USA Rugby High Performance today announced a realigned Women’s Pathways program with an exciting agenda of camps and competition upcoming for 2025.
With long-term eyes on the LA 2028 Olympics and 2033 Rugby World Cup, both on home soil, USA Rugby High Performance is hyper focused on a robust player pathway to cultivate talent on multiple levels and with multiple partners across the country. With the restructure, coaching and leadership has grown with aligned objectives through the broader Women’s High Performance Pathway.
| Tamara Shepard | GM, USA Rugby High Performance |
|---|---|
| Sione Fukofuka | Head Coach, USA Women's Eagles |
| Emilie Bydwell | Head Coach, USA Women's Eagles Sevens |
| Orlando Pulou | Head Coach, U23 Women’s 15s |
| Katie Dowty | Head Coach, U20 Women’s 15s |
| Sue Whitwell | Head Coach, U18 Women’s 15s |
| Irene Gardner | Head Coach, Women’s 7s Pathway |
| Kelly Griffin | Assistant Coach, Women’s 7s Pathway & U18 Women’s 15s |
| Kristin Zdanczewicz | Lead Performance Coach, Women’s Pathway |
| Martha Daines | Head of Player Systems and Development-Women |
USA Rugby GM of High Performance, Tamara Sheppard said on the new pathway alignment, “This restructure of the pathway leadership is to ensure we have a clear focus on talent development through all stages. As we build towards pinnacle events like the Olympic games and Rugby World Cup, this alignment expands on the work our sevens program has been successfully undertaking with Emilie’s Bydwell’s leadership. Ultimately ensuring the gateways to our elite women’s teams are aligned to see the best talent thrive in both forms of the game.”
This spring, High Performance Women’s Pathways have been focused on identifying new talent through targeted scouting combines with 10 Regional Talent Identification camps held across the country. Almost 500 newly identified athletes have attended the nationwide camps, adding to the central database of athletes to follow and foster. All pathway athletes will have the opportunity to grow their profile with USA Rugby selectors this year through a mixed schedule of development camps and competitions. Beyond the hosted events, USA Rugby continues to scout community competitions including Girls High School Nationals Championships, Great Northwest Challenge, NAI 7s, and USA Club 7s Nationals.
| Women's Pathways 15s Events | Location | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| U23 All Star Tournament | Quincy, MA | June 20 - 22 |
| U18 15s East Camp | Mount St Mary's, MD | June 30 - July 5 |
| U18 15s West Camp | Chula Vista, CA | July 7 - 12 |
| U20/U23 Talent Development Camp | Chula Vista, CA | July 13 - 19 |
| U20/U23 Talent Verification Camp | TBC | July TBC |
| Women's Pathways Sevens Events | Location | Dates |
| U21 Sevens Camp | Chula Vista, CA | June 22-28 |
| U23 Sevens Camp | Chula Vista, CA | July 13-19 |
| Junior Pan American Games | Paraguay | August 11-18 |
The U20/U23 Talent Development camp will be hosted for athletes who have already been in the pathway and are closer to stepping into the USA National Team environments. While the U20/U23 Talent Verification camp is designed for players newer to the pathway
Headlining the camp and competition calendar, The USA Sevens Pathway program will also be selecting a U21 team to compete in the Junior Pan American Games, opening the opportunity for aspiring Olympians to compete under the Team USA banner in Paraguay this August.
Players throughout the rugby community, across all levels of play, who are interested in beginning their USA Eagles journey and catching the eye of USA Rugby scouts, are encouraged to put their name forth via the USA Rugby Pathways Player Identification Form »
