The 408 BISON

    A few years back I did an amazing interview with a player from San Jose, CA. more specifically from the Overfelt High School Royals Girls rugby club. Julissa was one of my favorite players to interview at the time and I was so elated when she said yes to doing another Q&A. Only this time she has graduated from high school and is no attending Howard University, at the time of the last interview Howard was her dream school to get into, and is now making a name for her self amongst the heard and representing not just the Royals but the 408 on the east coast. Although still holding out hope for a call from Las Serpientes , Mexico Rugby National Team, a phone call from USA Rugby would not be ignored and in fact welcomed. I truly hope you call take the time to read about catching up with Julissa or maybe its your first time. Either way I hope you all enjoy and feel a bit more closer to an amazing human and rugby player destined to make a difference. 

*there will also be a Spanish translation coming soon.

VAMOS HOWARD!

LLR- How has the adjustment been moving from the west coast to the east coast?

JDA- Initially, moving across the nation to DC alone was a challenging experience, both mentally and literally. However contrary to my expectations, leaving my family behind at the airport was not difficult at all. My excitement to start anew in a large city ridden with culture and history dominated my hesitation to leave the West Coast behind. Dragging 4 suitcases through the airport was no easy task, but when I finally arrived in DC, as I drove to my dorm and took my first glance at the brick-built streets of Howard, I knew I would it would become my home. Initially, I did have difficulty navigating the shops in DC after I realized I was missing a few items needed for my dorm. During my first-ever trip to the grocery store, I got lost and ended up at an abandoned Walmart in the pouring rain. I’ve never been too good with directions, so becoming familiar with the streets and public transportation was an incredibly effortful task, but out of need, eventually, I pushed myself to develop my independence and knowledge of DC well over time. Another thing is that when people say the East is cold, believe them! I had to expand my entire wardrobe as a sun-loving Californian and adjust to the harsh weather as fall came to an end. I even got to experience snow in DC and eventually, I learned to appreciate the weather for the unique experience it was. The last major adjustment I had to make while moving from the West to the East was making new friends. All my old friends remained back home in the West, so for a while I was lonely, but luckily, I made several special bonds with my rugby teammates and over time about two solid friends outside of my teammates. It may not seem like much, but to me, this close and dedicated group of friends is all I could ever ask for in life! Moving has definitely brought its set of challenges, but it's nothing I couldn’t adapt to with patience, determination, and most importantly, time! 

LLR- What's been the one thing you miss from home and one thing you've grown to like the most from being at Howard?

JDA- I desperately miss the Mexican street food and my friends back home! In San Jose, you can find tacos, esquites, and tamales anywhere for a good price. In DC you have to struggle to find any Mexican/Hispanic food place to begin with and when you do, the food is incredibly expensive and tastes inauthentic. It's what I like to call American Mexican food. A single decent Birria taco is $5-6 out here its rough man… Aside from the food I also miss my friends and family, especially my sisters and cousins who would hear me out no matter what the topic was or what time I needed them. I know they are just one call away but it's still not the same. I always see my friends hanging out experiencing college together and having fun nights out, I only wish I was there to share the moment with them. I miss training with my old teammates and catching up with my high school coaches as well. I still keep in touch of course, but I would say those are the things I miss the most from back home. The thing I love the most here at Howard has to be the rugby team! I was so excited to meet the team and soon the faces I saw on HUWRC’s Instagram during my high school years were no longer strangers’ faces, but instead the faces of my new friends and teammates. We play with such passion and everyone helps each other when they can mentally and physically. We aren’t just a team of individual players but a bonded unit with something to prove. I couldn’t be happier with them by my side, they are the highlight of my experience!

LLR- What are you currently majoring in?

JDA- I am a student at Howard University majoring in political science on the pre-law track. My undergraduate goal is to graduate with a 4.0 and go to a prestigious graduate school to either become a corporate lawyer or a trial attorney. My vision is to use my knowledge of business and law to find creative ways of giving back to the community without running into legal issues. I want to be able to build sustainable companies dedicated to helping and defending low-income communities and ultimately using my political background to run for office. I have always had a passion for helping those in need. In previous years I have planned community service events and fundraisers, expanded rugby in our community, and took on various leadership roles throughout high school (and soon in college). However, I do wish to make a more institutionalized change through legislation that accurately represents BIPOC's needs in office as a lawyer, politician, and unwavering ally. At the end of the day, I work for the people and I live for the people! That is why I study what I do.

LLR- In starting your collegiate playing career what's been the biggest difference from high school club to college club level?

JDA- The biggest difference between playing with a high school team and having a college career in rugby was that the flexibility surprisingly increased and training became more skill-based rather than being rooted in basics. When you go to play college rugby, the coaches and team will expect you to have some sort of knowledge of the sport. However, if you don’t, they do go over the basics at the beginning of fall, they just don’t dwell on them during the spring season. Playing fifteens is also the norm in college and I am so grateful to have gotten some experience in my last season of rugby during high school (we were mostly a 7’s and 10’s team until then). Our coaches here at Howard University expect accountability but are very understanding of a student's college life and the hardships that follow them. Often Coach Lele and Coach Mac will allow us to take a break to catch up on grades, work, or just to have a mental health day when needed. They are mindful of the weather, avoiding practices in the rain, snow, or other harsh settings that could get us sick. However, that is exactly why when we can train, we are expected to give 100 percent on the field and go hard! In HS the focus was to get us to the next level: college and international opportunities. That is why we trained in the pouring rain, during breaks, and in the summer focused on basics with a full commitment to better ourselves. I am not saying college rugby is less intense, quite the opposite, the level of skill it takes to play a game as well as the stakes placed on them become much higher, however, in college we are adults with responsibilities to take care of, so leniency and accountability becomes a huge part of your development as a rugby player over time.

LLR- What can you tell me about your team at Howard University ?

JDA- Howard Womens Rugby Club (HUWRC) is an incredibly hardworking and impressive rugby team that was founded just 3 years ago by our amazing president Takunda Rusike. It is full of passionate and talented young women who are proud to be black athletes and an inspiration to all minorities aspiring to play rugby at the collegiate level. As an underrepresented demographic of players in the rugby community, our team is honored to pave a path for future generations of color and we will continue to redefine history every time we put on our cleats. Within 2 years of existing, HUWRC became D2 East Coast champions (Spring 2023), the number 1 capital conference, and earned D2 second place nationwide (Spring 2023)! HUWRC fought tooth and nail for those titles, not as glorified individuals, but as a singular respect-commanding unit. Our hardworking Coaches; Coach Lele, Coach Mac, Coach Sully, Coach Scout, Coach KB, and Coach Tyler put in the hours to plan skillful workouts, complex gameplays, and endurance training to better our abilities as athletes. Our managers Arabella, Kyandall, and Brianna help make our practices/games more organized and effortless behind the scenes. Lastly, my teammates all contribute something valuable and special to our team. Takira is our spirited rucker, Janeece speeds up the game, and Gabby is always reliable. Takunda is our leader, Shylynn is impossible to tackle, and Kam is our loud wildcard. Seniors enjoy playing their last few games, while rookies prepare to play their first. We are all in different stages of our lives but bonded one and the same! Coaches, managers, Eboard, and athletes all contribute to the HUWRC legacy and soon, after we score a ticket to D1 Nationals, we hope to secure the opportunity of becoming the first HBCU NCAA D1 Women’s Rugby team! 

LLR- Is the aspiration to dawn an USA eagle jersey still or has that changed ?

JDA- Should the opportunity to try out for the Eagles present itself to me I would definitely give it my best shot! Their standards are incredibly high, but with enough hard work, dedication, and experience, I don’t believe it to be too far out of reach. However, my heart lies with representing HWRC and my Mexican roots with Las Serpientes, Mexico’s international women's rugby team. Hopefully, by the end of this year, I will have participated in one of their professional U19 tournaments as tryouts seem to be just around the corner!

LLR- Favorite female rugby player?

JDA- Portia Woodman from the Black Ferns is by far my biggest inspiration in rugby. She absolutely dominates the pitch and made a household name for herself in a male-dominated sport and industry. Woodman is a leading try-scorer in the World Series for a reason! She trains hard, drives through people, and scores consistently. Although she is not the biggest on the field, she is one of the most feared, and an inspiration to smaller rugby players like me. I want to be able to single-handedly lift opponents on my shoulder as she does and be a reliable teammate who will not let you down no matter the opposing team's skill or size. I hope to become as great as Portia Woodman someday, but until then I will keep watching her and stay motivated to work toward that level of rugby respect and honor!

LLR- If you could play overseas for any club, which would it be? 

JDA- I’m not too sure I honestly haven’t thought about it much. I don’t know much about rugby club teams overseas, but should I ever feel the urge or have an opportunity to join a high-intensity disciplined team I will do so and continue my rugby journey well into my older years.

LLR- What position are you playing while at Howard?

JDA- Currently, I am a utility player (my position varies as needed) and by the end of this spring season, I should have 5 positions under my belt! In my previous years of high school experience, I only played as a back, utilizing my speed usually as a wing or a fullback. This year I was introduced to scrumhalf and flank, and eventually, I will also learn to hook. Out of the five, I am still a fullback at heart, but scrummy is a close second! I am very excited to get experienced with the forwards as tackling is one of my favorite aspects of rugby gameplay! I may be small but after being subbed in as a flank these last few games I’ve gotten quite comfortable in the scrums and defensive line, as well as confident in my ability to support my teammates on the pitch. I’ve earned a reputation for not being scared to tackle people twice my size and earned Rookie of the Year for my contribution last fall season. With age, hard work, and time I hope to solidify a starting position on the roster, but until then I’ll continue to learn as many positions as possible and be useful to my team in whatever way I can!

LLR- Will you be at the 2033 women's world cup on American soil as a player or fan? 

JDA- In all honesty, I would probably be on the soil as a fan and I wouldn’t mind at all. I would be practicing law, busy with politics, and realistically not have much time to train to the American Eagles standard, however, guarantee I will have the best seats money can buy! Should I be blessed enough to ever play a World Cup in my life I would consider my athletic life forever fulfilled :)

LLR- Aspirations for your personal and team goals for this season at Howard ? 

JDA- For my personal goal, I plan to end my freshman year with a 4.0 on the dean's list and pay off the rest of my tuition so I can continue attending Howard! For the upcoming year, I hope to join more community service-based events and clubs. I hope to secure the position of HUWRC’s community service event chair this election and join Model UN to further my understanding of foreign policy and debate (Model UN is an international relations and political club of debate and discussion). Someday I even hope to run for the presidency of HUWRC and continue my journey as a leader in the rugby community as I did with my old team back home! This season, my goal is to make the traveling roster and eventually, the nationals traveling roster because I truly believe HUWRC can stand on business as the underdogs and take the win! Next year I hope to secure more playing time on the field and will continue to explore new positions until there is a need to specialize. Lastly, I hope to develop a unique playing style and master a signature move to distinguish myself in the rugby community.

If you want to follow Julissa and her journey or reach out to her, give her a follow on Instagram- @julissa_ess

*spanish translation coming soon.

Bells keep Ringing

Retouching base with a former Q&A player, Mateo from San Jose, CA, It was great to hear from Mateo and as always very gracious for him taking the time to answer these questions. My hope is that you all, like my self, get a opportunity to learn a bit more about this young player and be sure to add him to your list of young up and comer to keep an eye on. 

LLR- Since our last conversation, how did last season end?

M- Last year was a rough season for our rugby program. The boys fought hard all the way through the season, and we improved tremendously throughout the season, but we ended up letting games slip through our hands. 

 

 

LLR- What preparations have you taken to prepare for this coming season?

M- The way I improved myself most was going to Argentina for 2 months to play rugby for a club team. I learned a lot about rugby culture in Argentina and how it is vastly different than the culture in California. I addition to the culture I learned about a whole new style of play, and I developed new skills myself. As a team we have been preparing by keeping each other accountable for training sessions and by helping the newer guys understand the game and how we prepare for it.

 

LLR- How has recruitment gone thus far in getting more players to come out for the team?

M- This last year we lost a large majority of our team that were seniors who all graduated and so now we are left with fewer numbers than I would like. The recruiting this year has gone well and we have a lot of newer players. I’m excited to see how they develop as rugby players this season and perhaps in the future if they decide to keep playing.

 

LLR- Are there any special matches scheduled for this season that we should all keep an eye on?

M- I think again like every year our favorite teams to play are Bishop O’Dowd and San Joaquin Memorial because they are usually evenly matched and everyone enjoys the competition. We play Bishop O’Dowd February 3^rd and San Joaquin Memorial February 10^th both at home.

 

LLR- Are there any schools you are narrowing down your choices to that you want to get a degree from and also play for?

M- As of right now my top 2 schools which I have heard back from are Colorado State, and Montana State. I plan to play rugby at whichever school I end up choosing while studying Environmental Engineering. I am still waiting to hear back from a few schools to release acceptances like CU Boulder and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

 

LLR- What would you like to major in when moving on to college?

M- I am planning on majoring in Environmental Engineering at whichever college I end up attending.

 

LLR- Are there future plans to apply for the MLR draft or are your sights set for something else?

M- I don’t think the MLR is in my future but I 100% plan on continuing to play rugby after college for a club team.

 

LLR- Current favorite rugby player?

M- I would say right now my two favorite players are Marcos Moneta and Antoine Dupont.

 

LLR- Favorite rugby team?

M- My favorite team is the Pumas because I am Argentinian, so I root for my own country.

 

LLR- Super Bowl, who do you have winning?

M- I have my bet on the Niners beating the Chiefs.

 

LLR- Favorite subject in school?

M- Favorite subject right now is probably my Engineering Design and Development class.

 

LLR- If you had an opportunity to speak with a coaching staff member from a national team, what would you say to them to take the chance on you?

M- If I had one chance to speak with a coach of a national team I would say “Just watch”. Now this might seem a little cocky but there’s no other way to prove myself other than to just demonstrate what I can do. Actions speak louder than words. No amount of “sweet talking” should vouch for someone’s abilities. Now in no way am I qualified to tell a coach of a national team to “Just watch” but that is what I would say if I had such ability.

 

LLR- Words of motivation for your teammates?

M- What I say to my teammates after every practice is that they keep improving every single practice. We have got to keep working hard and nothing is going to be given to us. Not only working hard for ourselves but fighting for our entire team. When you step on that field play with pride because you are representing Bellarmine. Leave everything on the field so when the final whistle blows you have no regrets.

*Bellarmine lost 2/3 40-19 to Bishop O'Dowd 

Fallow Bellarmine Rugby Club on instagram- @bcprugby 

Kneel before the Royals

*This Blog and Life Love Rugby (LLR) on all social media accounts will never degrade anyone , rugby community or not, based because of their sexual orientation, religious beliefs and even political beliefs to that extent. All are welcomed #RugbyforAll 

The power of rugby as a sport has a way of changing lives forever and it can not be measured. In the city of San Jose, CA. , population over 1 million.  There is a lot of youth sports programs happening. there are so many options for kids of all ages from soccer, to basketball swimming and lacrosse. However, it is an absolute shocker that the largest city in Northern California has only 1 girls high school team let alone only 2 boys high school team. Almost seems like a utter knock on from Rugby NorCal to not have invested more into having at least 4 teams of each boys and girls playing with in the city limits alone.

Like many of you who find new rugby clubs at various levels Overfelt Royals, a high school girls team, came across one of my social media platform's and I was intrigued right away. Upon learning they are from my home town I had to begin to fallow them. Still relatively new to the scene there isn't much on the young club. these girls as you are about to read have endured some of the ugliest things that unfortunately are still happening in society today. I encourage every one to visit The Rugby Breakdown to read about their incredible journey thus far and the pure hate the Royals have endured. 

Id like to thank Julissa Deanda , current team president, for taking the time to answer questions and for being so honest and a shinning example on being a true leader. I deeply encourage if you are a coach in college, or anyone from USA Rugby to reach out to Julissa, outside of these questions we had a bit of a exchange through messenger and what an absolute passionate, encouraging and all around amazing young woman and you to will enjoy getting to know her very much! 

*coach Susanna Guardado has given some more insight into some of the questions. 

LLR- What year was the rugby club founded, what inspired the formation?

JD-  Our Royal Rugby club was actually founded just last year in 2021 but has been in the works since 2019. It all started when a simple game was introduced to a jv soccer team back in 2019, when our rugby coach, Coach Susanna Guardado or Coach G, was actually our soccer coach. She sort of just said “Hey want to try something new?”, during our final practice and we went at it. Our team became enthralled with the game and when our coach proposed actually starting a new team, no answer was needed; We were in. Unfortunately, soon after, Covid-19 hit and most of the team members had no idea what would happen with the sport. However, our coach was working hard behind the scenes from 2020 up until 2021 and fought for our club to become a reality. And although many people doubted us, in 2021, the same year we became a team, we became bowl champions. 

LLR- When someone talks about youth rugby in the bay area, there’s mostly talk about the boys side of things. How has the reception been so far from the school and local clubs of the Overfelt girls rugby team? 

JD- Well, personally, outside teams never seemed to be the problem. We actually made friends with a lot of them and raised 11k in donations from asking within the community. Rugby itself is a very respectful community because it’s built on connections to balance the toughness of the sport, so to our surprise it wasn't the outside clubs who put us down, it was our own peers. When it was first speculated that the girls would have a rugby team, an anonymous post was made on an instagram account. From what I can remember, it said something along the lines that we “ lesbians got a rugby team” and now we think we’re “the shit”. Under it were many tasteless homphobic comments such as being called “ran through'' for liking multiple genders or “sensitive” for standing up against their disrespect. Most of these comments were left by boys football team members . The post created a bigger chain reaction than I thought because by defending our team in the comments, I myself got into an argument and had a falling out with a friend because I called her out for defending them. And it wasn't harmful only to me, but to many of the girls on the team who also identify somewhere on the LGBTQ+ scale. To be stereotyped into one category once again was frustrating as women themselves are already underpaid, underestimated, and disrespected not only in sports, but in day to day life. Our response after the dilemma: don't react, just prove them wrong. My personal response: “Where’s their trophy?”.

LLR- In a mass city like San Jose, the Royals have seem to become a bacon for the potential of girls rugby in the area, is there a sense of pride amongst you and your teammates for carrying the torch thus far for girls youth rugby in a blind spot of NorCal Rugby?

JD- My teammates and I are flattered to be seen as an inspiration to the younger athletes who want to play rugby someday. We realize our “rags to riches” story opened up a door full of opportunities such as articles and interviews that tell our story, or when we raised 11k+ from our community to fund our team, but those victories weren’t just handed to us, we had to earn it by having the grit to want better for ourselves constantly. However, we realize we wouldn't be here without our community's support so we are humble and grateful for that. We try to return the kindness by inspiring the new generations to continue the East Side rugby legacy. We hoped to inspire them by running workshops in the summer and we accomplished exactly that. In fact, many of the kids who went still refer to some of the players as “teacher” or “coach”! We have also volunteered with the BAWSI girls at sporting events and enjoyed seeing the smile on their faces when we were repeating a chant. At the core we are a community and family-oriented team, so yes we are proud of our accomplishments, but because we worked hard for it and would like to inspire the younger generations to do the same. 

SG- Of course it does! As the head coach of the program and founder of the team, I have bigger goals, bigger dreams for the program’s future. I strongly believe Rugby is a sport that San Jose needs, especially East Side San Jose!

Currently, there is so much collaboration and partnership being establish with our program. For instance, the SJSU WOMENS RUGBY program collaborates practices. Some of the San Jose Seahawks Women players come out (from time to time) to help during practices. As for next level work, I have 3 players who will be going to the U18 Mexico national tryouts in October!

LLR- In the article from The Rugby Breakdown posted towards the end of last year, it was stated that there was a lack of support from the school in helping with supplying practice space and proper time set aside to do so. Have things changed since then?

JD- Unfortunately, it is true that we had and still have an overall lack of support from the school. It’s just not as bad as it used to be. From the beginning, we realized we would have to share the field with the football boys, but we did not realize that we would be getting pushed off the field as well. We originally aimed for half of the field considering it is a 7’s team that requires a lot of running, but were given a shot put area to practice in. Not only that, but once we gained access to the lights to have our practices on the field from 6-8 pm, the football team began “extending” or pushing their practices back which left us once again in the shotput area. Regardless of the area we practiced in, we still won the 7’s championships, however, that still wasn't enough to gain respect or support because when tryouts for the 15s season began, suddenly a new rule was implemented, that “no players currently in a season can try out” for a club sport. This rule was probably made with the fact in mind that many of our core players in rugby 7’s also came from the girl's soccer team and that many of the boys interested in starting their own boy's rugby team, were from the football team. It was justified as a “safety precaution” for players in a season since playing BVAL sports should be prioritized and we are a club sport that's more prone to injuries. That rule cut our three weeks of practice to three short days right before the KOT tournament, which resulted in players getting injuries, myself included, from lack of tackling preparation. Yet regardless of the restrictions imposed on us, those who were truly passionate about rugby stuck around and for 15s season we ended up in the top three!

SG- It all starts from the top right. Last year we held a student body meeting with the school’s principal. Where we came prepared to take things to the next level and bring in title 9. Many things were agreed on during that meeting but as soon as season began, most of it went out the door and the story repeated itself. We have limited access due to football (field and weight room). We proposed a decent start time of 6p for the safety of our girls but that was declined. We don’t officially jump on the field until 7p, ending practice at 830pm

LLR- Overfelt just concluded a club sign up day for students, how was the turn out this year thus far for potential players?

JD- We had so much fun recruiting new players for our rugby team! It was very successful and we now have around 20 players compared to last year's 13-15 players. We gained so much interest from students at club rush that we even had to make a boy's sign-up sheet for those who were interested in starting a rugby team of their own. Now if they'll stick around, who knows, but we really hope they do!

LLR- Are you planning on continuing to play after high school and into college, if there a specific college you have a eye on or one reach out yet?

JD- Yes I want to continue playing rugby for college, specifically Howard or Harvard University! They specialize in my interests of political sciences and law and both have powerful politician alumnis such as Kamala Harris and Barack Obama. It’s also a POC dominated school so it would make me feel welcome as a POC myself. I actually hope to be in communication with Howard’s Rugby coach soon, as she has connections with my coach, Coach G. I plan to use all the opportunities in front of me to join these schools. They’re my dream colleges!

LLR- As club president what are some joys and hardships you face?

JD- Undoubtedly, everything about being class president is a joy to me. Knowing events ahead of time and helping plan them taps into the passionate leader inside of me. Facilitating a room and directing it when needed has always been one of my strong suits, as well as something I enjoy doing, so when I apply these traits in my day to day rugby life, by running informational club meetings or by representing our voice, like now, it's not because I have to, but because I want to. And although it is hard for me to focus, as a naturally forgetful and scatterbrained person, my position as president has taught me to be responsible. It has taught me to be a dependable person and show up when it really counts, because when my team needs to rely on me, I will be there to support them. 

LLR- If given a chance to speak at another school and talk to potential players about starting their own club team, what would you say to them?

JD- I would tell them that regardless of the obstacles they may face in their path, ambition and grit is the key to making it not only as a team but also as a family. If you can learn to trust your teammates to protect you when you're tackled, you’ll eventually learn that you can trust them with anything as well. They’ll be the first ones to have your back when you need support so if those connections are the ones you're looking to make, rugby is an option worth fighting for! Don’t ever let anyone tell you you’re aiming too high or asking for too much. Just make sure you're ready to work for it too!

SG- Funny, because I have been reaching out to all High schools around the area and NOTHING. So now I’m opening my options asking charter schools and continuation schools. This sport is amazing and will open up many doors.

LLR- On the teams Instagram account I noticed this summer that there was some sort of clinic being run for younger kids, how was the reception of the clinic over the summer and how key is it to building a strong connection between the club and community?

JD- Running the open summer clinic allowed the rugby team to come full circle and return the favor for the overwhelming support the community has expressed for us by allowing them to learn the sport itself. Dani, Sol, and Vero taught the kids not only the basics of rugby techniques but also what it means to be a “team”. They taught them to communicate, be respectful, and persevere; skills that they will need not only in sports but also in their personal life. But these kids didn’t only learn life skills, they also had fun! In fact, they got so close to their teammates and teachers that many of them didn't want there to be a “last practice” and tournament. We made an effort to build a connection with the kids because they’re vital to keeping our legacy alive. By involving these kids in rugby ahead of time, we gave them the opportunity not only to fall in love with the sport and gain a new passion but also to possibly be part of the future generation of the Royal Ruggers!

SG- Yes! The summer clinic was something that I pushed for during our meeting. The vision was to host FREE rugby clinics for kids ages 5-12 years old every Friday. And May I say, this was a success. Every Friday we had 20-24 kids ages 5-12 yrs old out there learning the sport. I created a junior coach position so that 3 of my athletes can learn how to coach. I paid them out of pocket for their amazing work. Alongside, we had the older group (13-18 years old)  who would scrimmage for 1.5 hours. The older group would usually gather 14-18 people every practice. Like this we met many middle schoolers who are now interested in rugby and many little ones who wish to be in a team! 

LLR- Lastly what final words would you like to share, how can people interested fallow along and what can we all do, living in San Jose and outside the area to help support the program as it continues to grow

JD- In life, you will face much opposition as you try new things, just as we did when we fought tooth and nail for the Royals Rugby club to flourish and become our legacy. The key was to have grit and just like our scrums say, to “keep driving” because you can’t give up without a good fight, regardless of what life may throw in your path. Whether it’s by playing rugby yourself or simply supporting the community, we encourage you to immerse yourselves in the world of rugby. It is a diamond mind full of professional athletic opportunities and life-changing bonds within the small world we live in, so we advise you not to miss out! If you would like to follow along on our team’s journey and continue supporting us to the fullest, our Instagram handle is @wcoroyalrugb, and we’re both lucky and appreciative of having you!

SG- Add: if anyone is interested in being a part of the royal family in the spring, please reach out. We are looking into establishing a boys side as well. 

#RugbyForAll

To fallow the Royals please fallow along on Instagram: @wcoroyalrugb ,  I highly recommend if you are a women's college coach to please keep a sharp eye on the Royals and their progress being made, you may find the next group of stars that you need to help carry the program to a national title.

Let it be known, Rugby is a sport for all. if you have hate against some ones sexual orientation, color of skin, religious belief's and race then Rugby is not for you and we will as a society, as a community and as a family will not condone such views. I hope that Overfelt High school in San Jose,CA has or will investigate such disgusting acts if they are associated in any form with its own student body. It is also unfortunate but very true for many club teams on almost any level but the Royals have had to fight , mostly the football team, for practice time and space on campus. I commend the team as a whole for continuing to care the flag and represent Overfelt even when they have been exiled by most and are the main target from the powers that be to make it a point to extinguish the club as a whole. But with their adversity they have found a way to turn it all into fuel and prove everyone wrong over and over again.

As for the last point that needs to be made, there has been little to no effort made from Rugby NorCal to help grow the game for young women. How can the Largest city in its region have only one youth girls rugby team. 

If you would like to get in contact with Julissa please reach out in ether form.

Cell: 408-599-6080

Email: julissa040205@gmail.com

If you would like to get in contact with Royals Rugby (Overfelt Rugby) 

Email: coachguards@gmail.com

Instagram: @wcoroyalrugb 

*update: There is now movement being made that there will be a boys team spring (2023)