By Nathan Pace
InkFreeNews

When Trevor Cracknell was presented the opportunity to develop his favorite sport in the Warsaw area, he capitalized on the chance. Over 20 years later, Warsaw is a state power in girls rugby.

“It’s just a lot of fun. Rugby is a very physical game but it is also a lot of fun. When you get into a sport you get a certain adrenaline rush with it,” Cracknell said. “Rugby is very much a team sport. A lot of collaboration. You can have dominant players but that doesn’t mean you’re going to win titles.

Warsaw girls rugby coach Trevor Cracknell is joined by the two team captains, Tassara Faulkner, left, and Mia Blocher, for a photo after winning the state title in May. Photo provided by Jasun Blocher.

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Winning titles is something Cracknell has done with girls rugby program at Warsaw. The team brought home the state title this past season and has now won four in total. Warsaw also has four state runners-up titles since the program began in 2003. The team has competed on a national level and been ranked inside the top 20 of the country.

Cracknell is from the United Kingdom where he played rugby on the club level for 20 years.

“In rugby, everyone passes, everyone tackles, everyone gets to run with the ball. It doesn’t matter how big you are, how tall you all, there is always a position for you,” Cracknell said.

Working for Zimmer Biomet would eventually bring Cracknell, his wife Christine, daughter Louise and son Robert to Warsaw.

“It’s an interesting area,” Cracknell said. “Very family-centered area. My daughter was 11 when she came over; my son was seven. They went into the school system. It has always been a good place to bring kids up.”

Rugby at Warsaw is technically a club sport with roughly 20 schools in the state fielding a girls program. In the early days, the team played games wherever it could. For Cracknell, the girls program has been more impactful than coaching the boys.

“I found that the girls are more committed to it,” Cracknell said. “It’s something different for them. Boys have football, it’s a contact sport. The girls don’t really have a contact sport. I’ll be honest, it’s a great way of getting aggression out.”

The team typically has close to 30 to 40 girls on the roster. Five seniors graduated this past season with three of them going on to play the sport in college. Cracknell feels his team is welcoming to players compared to some varsity sports.

“We don’t cut people,” Cracknell said. “We don’t have tryouts and I think that’s one of the things that different about a club as oppose to a sport at the high school. I think there are a number of people in the high school that get cut in middle school or get cut as a freshman and they end up being a better athlete than some of the people that didn’t get cut.”

In addition to playing rugby, the team also raises money for charitable causes and volunteers in the community when it can. One charitable fundraiser involves a game where the team plays wearing prom dresses. Like varsity teams at the school, the rugby team must maintain their schoolwork to play.

“What we’re really about is building independent, self-confident young ladies. From freshman all the way through seniors we treat them as adults,” Cracknell said. “We want them to be responsible.”