Morris Rugby opening up new world of opportunities

Four years ago, Kat Ramage was a soccer goalkeeper preparing for her freshman season at Roxbury High School. But then she discovered rugby, and her life changed direction.

Early Monday morning, Ramage boarded a flight to Little Rock, Ark., to spend the summer at the American Rugby Pro Training Center. One of three recent high school graduates in the elite residency program, Ramage is going to further develop her skills in preparation to play at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo.

ARPTC founder and head coach Julia McCoy likened the program to "a rugby prep school," with 15 players that range in age from just out of high school like Ramage to a couple of years post-college.

"There's a huge gap between high school and college rugby right now," said Ramage, an inside center who just graduated from Roxbury and plans to study engineering.

"It's the next step in the pathway to bring those two levels closer together for me."

But this won't be Ramage's first exposure to high-level rugby. She was one of three Morris Rugby players invited to the National All-Star Competition at James Madison University in early June.

NASC brought together more than 200 female players in different selection camps for the full women's Eagles national team, the U-20 and collegiate All-American teams, and the high school All-American team. Tess Feury of Denville, 19, was the youngest player called up to the women's bracket, though she expects to be with the U-20 team as long as she is age-eligible. Ramage and Morris Hills senior Demi Pretorius played with the U-20s at the week-long event.

Tom Feury, who founded the Morris Rugby youth program, was also part of a NASC coaches' development program.

"I was surrounded by better players," said Tess Feury, who played wing on Penn State's national titles in both 7s and 15s as a freshman this spring.

"They were older. They were more experienced. … They've just been through a lot more than I have. At first, I was really intimidated going into camp, but everyone took me under her wings and was really helpful, on and off the field. They didn't treat me like I was younger. We were all on the same level."

Simultaneously, Delia Hellander was one of a dozen female rugby players – and the only one from the Northeast – working with women's sevens coach Ric Suggitt at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.

Rugby Sevens will make its debut at the summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

"Last year, it kind of hit me, 'Oh, I can do this. I can really make it far with this. This could be a career for me, almost, if I put in the hard work,'" said Hellander, a rising senior at Villa Walsh who plays flyhalf and outside center.

"When I started playing tackle, it was kind of a cool sport and it was new. … The past year, I've really stepped up my game."

All four girls played together for Empire City, a combined New York City and New Jersey team coached by Tom Feury. at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Cup in Pittsburgh last weekend.

Ramage was scheduled to head to Cancun today with the ARPTC squad for her first summer tournament. She and Feury have also been invited to a follow-up U-20 camp in Colorado next month, at which the final squad will be determined.

Hellander and Pretorius are still in consideration for the high school All-American team.

"It pushed me to want to improve my game and really step up to the next level," said Pretorius, who graduated from Morris Hills on Tuesday. "I learned rugby is a community, not just your team. It's much bigger than you. … I'm competing against all of you, but I need all of you so we can excel as a team. You put the idea of competition in the back of your head and focus on the games, and how to succeed as a team."

Staff Writer Jane Havsy: 973-428-6682; jhavsy@gannettnj.com; www.dailyrecord.com/writerjane/