupted staffing. Pappas will continue in his director role until the end of 2024 – when Arianna is a senior in high school – to find an administrative replacement. The head coach, too, has to be right fit, ideally young and without children, local, experienced, and has a good reason to be invested in the program’s health.

U14 Rebels at TN HS 7s Championship

“My daughter is a little different,” Pappas said. “She operates in the boys’ program wonderfully because she’s more comfortable hitting. But most girls need more of a female ecosystem. Life [University] is in town and I have some informal connections there. I pulled one of their players [Jenna Salyer] to be the head coach, and there are also some Eagles in town. We took advantage of Bitsy [Cairns] – who was just named MVP of the Stars and Stripes match – and she guest-coached two events this fall. So now, it’s only girls and female coaches on the pitch.”

“Dean has always thought that we needed more women leadership and coaching,” said Salyer, who’s known Pappas for a few years. “It’s better if the girls can have someone they look up to, especially because it shows them where they can go with the sport.”

Salyer can identify with the players she’s coaching. She grew up playing all the sports, but when she found rugby as a high school freshman, there weren’t any stable teams on which she could play. A year later, Salyer’s dad reported that some girls were training at her older brother’s pitch, and that group evolved into the East Cobb Amazons. Carrie Harwell managed the team; her son, Tristen, served as Salyer’s first coach; and her daughter, Megan, was Salyer’s teammate.

“During my first practice, actually,” Salyer said of the moment she decided rugby could guide her future. “Coach Tristen said, ‘I can get her a scholarship to Life [University] if she wants to work for it.’”

Salyer with East Cobb Amazons in May 2019

Salyer bit. She worked out before and after school, and on practice days reported an hour early for skill work. She made the USA South Panthers her sophomore year and remained with the all-star program throughout high school. In summer 2018, the communicative back-three player attended Life’s summer recruitment camp and exited with an offer from Running Eagles head coach Ros Chou. One week into her senior year at Lassiter High School, Salyer committed to the DI Elite program and celebrated 2018-19 as captain of the Amazons.

Salyer is where she wants to be today but still aches with the growing pains associated with girls’ high school rugby in her region. She remembers games with Brunswick, Ga., falling through, traveling to Greenville, S.C., for a comparable opponent, and being shocked in Charlotte, N.C., Tennessee and Las Vegas when confronted with the presence of girls’ rugby in other areas. These experiences, however, fueled a desire to give back.

“I’ve always done volunteering with any sport I’ve played,” Salyer said. “For example, when I was with horses I did riding camps. It’s good because you go back and forth between being a student and a teacher.”

Senior year of high school, Salyer started helping the Rebels’ middle school and youth program because they practiced on the same pitch before the Amazons’ training sessions.

Salyer is now a sophomore at Life University / Mina Sisley Photos

“That’s where I saw Ari and she had all kinds of talent. Same with Izzy [Acklen],” Salyer said. “Dean figured out who I was and reached out to me asking if I wanted to help. I started coming as a volunteer and then the kids and parents started calling me ‘coach.’ ‘I’m not going to correct you!’ I’ve always wanted to coach and I loved it, especially working with these girls. It’s my favorite part of the week.”

When it was time for the middle school girls to consolidate and form their own team, Pappas pitched the paid position to Salyer. She assumed the head coach role in August 2020 and brought a bunch of Life teammates to training. As the fall evolved, she was impressed by the progress of players like the tackle-happy Luzaan Snyders and skillful Sara Zavieh, both of whom have next-level potential. Arianna Pappas, of course, is a known entity, and the halfback is already keen on playing in college and beyond.

“I’m the lucky one,” Salyer reflected. “It’s odd. It’s kind of reversed in a way, but they’ve taught me how to be a better player. When I’m running practice, I think, ‘This is how something should look to a coach. So when my coach says the same thing to me, this is what I need to do as well.’”

The Rebels made history in mid-November, when the U14 squad traveled to Nashville for the Tennessee High School 7s Championship. The tournament ran a Festival Division, where the Georgians won their first game, and then lost the subsequent two matches by a try apiece. They were playing up against high schoolers.

“It was a great outing,” Pappas said. “We’re full of confidence in what we’re doing is working. We have the right people, the right effort and the right environment setting up. We just have to stay focused and we’ll keep getting interest.”

Covid-19 is obviously still a concern, so the program is limited in what and where it can play. Nevertheless, Pappas has taken this time to canvas the teams in a region that could be rationally reached by car. He’s learning about the competitive readiness of teams in the Carolinas, Florida and Tennessee, and considering hosting a tournament in Atlanta.

More immediately, the U14 girls will still assemble on Saturdays for as long as they can. Players have also expressed interest in Atlanta Youth Rugby’s winter camp series, which feature Eagles Darian Lovelace and Cortney Kuehl as coaches. AYR Community Programs Director Becky Martin and Pappas hope to field separate girls’ high school teams so they can play each other in the near future. Atlanta is also a stop on the Panther Academy’s camp/combine circuit. Stay tuned for more information on the National Development Program’s evolution.

“It’s so nice to see a program for young girls,” Salyer closed. “I want to be involved with this team throughout college and beyond.”