Future USA South Women’s Panthers will have big shoes to fill as the 2018 squad dominated RAN 10s this past week in Mexico City with ball possession and positivity from their coach.

The USA South Women took home the 2018 RAN Championship after beating Bahamas, Mexico, and Jamaica twice. The Panthers faced logistical trouble with lost luggage and a language barrier, but when it came time to play, the women were ready.

Bahamian Blowout

The Panthers faced an athletic Bahamas team first and capitalized on the Bahamian inexperience. USA South put together a 45-0 blowout, but second-year head coach Chris Martin made note of the Bahamian improvement. 

“If we had been forced to play them later in the tournament instead of first, I’m sure the score would have been different,” Martin said.

With last year's champion, Trinidad & Tobago, absent from competition, Mexico was the favorite, as its squad had been practicing together for months in lead-up to the World Cup 7s. However, USA South came away with a 26-14 win.

“The game was close with three minutes left when our U19 boys showed up and boosted our energy to pull away in the last minute,” Martin said. 

Panther Positivity

Martin put an emphasis on the importance of coaching with positivity. The Panthers played to their strengths in the tournament and gave the other teams little chance to implement their respective game plans. A great example of playing to their strengths were the two matches against Jamaica.

Martin explained the difficulty the women had in reading the Jamaicans. The Jamaican side was bigger and taller than the other teams with deceiving speed, so it would be important to keep the ball out of the Jamaican hands. USA South won the first match against Jamaica 42-5, but in the second match, Jamaica made adjustments. 

“(In) game two, Jamaica figured out some of our game plan, were much quicker to the breakdown, and disrupted our multi-phase attacks,” Martin said. 

The South pulled out a narrow 19-12 victory to take home the championship.

In the end, it was USA South’s ability to draw defenders and make accurate short passes at pace that put both Jamaica and the rest of the teams on their back foot. In 10s rugby, a multi-phased attack is extremely tiring to defend and USA South forced teams to make tackles on either side of the field. Credit should be given to Martin as he reinforced his players' strengths.

“I have always aimed to be a positive coach, affirmative encouragement of skills and concepts is so important,” Martin said.

Relief

In his second year coaching the South, Martin said he felt relief after the tournament win. The USA South Women have been preparing since January for this two-day tournament.

“This was the culmination of six months of preparation and planning, from myself, the assistant coaches, and all the players,” Martin said. “It wasn’t one specific game that marked our success, but a season of planning and improving to give these women the best opportunity possible.” 

The Apex Panther

One player took full advantage of the preparation and her opportunity. Each year Martin gives out the Apex Panther award to the player who shows the most class and skill and builds other players up on and off the field. Kris Hall of Fort Miami played every minute of the tournament and received the Apex Panther award this tour.

“While not the most vocal player we had, she chose the appropriate moments to comment and led by example on the field,” Martin said. “She never acted above any lesson and made herself present in all scenarios. Kris Hall is a player and a person USA South players should emulate.”

Opportunity Breeds Competition

The Panthers to come will have big shoes to fill following the dominant performance of the 2018 squad. The team had to overcome more than past years, enduring the logistical dilemmas of traveling abroad. The Panthers stuck to their game plan and positively reinforced themselves to a tournament win. 

Martin knows future selections will become more difficult. 

“In senior women’s rugby, the pool will build faster than players will retire,” Martin said. “Opportunity breeds competition so I already know selections will become harder and harder every year that I’m a part of this program.”