Practice makes perfect

USA Rugby athlete Jessica Wooden trains in Little Rock in hopes of Olympic bid

Jessica Wooden, 26 of Florida, is training at the American Rugby Pro Training Center in Little Rock in hopes of making the 2016 Olympic team.

Jessica Wooden, 26 of Florida, is training at the American Rugby Pro Training Center in Little Rock in hopes of making the 2016 Olympic team.

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Jessica Wooden didn’t plan to stay in Little Rock for more than a few days. That turned into a few weeks, and she is still here. Dr. Julie McCoy, the founder of the American Rugby Pro Training Center, encouraged her to stay, and Wooden listened.

During her stay for a high-performance camp in January, Wooden learned a great deal from McCoy, who has a longtime relationship with USA Rugby. Wooden decided that if she wanted to fulfill her dream of making the 2016 Olympic team, she should continue to train under McCoy.

“I loved Jules and her style of coaching,” says Wooden, who competed in softball, cross country and soccer in high school. “When Jules asked me to come back and stay, I couldn’t pass up that opportunity to train full time. I want to stay out of the real world as much as possible.”

The 26-year-old Florida native and University of Florida graduate has been in Little Rock since February. She will see how much her work has paid off when she attends a USA Rugby camp in Chula Vista, California, that ends Thursday.

Wooden got a late start with rugby, not playing club rugby until her senior year in college at the urging of her roommates. When she moved to Atlanta for a tech job, she continued to play rugby, and as she learned the game, her athleticism showed. During that time, she played well enough to attract the attention of national team coaches.

“I was working full time and trying to train full time. That is very difficult to do that,” Wooden says. “Those two things don’t go well together. It takes a while to recover physically and mentally from training.”

While in Little Rock, she has worked 10 to 20 hours per week doing software testing for her mother’s company around her training schedule. She trains with McCoy on the field and works on conditioning at Ross Strength and Speed. Wooden pays dues to work with the training center, which has 14 female and two male players, and gets some of her travel and tournament entry fees paid for. Wooden took a break to discuss her training in Little Rock, why she likes McCoy, what it would be like to play in the Olympics and more.

Q: What is it like training here?

A: It has been great. It is really nice to go somewhere there aren’t the distractions there are somewhere else. Getting to live with some people who have the same mindset is really great, as well. I have a pretty strong bond with my teammates, and everybody else is on the same page. It is nice to be in an environment where you are trying to do the same thing and nobody can bring you down.

Q: What is McCoy like?

A: She is very intriguing. She always comes up with something new each practice. Something different comes out of her mouth. I am in awe of what she says and the analogies and megaphones she uses. She sings a lot to get her point across and sings songs that relate to rugby. It is a no-pressure atmosphere. She does a great job of breaking things down. She conveys the message in a way you can understand and execute. There is so much to say about her. It is tough to narrow it down.

Q: What would it mean to earn an Olympic bid?

A: It would mean a lot. That is a huge honor to represent the country at that level. I don’t like to think about it because it gives me goose bumps. I would love to be on that team with those girls. I was supposed to leave [Little Rock] after six weeks, but I talked it over with my family and decided to stay because the thought of possibly playing in the Olympics floored me. I wanted to do whatever I could. It would mean everything to me. Everything is general, but it would mean a lot.

Q: How fast is rugby growing?

A: It is growing really quickly. I saw a stat the other day that said rugby is the fastest-growing sport in America. It is growing at younger ages, too. A lot of adult clubs have started youth programs, and other youth programs have started. There was a girl who just left [the training center], who has been playing for five years and is only 18. I didn’t start playing until I was 21. There are some countries where the main sport is rugby. It is growing quickly here, and we are trying to catch countries like New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.

Q: Do you know what to expect from the Olympic camp?

A: I was there two or three years ago. At the time, I was really new to rugby and relied on my athleticism and not my rugby knowledge. Now, I am more confident in my rugby skills and feel more confident. It is going to be four days of training twice a day and a fitness test. It would be nice if we were playing games.

Q: Rugby looks like football without pads. How dangerous is it?

A: It just depends. If you are fit and you have a pretty stable core and control your body, you can take the contact and just come away with bruises. Some of those gap teams that aren’t as competitive don’t put the time in the gym and don’t know how to protect themselves. That is when injuries occur. Sometimes, there aren’t any injuries, and others, there are a lot. We have some concussions, but we have a medical staff there that checks players out, and they won’t let you come back out if you have a concussion.

Q: What is your favorite part of rugby?

A: I like the finesse of the game. Rugby can be violent, but I like the intricate part and the little details like kicking. You can kick anytime. I really look at it like a chess match.

Q: What do you like about Little Rock?

A: I love that compared to Atlanta, it is slower pace. There is not as much traffic. The people here are nice, and there is a lot to do outside. I don’t have a lot of time to do things, but there are things to do. It is just a perfect size, and there is not the hustle and bustle. I just feel right at home.

Q: What do you want to do after your rugby career?

A: I would say travel the world, but that isn’t really the real world, either. I will probably keep working for my mom’s company in a new role and not do software testing. I don’t really know what I want to do, but I want to stay involved in rugby. I want to coach and keep rugby close to me.