Women’s rugby is a reality if you want it
It was about 5 years ago that I met Jade aged 13, she would pop into 360 Strength and Performance every now and then with her parents Matt and Max for a session. Nothing too serious with gym training but always had a love of rugby, and growing up around rugby she knew this was the space she wanted to be in.
Jade started playing rugby for her local club, and over the years she tried out different areas of 7’s and 15’s sometimes playing both at the same time to see where her skills were, but as with all young adults, HSC was looming and finally, after graduating in 2020 it gave her the ability to join the Warringah Women’s Rats team and fully throw herself into rugby with the goal of making the Waratahs.
During this time Jade was mainly focusing on cardio in what she thought was the right idea to improve her performance. But she soon realized that if she wanted to play top grade Women’s Rugby she needed to build on her strength and develop new ways to benefit her game. We had a proper chat about her goals, conducted an assessment and then Jade officially started her performance training coached by us using a specialized program to suit her needs.
Jade has commented that “Since starting at 360 I have learnt an abundance of skills which have helped significantly with my rugby by learning the correct technique for all movements and exercises. I have learnt exercises that target specific areas to benefit my game which is often left out and forgotten about in general programs for rugby players.”
Fast forward to Saturday 15th Jan this year, and what a bloody great day that was! I got a text from Jade saying she had just made the final cut for the NSW Waratahs Women’s 15 team. A dream turned reality achieved through pure determination, drive, hard work and never quitting.
Proud parents! Proud family! Super Proud coach!
A recent study found that women make up 40% of participants in sport yet receive only 4% of media coverage. A crap statistic we would love to see a drive for change especially as it’s now 2022! The many female athletes that train in our gym work just as hard, if not harder than most male athletes and deserve to get just as much coverage and pay as male athletes. But that’s a whole other ranting blog! (Watch this space)
If you haven’t seen our Jade play and want to follow her journey, I highly encourage you to get behind the NSW Waratah women’s team. You can also purchase the women’s supporter membership for $50 (FYI- I do not get any benefits from promoting this. I am simply encouraging the growth of women’s rugby in NSW).
