Girls Rugby NIT 2013 Application Online

Earlier today the online application was unveiled for teams to seek a bid to the girls high school National Invitational Championship.  Interested teams can visit Rugby Magazine and their section for the Girls NIT under "Tournaments."

The tournament is looking to be an even bigger event this year, with its focus on girls high school rugby.  A committee of eight coaches from some of the most respected high school programs in the country selected Milwaukee as the tournament location and will work to determine seeding for the 24 teams, broken into three divisions.

Already those eight teams that form the committee make for an impressive field: the Amazons, Catholic Memorial, Divine Savior Holy Angels, Fallbrook,Kent, New York, Lakewood, and West Carroll.  Perenial state champions like Colorado's Summitt HS and Minnesota's Armstrong have already stated their intent to apply and compete. Others, especially some strong California teams like Fullerton, have expressed interest in competing.  St Joseph's Academy, an all-girls school, is also expected to seek ann invite; they represent in many ways a newer group of up and coming programs that should gain significantly from the experience and competition.

Organizers are expecting to draw the most competitive field of girls high school teams ever assembled in one place, and hope to draw from a wide range of regions including the south in areas like Florida, where Sebastian River has been a past-participant, along with Tennessee, who not that long ago finished a girls 7's season this past November, and who continue to grow.

Girls Rugby National Invitational 2013

2013 Girls’ High School National Invitational Tournament Announced

(image of 2012 "National Champion" trophy awarded by USA Rugby)

     The 14th Annual Girls’ High School National Invitational Tournament (NIT) will be held Saturday-Sunday, May 18-19, 2013, in Milwaukee, Wisc. Organized by the National Girls’ Coaches Committee (NGCC), the elite girls’ rugby tournament will return to a 24-team field, comprised of three divisions.
     Opening ceremonies will kick off the event on the morning of Saturday, May 18, to be followed by quarterfinals and semifinals for each of three divisions. The finals for each division will be played Sunday morning and early afternoon.
     The first girls’ NIT was held in 2000 and involved six teams. As a result of increasing competition and the desire for a venue to challenge top high school programs, the event expanded and grew to include 24 top teams in three divisions by 2007. USA Rugby sponsored the national tournament from 2008 through 2012 and contracted the event to 8 teams. With USA Rugby withdrawing sponsorship of both the boys and girls national tournaments in the coming year, the NGCC has reorganized the NIT to continue the tradition of a high school girls national championship tournament.
     Competitive high school girls’ teams wishing to compete must return an application along with a $50 fee no later than Sunday January 13th. A non-refundable entry fee of $500 along with a $500 deposit will be required to accept a bid to the NIT. The deposit will be returned upon arrival at the event. Divisions and seeding will be decided the week of the tournament and take into account current records, strength of schedule, and the most recent regional and state playoff competitions.
Inquiries may be directed to members of the NGCC and tournament hosts. We welcome and encourage those teams with aspirations of high-level play to this highly competitive event entering its 14^th year.

Regards;
The National Girls Coaches Committee
John Klein (DSHA)(Chair)
Andre Bruwer (Lakewood)
Molly Dengler (NYRC)
Sefesi Green (Amazons)
Rex Norris (Kent)
Marin Pinnell (Fallbrook)
Brad Rockwood (West Carroll)
John Waliszewski (Catholic Memorial)
Jackie Finlan (RugbyMag)(Media Liason)

For applications contact John Klein chinnychinchin_2000@yahoo.com
 

WGR alumni awarded Kevin Higgins Scholarship

 

Last week, Catholic Memorial alumni Katie Mueller was awarded a Kevin Higgins College Scholarship. A nice article on Katie, CMH ’12, is re-printed below. Articles on her award can be viewed at the USRugby Foundation and at RugbyMagzine.

Katie becomes the fourth WGR alumni to win this prestigious award and the second from Catholic Memorial High School.  Congratulations!

Katie Mueller -
2012 Kevin Higgins College
Scholarship Grant Recipient

San Diego, CA (December 5, 2012) - Katie Mueller has been playing organized sports for as long as she can remember. First it was basketball where she starred on AAU teams from the sixth grade on. She also played hoops all four years she was at Catholic Memorial High School. Her team was good and so was she as she led CMHS to victory over the number one team in the state of Wisconsin in the regional playoffs. At 6’ tall, she was also a gifted volleyball player playing club and high school volleyball from the ninth grade on.

Excelling in the classroom seemed to be as natural for Katie as excelling on the court. She was one of the top students in her class finishing with a 3.9 GPA.

With what looked like a basketball or volleyball scholarship waiting for her, imagine if you were the coach of the women’s rugby team at Catholic Memorial and you saw Katie approaching you just before the start of the team’s first practice her junior year. Here’s how her coach John Waliszewski remembers that day.

“It was the first day of rugby practice last year. A tall and happy-faced 17 year-old hopped over to me to announce she’d like to join our team. This was a big deal. Katie is one of the best students and best athletes in our school, and now she wanted to join the newest team on campus. What excited me even more is that she is one of the most sincere and caring young adults I’ve ever worked with. Not only did she join the team, but Katie became a captain of the team her senior year, despite only having one year of experience. She is so well respected, works so hard, and communicates so well, that it was clear her teammates would follow her anywhere.”

Katie was named Catholic Memorial’s Rookie of the Year her junior year leading CMHS to a Wisconsin State Runner-Up finish. She won 20 Brickhouse awards that year for individual game achievement in performance or leadership by coaching staff and teammates. She was also named the team’s Defensive Brickhouse Award winner.

As captain of MCHS her senior year, she led her team to the Midwest Championship game as well as 4^thplace finishes in both the 15s and 7s National Championship tournaments.

Despite her success on the rugby pitch, Katie and her family expected her to accept a basketball scholarship to college. But after a conversation with Penn State and U.S. Women’s National Team coach Peter Steinberg following her last rugby game those plans changed. After her strong season at CMHS Katie realized she had the potential to go to the next level in rugby. Her conversation with Coach Steinberg made it even more clear for her.

“Katie is exactly the type of person that USA Rugby is looking to identify and develop to help us compete at the World Cup and Olympics. She is a quality varsity athlete that has chosen rugby over her other sports.”

Penn State is receiving much more than a smart and gifted student athlete. They are getting a well-rounded individual who has given back to her high school and community. She was a member of the National Honor Society her senior year. She has been on her school’s Honor Roll without interruption since the 5^thgrade. She won the Outstanding Academic Achievement-President’s Education Award in the 9^thgrade. She was also featured in the Who’s Who in Middle School and High School in grades 6, 7, 8, and 9.

She was a Student Ambassador for Catholic Memorial her junior and senior years. She volunteered for the CMHS Open House and the CMHS Book Sale all four years of high school. She was a CMHS Girl’s Basketball Camp Coach in grades 9-11. She was a Peer Leader for the sophomore retreat her junior year. She was also in CMHS Leadership Development Program in 10^thgrade.

She was a member of the Auxiliary to the Milwaukee Professional Firefighters her senior year. She volunteered at a number of community events, including: local retirees picnics (from grades 7-11); Charity Mania Booster Club Fundraiser (grades 11-12); Lionel Hoffer Scholarship Bowling Tournament (grades 5-9); Great Milwaukee Muster Volunteer (grade 12); Milwaukee Fire Department Family Campout Children’s games co-coordinator (grades 6-10); and Ronald McDonald House (grades 8-10).

Katie is the only freshman at Penn State that has started every A side match this fall and would have played every minute except for an injury in one match. She is already a leader on her team. Serving in the Air Force is her goal and Katie will soon be immersed in the ROTC program at Penn State. “I hope that my Air Force career and rugby career work together in that I can travel the world serving both my country and enjoying life while playing the beautiful game of rugby.”

Congratulations Katie on being named a 2012 Kevin Higgins College Scholarship recipient.

USA High School All-American Team

    Under new head coach Danielle Miller, USA Rugby recently changed the name of the under 20 Women’s National Team to the Women’s Junior All-American Team (WJAA).  Many teams are not aware of the name change and have missed out on information because of the name confusion.   Also, this summer the first Girls High School All-American team (HSAA) will assemble and compete.  It's our understanding that some of the girls will participate in the Girls High School All-American Team as well as the Women’s Junior All-American Team.  More importantly, having a HSAA team will afford more high school girls the opportunity to experience international competition.

     In past years players worked their way up to the USA u20 WNT through outstanding seasons, and some followed that up with participation on regional select-sides like the Midwest u19 team in a one-off tournament held in November.  Others made the jump directly to the u20 WNT, but that has been happening less and less after the shift to u20 team instead of a u19 team resulted in less high school players in the system.  Hence the need for a Girls HSAA team.

     This past fall there was no Midwest u19 team, making things a little more challenging, especially for high school girls to make the jump.   Regardless, coaches are always on the lookout for up and coming players, regardless of their age and school. Clearly, the USA is currently searching for girls who want to participate in the WJAA and HSAA programs both this year and in the future. 

     In an attempt to see more players, help develop skills, and minimize travel cost, various invitational regional camps are held in March, in the hopes one may find the most advantageous time and location.  Players can be invited to camp by filling out a nomination form.  In total, about 200 girls are invited to the 4 camps.   

The camps are:
March 1-3 Atlanta                                           March 8-10 SoCal
March 15-17 Portland, OR                             March 29-31 East Coast (maybe Penn St., maybe Wash. DC)

The nomination form is available at:
http://form.jotformpro.com/form/23106733350949

The WJAA team will participate in the U20 Nation's Cup this summer in England.  In the past this has involved teams such as Wales, England, Canada, but it could even include South Afrika or the other Celtic ruggers from Scotland and Ireland.

The Rock says ...

Growing up, Saturday mornings werent just for watching cartoons.  There was WWE and WWF wrestling on TV all the time.  Of course, that ultimately led to some wrestling of our own in the basement or out in the backyard.

On of the more famous wrestlers who has been able to crossover to mainstream media in movies and shows is of course, "The Rock".  A man with a strong Samoan ancestry, the Rock is also a rugby fan and has been watching some of the big Heineken Cup games while on location filming a movie in London.

The Rock was recently quoted in a British newspaper talking about rugby.  He says, "I use to live in New Zealand for sometime and I went to school in New Zealand and I played rugby. I have been very lucky, I played American football for a very long time, American professional wrestling for a very long time and had my fair share of action in Hollywood … there is no tougher sport than rugby."

The Rock said he enjoyed watching international rugby particularly the “pre-game rituals”.  It's these unique cultural traditions that rugby has kept part of the experience, even in an era of professional sports where money seems to be more important than other aspects of games.

Even in our little corner of the world, Wisconsin has tried hard to keep and build it's own cultural traditions.  Oak Creek has performed Haka's before matches; other teams like Brookfield have kicked off matches with tie-ins to Milwaukee's proud Irish community ... they had bagpipe playing by their own players a few years ago to kick off matches.  And of course, none of these traditions are as important as the post-match social, with food and drink shared by both teams.

WGR Interactive Calendar

Kettle Moraine Seeks Coach

     The seond-oldest girls high school team in Wisconsin is seeking a coach for the 2013 Spring season and beyond.  The Kettle Moraine Knightmares are the second most successful team in Wisconsin history.  Having made multiple National appearances; they are the only other team to win the State Championship.  They continue to find success, having qualified three years in a row for the Division One Midwest Championship.  KM recently took third place in the Wisconsin State Tournament.  With a dedicated core of players, the nicest practice field in the state, and a well-respected group of leaders, they are one of WGR's strongest programs.

     KM has contributed significantly to the growth of collegiate and women's programs.There are more KM girls playing post-high school than from any other program in Wisconsin.  a quick glance shows there are alumni playingor having recently played  at UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee, U-Northern Iowa, UW-Platteville, Tulane/New Orleans Women, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Oshkosh, the Milwaukee Scylla, the Oconomowoc Women's team.  KM alumni have helped coach UWM, CMHS, and Wauwatosa, to name a few

     Interested candidates should contact former Coach Jeff Noe or the WGR staff for more information:  wisconsingirlsrugby@gmail.com .  Coach Noe has offered to help with the transition to a new coach, and to provide administrative support along the way.

New WGR Administration Takes Over

2013 WGR Board of Directors


President: Dan Chanen dan.chanen@gmail.com

VP: Angela Markwald angiedeschaine@hotmail.com

Secretaries: Kayla&Erin Reilly kayla.reilly@marquette.edu

Treasurer: Appointed position, TBD

M-a-l:John Waliszewski jwaliszewski@catholicmemorial.net



WGR Staff:

wisconsingirlsrugby@gmail.com     Some new faces join an expanded Board of Directors for WGR heading into 2013.  One position remains to be filled, that of WGR treasurer.  A parent volunteer is being sought to balance the representation on the board.  Interested candidates should contact one of the WGR board members directly.