Photo: Kimberly Molliner
Santa Monica is like most teams heading to the USA Club 7s National Championship this weekend. The Dolphins will relish the return to the pitch, test themselves against unknown competition, and aspire to win. But the SoCal team also wants to use this opportunity to remind a national audience that Santa Monica is a destination club.
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Once USA Club Rugby announced the new process for participation at 7s nationals, Santa Monica rallied around the opportunity to compete.
“Everyone was on board for nationals,” Santa Monica head coach Tj Olsen said. “The women who play for Santa Monica, you’ll never find a more competitive bunch. They all want to play at a higher level and want Santa Monica to be known as an elite club in the U.S., and to showcase that.”
Twenty-nine-year-old Olsen has been coaching for more than a decade, and his coaching pedigree ranges from grassroots to semi-pro teams in New Zealand and Australia. When he moved to the U.S. Olsen continued to diversify his involvement, working with the Santa Barbara Rugby Academy, Cal Poly, LA Giltinis men’s academy, and the Santa Monica women as of the 2018-19 season.
After the long Covid-19 hiatus, the team was able to reassemble for 7s in June, practicing twice per week. Olsen was pleased, if not shocked, with the turnout.
“It was remarkable. We are fortunate to have 45 players in our squad,” Olsen said. “I didn’t obviously expect that many players to come out. Some are Santa Monica locals who have been with the club awhile, others have played at UCLA or Santa Barbara Academy and didn’t have a team to play with this season. Some players are in the vicinity back from college.”
The team did see some players move away from the area due to financial and/or health concerns during the pandemic, but Olsen praised the returners for aiding the newcomers’ transition into the Santa Monica fold. Strength-and-conditioning coach Tevita Hala’ufia got to work getting the group back into rugby form, and a couple of other coaches helped break the team into developmental and high-performance sections.
“We have been training as a side for 7-8 weeks, and it’s been a lot of info to cram in,” Olsen said. “The respect I have for these ladies is too high to quantify. They’re working their butts off and never hesitate to ask questions. It’s amazing how much info they can retain in such a short amount of time and such a short season.”
Santa Monica essentially had a month to book tournaments and started with the Sun Splash 7s at Belmont Shore. There, the Dolphins faced nationals-bound Life West and Tempe. The team followed with a San Diego tournament and then wrapped with a social tournament at home.
“With 18 months away from game we expected a few cobwebs to be present on the players and that they needed to be blast out quickly. It took a couple of games to get in the right mindset, but you learn by doing,” Olsen said. “In our first tournament against strong Tempe and Life West teams, we didn’t’ get the result we wanted. But the development and progress that followed definitely made the coaching staff happy. I would’ve liked more time to grow our game but it’ll be beneficial for the 15s season ahead.”
Leading the way is 7s and 15s captain Allie Harris, whom Olsen described not as a traditional 7s player but integral from a leadership, fitness and game play respect. Harris is a great motivator and always keeps the team oriented toward achieving the next goal. As for natural-born 7s players, watch for Tiffany Rowse, Jamie Conlon and Desiree Leaupepe. Rowse graduated from UCLA and the small, fit halfback is crucial to the flow of play. Conlon hails from CSU Long Beach and is a talented, strong ballcarrier. Olsen praised the Santa Monica newcomer’s versatility and ability to influence the game on both sides of the ball. Leaupepe is a veteran who continues to make great gains and impress coaches. Normally a center in 15s, the powerful ballcarrier will also play flyhalf in 7s.
“We’ve always known that Meg Gaedje has a lot of speed and is a very strong ballcarrier, but the development she’s made in the past 3-4 weeks is something that is really inspiring to myself and the other coaches,” Olsen thought on blossoming performers. “To see that in such a short period of time – these ladies can take a little bit of critique or advice on their development and put that into practice. We make little tweaks and they’re firing on all cylinders.”
Although Olsen and the team would have liked more game time to ready for nationals, the team is eager to compete and gauge itself against the rest of the country.
“For me, winning and being number one is never the top goal, and I believe the girls feel the same way,” Olsen said. “They have the drive and passion to win, and they’re excited for the opportunity to play against teams and players they never get to see, and to use the skills we’ve given them to combat different playing styles. They’re starting to see what’s in front of them and analyzing what’s going to happen next instead of running choreographed plays, and they’re excited to test that at nationals.”
Santa Monica will face a nice mix of teams in Pool A, beginning with the Chicago Lions, then Scion and finishing day one against Oregon Sports Union. All three are well established at 7s nationals, but Olsen knows the pandemic has put an asterisk next to every team’s readiness.
“We’re very excited as a club to be at nationals and to showcase who are and be there for the big dance,” Olsen closed. “We’re going to soak up the whole weekend.”
For more information on nationals, visit www.usaclub7s.com.