Guardsman’s success on All-Army Women’s Rugby Team

Photo By Staff Sgt. John Randall | U.S. Army Spc. Samantha Coleman, a motor transport operator with the 2220th Transportation Company in Tucson, AZ, poses with her All-Army Women’s Rugby Team jersey at Papago Park Military Reserve October 20, 2019. Coleman says she has found a deep sense of family and belonging in both the Army and her rugby team. U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. John Randall.  

PHOENIX, AZ, UNITED STATES

10.20.2019

Story by Spc. Jacob Dunlap and Spc. John Randall

123rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Practices in the hot, sticky, North Carolina summer last six hours a day on the turf practice field, making conditions that much more grueling. Sweat flows, feet hurt and the heat will only intensify as the athletes prepare for their upcoming tournament.
San Antonio native Spc. Samantha Coleman, a motor transport operator with the 2220th Transportation Company in Tucson, Arizona, is one of the athletes on the All-Army Women’s Rugby Team.
Coleman bounced around schools playing basketball and learning mixed martial arts, and she began playing rugby about a year ago. While she was playing with her team in Tucson, she learned about the All-Army Women’s Team.
“I’ve only been playing like, less than a year,” Coleman said. “You never know unless you try.”
With encouragement from her teammates, she decided to go through the competitive application process.
She made the team that consisted of officers and non-commissioned officers. She had a feeling that she wasn’t good enough to be with these leaders.
“I don’t deserve to be here,” Coleman said. “I’m so outclassed. But, it’s like, you know what? The worst they can do is say no.”
1st Lt. Kasey McCravey, Captain All-Army Women’s Rugby Team and member of the US Women’s National Rugby Team, attributes Coleman’s success to her desire to learn.
“She has an ability to take information and apply it immediately,” McCravey said. “She would do the extras and she was a positive light to the team.”
“You may feel like you’re just a regular specialist, or whatever you may be,” said Coleman. “But the work you do matters.”
Making the team was just the beginning. She and the team had to endure a summertime training camp in North Carolina.
“That training camp is honestly the highlight of my life,” Coleman said. “Because everyone’s on the same page and trying to get better and grow.”
“She came in having defensive strength and she was weaker on her passing,” said McCravey. “She stayed longer with the coaches and other players and improved her passing skills.”
The team’s hard work was in preparation for the Armed Forces Sports first ever Women’s Rugby Championship in Wilmington, North Carolina on July 5 and 6.
The tournament comprises all military branches playing each other over the two-day event.
Army dominated the competition going undefeated in the tournament. The victory garnered an invitation to the Cape Fear Tournament on July 6-7 where Army faced tougher competition and placed third.
“The whole concept about rugby is community and family,” said Coleman. “More so than any other sport I’ve been a part in.”
Coleman’s rugby team is family, just like being in the Army.
“If you’re having a moment of weakness, or whatever,” Coleman said. “You’re just like, we’re in this together, embrace the suck.”
Coleman plans to continue playing rugby for the Army. Upon completion of her degree she wants to get commissioned as an intelligence officer.
“The Army has let me pursue a lot of my passions,” said Coleman. “That’s a real family. They would do anything for you, because you would do anything for them.”
The self-doubt Coleman felt when she first joined the team has given her a better sense of worth.
“Don’t count yourself out before you even try,” Coleman said. “Don’t let other people make you small.”

• Date Taken: 10.20.2019
• Date Posted: 10.22.2019 11:25
• Story ID: 348512
• Location: PHOENIX, AZ, US