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Amber Brocoff: Rookie of the Year tackles rugby

On a fall afternoon, Amber Brocoff walked into practice at Aggie Legacy Fields unsure of what to expect. She had never played rugby before — or any physical contact sport. She didn’t even have cleats.

Still, Brocoff decided to give the Utah State University Women’s Rugby Team a shot with the hopes of keeping up her competitive spirit and finding a community of like-minded athletes. Just a few drills in, she walked off the field with what she called a “rugby player’s dream”: a black eye.

Just like that, she was hooked.

Brocoff didn’t come to USU expecting to fall in love with rugby, but now, in the heat of her second season on the team, she’s all in and plans to play until she graduates with a degree in nutrition science next spring.

Originally raised in Las Vegas and then Draper, Brocoff first discovered USU during a softball camp. While she ultimately decided not to pursue collegiate softball, something about her visit to USU stuck with her.

“I fell in love with the campus,” Brocoff said.

Looking to get involved once she arrived, Brocoff attended a USU Campus Recreation event featuring club sports in the fall of 2024.

“I talked to Rachel [Billings]. She said, ‘Come out,’” Brocoff said. “And I just fell in love. I loved everything competitive about it.”

That story isn’t unfamiliar to others on the team. Falling in love with a new sport in college is a common experience for the women’s rugby players, said head coach Alia Stubbs. Most athletes on the team haven’t played rugby before, and some haven’t even competed in sports at all.

“You should give it a try,” Stubbs said, urging those considering joining. “And then you’ll be hooked, and you’re never going to leave.”

Maddy Martin, teammate to Brocoff and vice president of the team, didn’t come from a rugby background either.

“I honestly joined initially to stay in shape and meet people,” Martin said. “The community it’s brought me is the biggest thing that’s kept me excited about the sport — excited about school.”

The community that keeps Brocoff and her teammates coming back is unlike anything she’s ever experienced.

“We practice to play with our teammates, not by ourselves, which is something I think every team could learn from,” Brocoff said.

With participation in the club being voluntary, even for Stubbs, what keeps teammates returning is the team’s culture of having fun, competing and winning a lot, according to Stubbs.

Volunteering her time to give back to the program she once poured so much into as a player, Stubbs sets an example players like Brocoff recognize as being “for the love of the game.”

“I love the girls,” Stubbs said. “I didn’t want the program to die.”

Stubbs played three years of rugby for the women’s club team, even competing at nationals with the club her senior year. The program means more to Stubbs than just playing rugby, she said.

“It teaches you a lot of really good things,” Stubbs said. “It teaches you that it’s okay to be a girl and that you can be big and burly but also pretty and dainty and that your body is strong and can do so many amazing things.”

The confidence the athletes describe from playing rugby comes from the unity of the sport. It’s competitive and aggressive, and according to Martin, players have to be good at a variety of things.

“You have to be fast,” Martin said. “You have to be strong. You have to be good at handling the ball.”

Skills like that take time to learn, but Martin said the club is always willing to take on women who don’t have a background in sports, as long as those athletes, like Brocoff, are willing to learn.   

That willingness to learn combined with confidence is required for rugby and is what makes Brocoff such a great player, Stubbs said. She’s eager to learn and won’t stop working at something until it “clicks for her,” Martin said.

These traits are what the club presidency and Stubbs are looking for in new club members. Displaying a perfect rookie attitude in her willingness to learn, contribute, meet new people and bring high energy is what sets Brocoff apart from usual rookies, Stubbs said.

Brocoff has played in the back position this season, utilizing her speed and athleticism from her background as a softball player and powerlifter.

“The really beautiful part about rugby is that you can play no matter what size you are,” Stubbs said. “There is a specific role you have on the team for each body size.”

That integral part of rugby, combined with the work of the team leadership, has made an environment where the players have become best friends, Brocoff said.

Along with her “go-getter” attitude, Stubbs said Brocoff has found her role is to adhere to what the team needs her to be.

“To go out there and give my best,” Brocoff said. “Even if I’m not the best.”

With the help of a positive environment and “aggressive” play, according to Brocoff, the team has found success this year in their conference.

Taking first place in a tournament this season down at the University of Utah, the Aggies unexpectedly blew their competition out of the water, Martin said.

Taking on 12 other teams on April 5, the Aggies hosted the biggest women’s rugby club tournament in the west with hopes of making women’s rugby more popular in Logan and for girls in general, Stubbs said.

According to Stubbs, the Aggies continue inviting more athletes like Brocoff to play in the hopes of adding to the team dynamic and bringing in a diverse group of athletes to compete.

According to Brocoff, her journey — starting from zero experience to becoming the team’s Rookie of the Year — proves rugby as a whole, and especially the USU women’s team, welcomes everyone.




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