Rahija Reflects on Mentor Turn-Around

For Emily Rahija, rugby was not love at first hit, especially since she was the one being decked. Once back on her feet, she swiftly bid adieu to her Mentor High School (Ohio) peers who were attempting to build some momentum for a separate girls’ team, and returned to sophomore year without another thought of the sport. The 2017 version of herself would have never believed in today’s reality, that Rahija is a driving force behind Mentor Rugby’s varsity and JV teams, has played all over the country and abroad, and is continuing her career at the DI collegiate level in the fall.

Best friend Alyssa Hyman-Lloyd convinced Rahija to come out to a 7s practice in fall 2017, sophomore year. There were four girls, so they practiced with the boys under the direction of head coach John Hummel.

“At my very first practice one of the bigger girls laid me out. Wrecked me,” Rahija said. “I didn’t know how to get hit or how to fall or get tackled. It hurt so much, and right at that moment I left. ‘Alyssa, I love you, thanks for letting me try it, but I will never play again.’ I left thinking the rugby was stupid and lame.”

But Hyman-Lloyd did the best-friend thing and kept chipping away, and Rahija tried again in the spring. This experience was different, as she was afforded the time to learn how to catch, pass and tackle. Rugby took form, and Rahija saw how her speed and endurance would fit in nicely with the fast-paced sport. A senior was making a last-ditch effort to form a girls’ team and Hyman-Lloyd and Rahija joined the campaign.

“Mentor Rugby had become notorious at our school,” Rahija said of guerrilla recruitment tactics. “We wouldn’t stop asking our friends. We set up tables in the lunch room with big annoying posters and multiple rugby ball so people could ask, ‘What is the egg for?’ We went from table to table in the huge student center. ‘Want to try rugby? You like sports? You want to hit someone?’”

The team didn’t have clout yet, and only seven players signed on for the 2018 spring 15s season. The boys’ team, too, had low numbers, and both squads had to borrow players from the opposition for every match.

“Spring 2018 was a struggling season,” Rahija said. “Alyssa and I took the sport so seriously and wanted a real team experience and to win some stuff, but it was tough to do by ourselves and maybe one other player who wasn’t slacking off.”

Mentor faced Hudson at one point, and during the post-game social, Anna Walters introduced herself to Rahija.

“She said, ‘I think you should try out for Celtics. You’d be a good fit,’” Rahija said of the Ohio Celtic Elite program. “She played for them and said I should give it a shot if I wanted to play high-level rugby.”

Rahija took Walters’ advice and attended a Celtics tryout. She was intimidated, given her short amount of time in the sport and caliber of player on display.

“During a tackling drill, coach Mark [Montgomery] saw me tackle the pad and came over and wrote my name down. ‘We’ll be in contact,’” Rahija quoted the current Baldwin Wallace coach. “It was a big boost of confidence for me and I gave it my all for the rest of the tryout.”

Rahija made the team and traveled with the Celtic Elite to the Midwest Regional Cup 15s Tournament. The sophomore played with the JV team, which took 1st place.

“I had never experienced anything like that before,” Rahija juxtaposed her home team with the select side. “Most of the Mentor girls were not taking it seriously, and so Alyssa and I had a bigger load on our backs than everyone else. We were losing and losing, I don’t think we had any wins that 15s season. I went from a situation where we’re just learning rugby and putting in a lot of work to save a team, to the high-level Celtics where I didn’t have to play every part on the field and could trust my teammates because they did their parts.”

The Celtics stoked a real love for the game in Rahija, and she continued to learn more about the sport that summer. She joined the team again to win the Rock ‘n’ Roll 7s, where she was scouted for the Midwest High School Thunderbirds, the region’s all-star program. She attended the weeklong tryout at Denison University and interacted with the next tier of driven, talented players, including Grandville (Mich.) grad Gina Pollice (Long Island University commit), who left a lasting, impactful impression on Rahija. She was then selected to the 2018-19 team that was scheduled to travel to Florida for its annual winter 15s tour and then Ireland in summer 2019.

Rahija confessed that it was crazy. She hardly had any rugby experience but already had her first overseas tour booked. That exposure again contrasted with the situation that awaited her at Mentor in fall 2018.

“I talked to Alyssa about fall 7s,” Rahija said. “We don’t have enough players for fall 7s, so why stay with that team? I understand we want to build it up but it’s lower rugby and with 4-5 girls who don’t have a passion for it like we do.”

Rahija described fall 7s as more of a club season and was allowed to play with Brunswick. The Valkyries are a more serious institution and she clicked with players like current Notre Dame College freshman Aubrey Boing, Jordan Kouns and the Helman twins, Brianna and Brooke. She met Lou Justice and the two really connected during the latest Thunderbirds tour.

“She is one of the scariest players I’ve seen in my life,” Rahija said of Justice. “You’d think she’d be as mean as a Pit Bull off the field but she is the sweetest person.”

Brunswick went on to win the Rugby Ohio Fall 7s Championship, and Rahija was named MVP of the final. She remained connected with the team for the remainder of high school. Most recently, she and Mentor teammates filled out Brunswick’s two sides at the Carolina Ruggerfest, where Dakota Burgess, the Helmans, Kouns and Justice were scouted and invited to USA U18 training camps.

“We kicked butt,” Rahija said. “I was playing with a team with girls who knew the sport. Sure, it’s simple things, but comparing it to the Mentor girls who wouldn’t show up to practice to learn how to catch and pass – it makes a big difference.”

Atlantis took notice, and both she and Celtics teammate Walters accompanied the storied select side to the New York 7s tournament.

“That was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. I showed up to one of the most renowned teams with all of these amazing players,” Rahija said. “Alex Pipkin [Harvard] was my first friend there, and Kate Buzby [Life University] really spent time teaching me, too. I was so thankful to learn from them.”

A subsequent Atlantis tour connected Rahija with Makenna Tuman from the Pittsburgh area.

“No one is more like me than her. She’s funny and outgoing and we automatically linked,” she said. “We’re both natural leaders and loud and assert our place on the field.”

Rahija had intended to rejoin Brunswick for the 2019 spring 15s season but learned that she needed to play for her high school. She cringed as she reflected on the previous spring season, but then Hummel convinced Mentor High School to consider rugby as an official school sport. A three-year trial period was put in place, and if the rugby team could prove that it was a worthy, stable investment, then it would be added to the school’s athletic offerings.

“If we’re going to be forced to play with Mentor, then let’s make the most of it,” Rahija said to Hyman-Lloyd. “Again, we were super annoying with recruiting. We were dragging our friends to practice even if they had no athletic experience at all. ‘I don’t care if you’re playing another sport or have something to do, you’re doing it.’ We wanted to show our passion and love for rugby to other girls.”

The duo recruited a full team, complete with subs, and Hummel convinced the athletic director to find a coach for the girls’ team.

“I was a little nervous when I was asked to take over as the women’s head coach last year,” Vicki McGarry said. “It’s been a while since I played and things have changed.”

McGarry played for Penn State from 1991-95 and is a two-time All-American with a DI National Championship to her credit. When she moved to Ohio, she played with Eastern Suburbs for a few years, and is currently a STEM teacher at Mayfield Middle School. When she accepted the volunteer coaching position, she did a lot of research, watched a lot of rugby and got her coaching certifications. She drew from her previous coaching experiences and teaching background to set up an engaging environment for mostly new rugby players.

“There was a really wide range of knowledge, from 15 freshmen who had never touched a rugby ball before to people like Emily, who is super talented and athletic and knows the game really well,” McGarry said. “I had to come up with ways to push her and bring other players up to her level. We didn’t do a lot of whole-group things until I felt like the girls had a good foundation for rugby.”

McGarry also highlighted Hyman-Lloyd, Megan Friel and Mackenzi Gredence for nurturing the team’s growth.

“Vicki was like, ‘We’re taking it seriously,’ and that lit a fire in us,” Rahija said. “It’s still tough though because you have to teach an entire sport to everyone while trying to train for a season. You have to learn how to play and so you’re teaching in between games and tournaments. It was a great experience for us because it gave us a sense of leadership and a chance to learn more about ourselves and the sport.”

Mentor was placed in an open division for Rugby Ohio, which needed to vet the team for a season before thrusting it into the regular competition.

“It wasn’t the most competitive for us and we wanted to play in a higher bracket, but we had to go through this hoop and prove ourselves,” McGarry said. “We did better than expected.”

Meanwhile, Rahija went on Thunderbirds tours to Florida and Ireland, competed in the Midwest RCT again with the Celtics, and returned to Rock ‘n’ Roll 7s with Mentor. When senior year kicked off, Mentor had enough players for three fall 7s teams.

McGarry kept the roster sizes small so that players could get lots of field time. Four of the nine players on the competitive side (A) were seniors and the other five were athletic, talented sophomores. Another 22 players were divided into B and C sides, and they focused on development and game understanding.

“Fall 7s was so perfect for different groups of girls,” Rahija said. “Take the range of experience: If you put me and Alyssa on the same team as people who have never touched a rugby ball before, they won’t learn anything. They’ll be stressed out being thrown on a field and will be overwhelmed. The three teams allowed for the development of knowledge.”

Rahija watched as younger players stepped into leadership positions and lauded teammates like Erika Novak and Emma Schilling for their natural abilities. Veterans, too, continued to test themselves, and seniors like Friel, a Celtics alumna and No. 8 in 15s, filled the role of scrumhalf superbly. Gredence, a fast, slippery attacker, had a knock-out season, earned several Player of the Match nods and was named to the all-tournament team. It all came together for a runner-up finish to Brunswick in the 2019 Rugby Ohio Fall 7s Championship.

“That was crazy. I never thought I’d experience it at Mentor,” Rahija said. “The boys still haven’t had much success. They weren’t working as hard recruiting and sadly didn’t pick up steam like we did. All the boys who had known me and Alyssa, they said, ‘You did that. You built up that team and won runner-up in the state.’”

The team wanted to extend that achievement into the future.

“They wanted to do the things that I was hoping for at end of the spring season, but didn’t end up doing until the fall,” McGarry said. “They wanted to keep up with off-season conditioning and ball-handling so we’d come into the spring season ready to compete.”

During one indoor session, the team was training in the wrestling room. The wrestling coach offered to lead a practice and focus on moves that could translate to the tackle or breakdown.

“He specialized in takedowns, which are very different from tackles but offer some tactics that are useful on the rugby field,” Rahija said. “He had expressed interest in a girls’ team. Stinky boys, singlets, ringworm, gross mats – no thanks. But I got bored after fall 7s. I could do what I always do – footwork, gym, running – but why not try something different senior year?”

Rahija reflected on the move as “one of the dumbest and smartest decisions I could have made.” She made great friends, but when the wrestling and rugby seasons overlapped, she had regrets.

“You won’t find anything like wrestling,” she marveled. “We practiced six days a week, and then when rugby started, I had three practices a week on top of that. So half of my days were school, wrestling, rugby, bed.”

She points to that time as the one period when she needed a break, but there was still more work to be done. Recruitment relaunched, but now the team could flaunt its state runner-up 7s finish, and positive word-of-mouth circulated. More than 40 girls signed up, enough for varsity and JV sides.

Mentor was placed into the East bracket of Rugby Ohio’s Regional Club 15s competition, which is one tier below the DI Elite. McGarry was feeling good about spring 2020, especially with a dangerous back line that began with a physically imposing scrumhalf in Friel and rugby IQ-rich flyhalf in Rahija, and ended with the aggressive wing/fullback Gredence.

“Emily is a natural leader. She is not shy or quiet,” McGarry said. “The girls look up to her and how she plays. She’s definitely a standout, and you know who she is the second you watch one of our matches. She’s a force and involved in every play and does what needs to be done to make sure others are involved in that play, too. She’s a gifted athlete and in terms of rugby sense, she knows what is supposed to happen and makes it happen. With her knowledge and quick decision-making, flyhalf was the best place for her this season.”

“We were really taking it seriously, and Vicki had it in her head that this was our season,” Rahija said. “We knew we could get state champs. We came in ready and ready for blood.”

Then covid-19 started to impact the season.

“It wasn’t quick,” Rahija said of the season vanishing. “First games were postponed, then it was all spring sports are delayed with further review. Two weeks after that it was the official word that all spring seasons were canceled.

“All the seniors and I cried that whole day. Vicki was upset, too, and so were all girls who were excited to play with us because it’s our last season,” she continued. “It’s not just Mentor Rugby seniors. Every sport, every senior, everyone in the world is being affected, but it hit close to home for us. I know it sounds cocky but this was going to be our year.”

“Every other coach out there is just sad about the fact we didn’t get to play one match, which is really heart-breaking when you think about this group of seniors, who were really the push for Mentor to have a girls’ rugby high school team,” McGarry said. “For them not to see it through is very heart-breaking on so many levels. Emily will be playing [at the University of Central Florida] in the fall, Kenzi has two offers, Meghan has two offers for college rugby. They’ll be able to play in the fall but it’s sad not to see their potential hit its apex this year. All that chemistry and understanding were coming together.”

Rahija confirmed that if she wasn’t continuing her rugby career at UCF, where she intends to pursue an engineering degree, then she would have been “absolutely shattered.” And although McGarry laments the non-existent season, she believes Mentor is on the right track for a good third year and addition to the high school athletics department.

“First and foremost, I’m super proud of how we’ve come together as a team and where we’ve come from,” Rahija spoke to her team. “We went from begging for players to having subs and successful B and C teams. We’re not just one good team but we built up bunches of girls who are able to take it to the next level and take the game seriously and spread the love of rugby. I’m going to miss the crap out of them next year, but I’ll watch them do great things without us.

“Going into this, I never thought I’d have the opportunity to be here,” Rahija closed. “I’ve traveled across the country and Ireland to play rugby. I’m going to UCF. I’ve played with the best girls I’ve ever met. The people I’ve met and the friends I’ve made, it shows how wonderful this sport is. Every tournament I go to is me running up and hugging 20 different people who I see maybe once a year. But it’s like we never missed a day.”

And here’s to more rugby days to come.