From Arizona Roots To The World Stage: Gabbard's Rugby Journey
By Mohamed Bahaa
Aleksandria Gabbard checked her phone quietly during her class. USA Rugby sent the alert, and it was the moment she had been waiting impatiently for. The 17-year-old Marana, Arizona native had tried out weeks earlier for the esteemed national squad the USA Eagles' U18 team, which travels internationally. The tryouts were a chance for young talent to present their abilities and possibly land a team spot. Though never fully expecting the result, Gabbard had hoped for the best.
Gabbard said, “I got the invite to go on tour. It was crazy. I got an email, and the first thing I did was send a screenshot to my parents.”
Ten years ago, in the most unexpected location (the Arizona desert) Gabbard's rugby career started. She had grown up playing for her neighborhood team, The Tucson Thunderbirds, but the chance to represent her nation was a dream come true. She moved from playing for her high school team to wearing Team USA's red, white, and blue in just a few short months. Joined 25 other talented athletes on the USA Women's U18 Wales Tour, Gabbard became the only female rugby player from Arizona to join the national squad.
"It was a real honor to not only represent my country but my state," Gabbard remarked. “Arizona’s rugby is underdeveloped... Putting Arizona in the spotlight, even temporarily, is really important for other players here.”
Gabbard visited Wales in July to participate in four matches at the East Development Camp run by the Welsh Rugby Union. For Gabbard, who had mostly competed in 7s and 10s rugby, the festival-style 15s matches were new experience for her. Yet, she and her colleagues shone, defeating national teams from the Netherlands, Scotland, and Wales to go undefeated in the competition.
"To play in a foreign country, at any time, is just super exciting," Gabbard remarked. “You get to know not only the culture but how other international teams like to play rugby... In Wales, it’s their national sport. It’s at all the bars, on television, in newspapers.”
Gabbard has lived with rugby for as long as she can remember. Both of her parents played rugby; her path started when their club established a youth division. She has sharpened her abilities and grown to love the game over the past ten years, competing in events worldwide like the World Games in Austria and training camps in South Africa.
Gabbard will spend a year at Northern Arizona University before moving to the U.S. Naval Academy. While she aims to be a pilot and one day apply to the U.S. astronaut program; she intends to keep playing rugby while working on a degree in aeronautical engineering.
Gabbard is already looking ahead to the World Cup in 2033 and the Summer Olympics in 2028 with her selection in the U18 Eagles player pool; her amazing adventure only starts. Ten years ago, she initially laced her boots in the Arizona fields to end playing for the national team.
“When I was 7, none of these opportunities existed... Getting to hear that you can travel abroad and play and meet friends from different continents — I’d be in shock and even more motivated. I can do more than just what Arizona has to offer.”
JUDY ROTICH