This episode features Sammy Sullivan, '20, and member of the USA Women's Olympic Rugby 7’s team, about her inspiring journey to rugby and beyond. Sammy shares her unexpected path to West Point, her introduction to rugby during basic training, and how the supportive environment of the rugby team, encouraged by her father, helped her excel in the sport. She discusses her rapid rise in rugby, earning the 2019 Prusmack Award, and her experiences with the USA Women's Eagles and the World Class Athlete Program. Sammy also offers insights into balancing intense athletic training with military duties, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and inspiring young girls to chase their dreams with resilience and support.
Join us as we sit down with the inspiring Sammy Sullivan, a West Point graduate and member of the USA Women’s Olympic Rugby 7’s team! She shares her unexpected journey to West Point to discover a passion for rugby, Sammy's story is one of determination and resilience. Listen in as she recounts the unique experience of applying to West Point alongside her twin brother, both of whom were accepted, and how the supportive environment of the rugby team, encouraged by her father, led her to excel in a sport she had never previously considered.
Sammy is a graduate of Jack Britt High School in Fayetteville, NC, Sammy first found rugby while attending Army West Point, one of the premier collegiate rugby programs. Sullivan was introduced to the game at Athletic Day, during basic training and thought she would give it a try, following in the footsteps of her father who also played. Rising through the rugby ranks, Sullivan was honored with the 2019 Prusmack Award, recognizing the top collegiate sevens athletes in the nation.
As part of the World Class Athlete Program, an initiative promoting active service members through sports careers, Sullivan followed graduation by entering the Women's Premier League, sparking an impressive start to her fifteens career that resulted in a roster invite to the 2022 Pacific Four Series with the USA Women's Eagles, debuting against Canada in June of that year.
Sullivan's skill set also caught the eye of the USA Women's Sevens, drawing her back to the sevens pitch and USA residency in the latter half of 2022. Sullivan would make her USA Sevens National Team debut during the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town, before making her World Rugby Sevens Series debut in Dubai that December. Becoming one of only a few Eagle to debut in both disciplines in the same year.
In this episode, Sammy opens up about the rigorous training regimen of the World Class Athlete Program (WCAP) and the balance between her intense athletic pursuits and military duties. She provides valuable insights into maintaining a healthy relationship with nutrition and finding time for personal hobbies. Additionally, Sammy shares her advice for young girls chasing their dreams, emphasizing the importance of taking leaps of faith and seeking support. With stories of resilience, inter-gender boxing classes, and the dream of returning to West Point with an Olympic gold medal, this conversation is a testament to the power of perseverance and the impact of a strong support system.
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Key Quote:
“The advice I would give to those girls is to take the leap of faith because a lot of my life experiences, applying to West Point, trying for a spot on the USA Rugby team and ultimately getting named to the Olympic team, switching over to rugby has all been leaps of faith. I would encourage them, one door closing is, is another door opening for you and to continue to take up space and go for what you want, and let those around you, know your goals because ultimately you can try to get somewhere on your own, but it's so much better and so much sweeter when you have the help of, of those around you pushing you and encouraging you.”
- Sammy Sullivan
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(00:42) Sammy's Journey to West Point
(03:26) Transition from Soccer to Rugby
(06:33) Life at West Point and Rugby Experience
(08:38) Post-Graduation and WCAP Journey
(17:58) Balancing Life and Training
(22:29) Challenges and Motivation
(31:54) Advice for Aspiring Athletes
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Support Team USA Women’s Rugby 7s team
[00:00:00] Announcer: Welcome to the WPAOG podcast. Today, we're thrilled to have Sammy Sullivan, a 2020 West Point graduate, and a member of the USA Women's Olympic Sevens rugby team. Sammy's journey from discovering rugby at Army West Point, To earning the 2019 ProSmack award and making her debut with the USA Women's Eagles is truly inspiring.
[00:00:25] Tune in as she shares her story of resilience, the balance between her athletic and military pursuits. and her advice for young girls chasing their dreams. Please enjoy this episode with our host Jamie Enos and guest Sammy Sullivan, a 2020 West Point graduate and member of the USA Women's Olympic Rugby Sevens team.
[00:00:49] Jamie: Sammy Sullivan, thank you so much for being on the WPAOG podcast today. This is just a highlight of our year as we head into the Olympics to get a chance to chat with you.
[00:00:59] Sammy: Oh, thank you so much for having me. And Yeah, at West Point, if you told me I'd be on this podcast, I would have been like, for what?
[00:01:07] But yeah, here we are. For the Olympics! I know! That's even like double dipped, right? How great is that? Oh my gosh, it's crazy. It's crazy. But yeah, here we are.
[00:01:19] Jamie: This is going to be a great ride. One month away. Yeah, one month. You're counting down. So. It's going to be a great ride. We're going to be here to support you and follow you through the games.
[00:01:26] And we're really excited, but so we'll just go right into it. Cause we do have a little bit and I want to get into all of that. How did you end up at West Point? Let's just, we'll just go back to square one. How'd you end up at West Point?
[00:01:37] Sammy: Well, I ended up at West Point. I actually found out about West Point from one of my friend's moms.
[00:01:45] We were on, you know, a club soccer team together, and it was actually General Buzzard's wife. So, I was with Caroline Buzzard on the soccer team, and yeah, Ms. Buzzard was like, Hey, you seem like such a fierce player on the field, you seem like a leader, have you ever heard about West Point? And I said, No, what is that?
[00:02:07] I've only heard of ROTC, and she kind of explained a little bit. of it to me and I went home and YouTubed and Googled, you know, West Point videos and yeah, kind of from that point on was sold on that's what I want to do. And funnily enough, my twin brother His teammate, his cross country teammate kind of talked with him about it.
[00:02:31] And yeah, we were at the dinner table one day and my mom was like, Oh, so where are you guys thinking about going to college? And we're both like, Oh, West Point, completely separate. You know, we hadn't, we hadn't even talked about it. And both of us kind of came to that conclusion. So yeah, we went through that process together, which was Something not a lot of people can say and I'm super grateful for him for that.
[00:02:54] And yeah, I did one kind of unofficial visit. And yeah, I did the leadership experience one summer. And that next summer, but we both found ourselves a beast, which was It's crazy in and of itself, but yeah.
[00:03:10] Jamie: That must have been a lot of competition in your home, right? Like going through the application process together.
[00:03:18] It sounds like you're both just high energy, you know, competitive. Wow. Growing up. Your parents, huh?
[00:03:25] Sammy: Yeah, and I think we always had a bit of good healthy competition, but it was a stressful time. As you know, West Point isn't easy to get into, and not a lot of people go each year, so we, we kind of both were silently rooting for each other, but also just really nervous, like, oh, what if he gets in and I don't, or what if she gets in and I don't, but yeah, we both got the email and then subsequently the packet at the same time, so.
[00:03:54] Yeah, it was once we both found out we got in just like a sigh of relief, like, oh, we get to go to school together. You know, no one gets to taunt the other one for the rest of their lives. So
[00:04:06] Jamie: , That's a good story. I can't imagine being there with your parents that day, the celebration that must have happened.
[00:04:11] That's exciting. So you come, you come to West Point, and you said you mentioned you played soccer in high school, and you're an elite soccer player. And, but you weren't a recruited athlete. So can you tell people about? What that experience was like when you got here?
[00:04:27] Sammy: Yeah, so, I, I did Almost everything I could to try and get recruited to the soccer team.
[00:04:33] I would come out for camps. I was sending in my club team highlight reel, but you know, soccer is one of those sports that you, you start getting recruited out of middle school, not necessarily high school. And I'd kind of found out about West Point my sophomore year. So. You know, I was a little late to the party, and then during BEAST, there was opportunities to go meet with the, uh, sports teams.
[00:05:02] So I went to the soccer meetup, kind of talked with the coach there, went through practice, and at the end of that practice, she, she had known who I was at that point just from emails, and I just kind of asked her straight up, Oh, do you think I Have a chance to walk onto the team. And she said, nope, no, I, not this year.
[00:05:22] Nope. Yeah. And I, and this again was during high stress and beast. So I went back to my. little barracks room and kind of have my moment to myself and wrote a letter to my, my parents. Like, I don't know what to do. I've been a team sport athlete my whole life. That's, that's such a huge part of my identity.
[00:05:42] And funny enough, my dad played rugby in the army kind of in his career. So he was like, Oh, well, have you tried the rugby team? Do you know what rugby is? And I was like, Oh, well, yeah, I know what it is. But I'm not sure, so the very next week when we were allowed to go see the sports teams, I ran down to Anderson Rugby Complex with, you know, some of the other girls and It was just like, I fell in love from there.
[00:06:10] It just, coach Bill was amazing. The girls were, were awesome. So yeah, it was just, yeah, kind of hook, line and sinker. And coach Bill had kind of been recruiting me in the background. I wasn't a rugby athlete, but yeah, he, he kind of knew who I was and my soccer background. So he was excited to get me on the team.
[00:06:34] And, yeah, the rest is history.
[00:06:36] Jamie: Yeah, so you, it's so funny how some windows open, right, and the doors are closing over here, and you might think that it's over, but it's just right around the corner is the next opportunity, even if it's a pivot, right? So, good for you for taking that in, because as you mentioned, that's a real stressful part of being a cadet, right?
[00:06:55] And be away from your parents, you're still young, I know you had your brother here, but still, I mean, even that's like, like, how is he doing kind of thing. And right before you go into the academic year as well with the soccer team and playing at a high caliber and then being like, yeah, no, you're, you're just, unfortunately, you're not here for the team.
[00:07:12] So what a, what a remarkable attitude that you have to just be able to shift and find something else that was a good fit for you. So. So you're here at West Point, you do your four years and you play rugby. What was that experience like? Cause you, now you've got the academics that you got to contend with on top of, and you, and you did fairly well as an, in your academics.
[00:07:32] So we should, you know, point that out for the listeners, but you also are playing rugby and that takes a lot of time away as well because it's not just a spring sport or fall sport. They, they split that, right? Can you, can you talk about that a little bit more? Right.
[00:07:45] Sammy: Yeah, so, rugby in college is full time, basically because there's two types of rugby, there's 15s and 7s, so 15s happened in the fall and 7s happened in the spring, but I think Coach Bill kind of said it best that, you know, I needed rugby and rugby needed me at the time, so.
[00:08:07] Even with all of, kind of, the added stress, it was just, I don't know what I would have done without the, the Women's Army Rugby Team, or WAR as they're called. Those girls were my sisters and my home away from home. Especially as, as a plebe or a freshman, you know, just kind of, they, they break you down to build you up and, you know, not allowed to talk outside, have to cup your hands, all those kind of West Point isms, but as soon as you kind of cross the gates into Anderson Rugby Complex, you, you feel like a person again, and that was just like, Exactly what I needed my plebe year.
[00:08:48] And then to kind of also be that comfort for the classes after me, you know, those plebs coming in every year was really special. So I. Yeah, as much as it was hard sometimes to balance the sport and academic life, there were some 1am nights trying to figure out code, you know, sitting out in the hallway, so I didn't wake up my roommates, but, you know, it was all worth it in the end.
[00:09:20] I'm so grateful to my coaches and, and those girls.
[00:09:23] Jamie: So you graduated, you had a computer science degree from here at West Point. You then get stationed out at Fort Carson where lots of people want to be out there. Well, actually you got assigned to what, Schofield originally, and then you had to swap, do a swap?
[00:09:38] Sammy: So originally I was, I was high enough, high enough on the order of merit list that Hawaii was still up there and I, I honestly didn't have a plan going into post Night.
[00:09:51] I, you know, I kind of was like, oh, well, Hawaii would be cool, Colorado would be cool, maybe, you know, at the time, Fort Bragg, now Fort Liberty. But yeah, Hawaii was still up there. So my impulse was, Oh my gosh, I'm going to Hawaii. Yeah. And then after afterwards, and once graduation happened, I talked with one of my mentors at the time, Captain Andrew Locke, who had also been through the world class athlete program.
[00:10:19] And he was, he kind of just gave me the advice, Hey, if you're really serious about rugby and trying to, trying to join the world class athlete program, you need to be CONUS. You need to be in the States and you need to be. Near a rugby community. So yeah, I was, it was a scramble at Bullock to try and switch posts with someone and, you know, it was a no a lot of the time, but.
[00:10:43] There's always ways in the army, like if you really, if you really want something to make it happen. So I was able to switch with actually one of my company mates from West Point, one of my G4 company mates ended up switching with me, which was awesome with him.
[00:10:58] Jamie: Oh, that's great. I love that. That's a little West Point connection there.
[00:11:02] That's, that's cool that that's how it works out, even though you're already at Bullock and kind of going down that route. So you get to Carson and you're playing and then WCAP. I mean that's like a mystery to a lot of Soldiers and cadets at West Point. So can you talk a little bit about that?
[00:11:23] Sammy: Yeah. So I honestly didn't know much about the world class athlete program while I was at West Point and I had been getting recruited by the USA rugby team, which again was another Kind of added stress, you know, you have obligations during the summer, you know, you have to do your military obligation and your academic obligations, but on top of that, finding time to go for these one week, two week camps out here in San Diego to try and, you know, get a spot on the residency program with USA Rugby.
[00:12:03] So, luckily, there's been several WCAP rugby athletes, so I've had Andrew Locke, Casey McCravey, both West Point graduates, to kind of rely on when I was in that mystery phase of what is WCAP? How do I, how do I get into that? So, long story short, the World Class Athlete Program is a program that allows soldiers, the, the top, uh, The cream of the crop soldiers physically to, you know, apply into this program and then ultimately compete and vie for a spot at the Olympics representing not only Team USA, but the U.
[00:12:42] S. Army. So it's a highly prestigious program and something I'm very honored to be a part of. And the application process is, you know, You, you essentially go on to the army, uh, WCAP website and for your sport, there's certain guidelines that you need to hit, which are different for each sport, obviously it's, it's easier for maybe some of the individual sports like track, you know, 800, you have to sit this certain time, you know, uh, but with rugby and team sports, it's more so ultimately, does that head coach want you on the team?
[00:13:23] And do you have what it takes to play with the team on an international level? So looking back, I found out from the head coach of the women, Emily Bidewell, December. Driving to the Army Navy game, she called me my, my first year and she said, Hey, we want to offer you a full time spot with the USA Rugby Sevens program.
[00:13:50] And just the high of my life with my twin brother driving to Philadelphia for an awesome weekend of Army versus Navy rugby. And to get that news was incredible. But at the same time, I wanted to be a platoon leader. So kind of balancing, okay. Is this something I go to straight after basic officer leadership course, or do I need to be a platoon leader first?
[00:14:18] So ultimately I made the decision, go to Fort Carson, be an engineer platoon leader, and then the application process from there is, you send in your application to WCAP, and with your letter of approval from your NGB, or your governing body's head coach, which mine is Emily Bidewell. And yeah, from there, it goes through a lot of hands, all the way up to the head of MCOM, basically, to see do you belong in WCAP.
[00:14:48] And that isn't all that isn't just about your sport, that's about how you are as a person. You know, my officer evaluations were, were in there and luckily I had great leadership at Fort Carson that I, you know, thought I performed well, so I had good evaluations, but yeah, they take everything into consideration.
[00:15:11] And, yeah, ultimately, once you get accepted, you're in process into the world class athlete program. And then, whether you're an individual athlete and stay in Port Carson or go to where your team is, is the difference from there. So, now I'm stationed full time at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center with the USA Rugby team.
[00:15:31] And dream come true to be a part of this program.
[00:15:35] Jamie: What an accomplishment. Super cool. And for anybody listening, if you want to hear more about that or read more about it, you can go to the armywcap. com website and you get all the information there. And of course, if you're accepted in your grad, we want to hear from you as well.
[00:15:51] We want to hear all the good stories, the training, um, and the, and the different, the different routes that our grads take. So, as a rugby player, what is the most memorable moment from your career, do you think?
[00:16:10] Sammy: Oh, wow. I, I would say I kind of have a couple. It's hard to pick from, you know, college versus the international stage.
[00:16:22] I would say in college, And it's so cliche, but beating Navy every year. Best answer, Sammy. Best answer. Yeah. I mean, it's so cliche, but seriously, beating Navy every year. And then the one time we played Air Force, beating them was just awesome. Okay, great. Well, in the question, we'll go to the next
[00:16:42] Jamie: one. How's that?
[00:16:43] Sammy: Yes,
[00:16:44] Jamie: yes, because we don't know, we know the Olympics are coming, so we hope that that is starting to, for this year, will, you know, be the peak as you enter that. And then again, you will see again in a couple more years and have the whole conversation all over. But yes, so what is your heading into the Olympics?
[00:17:01] What is that training regimen look like in preparation for the games?
[00:17:07] Sammy: Wow, it's, yeah, it's been pretty intense leading into the games. And for me, it's been a two year lead up because I ultimately joined the program in 2022. But for some of our girls, this has been a decade's worth of, of work, six years worth of work.
[00:17:26] And yeah, it's just every day coming into work, two rugby sessions a day. Usually some sort of conditioning and a gym session. We have film review every day and yeah, it's, it's looking at what teams are in our pool and doing scouting on them. And yeah, it's just every day a grind and making sure. At this point in the game, fine tuning those, those little aspects of, of our team on a higher level.
[00:17:58] We're not really working on passing and tackling so much anymore. Now we're working on our tactical plan against specific teams, how we're going to exploit. certain weaknesses and highlight our strengths against certain teams, which is a lot like what you do in the army. So I'm definitely used to kind of this level of planning and preparation from my army experience.
[00:18:22] And I would
[00:18:22] Jamie: imagine the discipline as well, right? Especially coming out of West Point with trying to balance everything of, you know, it's the nutrition, it's the mental game, you know, how do you even, You know, take all that on and then balance, you know, you've got your personal life, you've got your military life, you've got the demands of being a high intensity athlete, you know, you still, you still have your brother out there and your family and those kind of things.
[00:18:47] So how do you, how do you balance that? Is there, is there any advice you have for others or techniques that you use for yourself?
[00:18:55] Sammy: Yeah, I would say in terms of nutrition, I'm always talking with our Nutritionist, Jackie, and, and WCAP has a nutritionist as well that we can rely on. And I think for me, I don't like to get caught up on the nutrition side of things.
[00:19:12] I feel like I work hard enough on the day to day that I can, you know, eat what I, I want to eat at this point within reason. I can't have pizza every day like I want to, but you know, not focusing too hard on, you On those minute details. Cause you know, there were times in my, in my West Point career where I was so hyper focused on, on what I was eating as an athlete that it became almost like an unhealthy obsession.
[00:19:40] So having a, having a healthy relationship with food as an athlete and a soldier. is really important, and not controlling the controllables, but not to an extent where it takes over too much of your headspace. And ultimately, the biggest thing I do for myself to, to have some semblance of a balance is always carving out some time in the day for myself.
[00:20:05] I have a lot of hobbies, I I love Lego. I Lego all the time. I have so many different sets, it's ridiculous. Now it's a bit of an obsession, but yeah, Lego, paint by numbers, hanging out with my dog, hanging out with my fiancé. Okay, wait, I gotta ask you about
[00:20:24] Jamie: the Lego thing, right? Like, do you just go from the instruction manual and forward? Or do you pre build?
[00:20:32] Sammy: Yeah, I'm a big, I'm an instruction manual person. Not, I'm not a master builder like the Lego movie, unfortunately, but yeah, it's just a nice way to, you know, do something tactile and feel like, you know, I still have my, my brain working along with kind of almost hand eye coordination practice in a way.
[00:20:54] Jamie: And yeah,
[00:20:55] Sammy: and they all look so
[00:20:55] Jamie: beautiful. Okay, so You keep them together. You don't break them back down once they're built. You Oh, no.
[00:21:03] Sammy: Yeah, I have shelves and shelves of Lego sets. So you bring Yeah, they're my, my pride and joy. Will you bring any to
[00:21:10] Jamie: Paris with you as like a relaxation tool?
[00:21:15] Sammy: Yes, and on every tour I have gone on this year, I've brought a small LEGO set, and it is something that I can do at the end of the day that calms me, so I'm definitely bringing LEGOs to Paris.
[00:21:29] Which one? I'm not sure yet. But yeah, I love Lego. It will be coming in my suitcase with me to the Olympics. That's great.
[00:21:38] Jamie: And for the Army marketing people that are in the background, somebody needs to get her an NIL for this because that's like money right there. You need to, you need to work that out.
[00:21:50] Yes. Lego sponsor me. I don't know where you are. And then put a 30 second bit in our podcast. That's how we'll see that. Yeah. So, okay. Legos at the Olympics. I'm excited. I can't wait. I would like to hear what set you decide to bring. Obviously, um, I have young children. They're super into Legos. So they, they do a lot of that with the space shuttle ones and all that.
[00:22:14] So it'll be interesting to see. I like how that's, you have that calming. Strategy, right? To recenter yourself, to focus on, you know, yourself for a moment and take out all of the busyness that probably goes on in your life with all the different pulls that you have. So it's a great, great fit.
[00:22:32] Sammy: Yeah. And I think too, it just kind of plays into The army can be a very serious job and being a professional athlete is obviously a serious job, so finding a way to have some fun is, I think, something more adults can do in general, not just in the army and not just professional athletes, so.
[00:22:52] Highly recommend legos.
[00:22:55] Jamie: All right, so as um, a rugby player, what are some of the biggest challenges you've faced? And then how would you, how do you overcome that? Like what is your strategy for that?
[00:23:09] Sammy: Ever since I, ever since I was little, really, I've been a super emotional person. I, I just, I angry cry, I sad cry, and I wear my emotions on my sleeve.
[00:23:21] Which, honestly, heading into West Point, I was really nervous about, because I'd always kind of seen that as a sign of weakness, and I was terrified to cry in front of, in front of Beast Cadre, or, you know, my instructors, but, and a lot of that came out in, uh, the Rugby at West Point because I had never played such a contact sport like that.
[00:23:46] Such an intense, you know, body on bodily, body on body, no pads, tackling each other to the ground and it's, it is very violent, but it's controlled violence. So my, my freshman and sophomore year at West Point, It, it was just about working through those emotions and kind of learning how to, to use those in a way that were productive on the field, which I think.
[00:24:21] You know, after I had worked through that, it directly transferred into, into how I was in a military setting as well. And I think, you know, how I overcome emotional stress, uh, on the field is, is staying within the present moment and finding a way to ground myself. Whether that's looking at my teammate and, and just staying with you.
[00:24:49] Whether that's touching the ground, but mostly that, that connection with my teammates, audibly, you know, saying something. It is, it's a huge grounder and, and it's a huge focus getter to back, to be back in the present moment. And that's something I've, I've honed in on with, with my sports psych now, that focus is, is so important, whether it's, you know, in rugby or in a military training exercise.
[00:25:19] If you let your mind steal your focus away, whether that's an emotional response or future planning or past thinking. So, yeah, I think the mental aspect of the game is probably the hardest part for me. And I, and I'm still working on that. On how I can, you know, stay as focused as I need to. But I think what I've learned, uh, is my emotions are actually my superpower on the field.
[00:25:46] I'm, I'm the workhorse of our team. I'm going to do the grunt work and, and the things people, you know, necessarily don't want to do. And that all comes from that, you know, rage and determination that I I've always had. So, yeah, I think ultimately honing my emotions in a controlled, focused way, and then just staying healthy, ultimately, because with contact sports comes injuries, and, you know, you're always nursing something.
[00:26:19] But I have incredible, incredible people through WCAP and, and through USA Rugby, athletic trainers and, you know, doctors that take care, good care of me. So I've never felt more taken care of, but I've also never felt more breaking, broken down.
[00:26:35] Jamie: Yeah. It's a lot of impact on the body. I imagine the game, especially rugby, as like you said, a contact sport.
[00:26:42] Your goals obviously include gold, right? I mean, we can't, we can't not say that. That's a goal. So how do you stay motivated? You talked about your focus and how to like in a game where you have to like, okay, wait a second. What am I, I got to stop worrying about what I can't control, which you also talked about a little bit earlier, but how do you stay motivated towards that goal as you are battling an injury, as you are battling physical tiredness, emotional tire, that just comes with the sport that comes with the job of being in the military as well.
[00:27:14] How do you, how do you stay the course and stay motivated to get towards those goals?
[00:27:21] Sammy: Yeah, my, my motivation definitely comes from my family, for one. My parents have put so much effort into me, whether it was driving me to soccer practices an hour and a half away, three times a week, or going to all my games.
[00:27:41] They'll travel the world to see me play. They've come to South Africa, they've gone to Canada to see me play. So, making them proud. And I think ultimately wearing my, my father's last name on my back for this Olympics is just pride personified within itself. But to win a medal in that Jersey for him would be huge.
[00:28:05] Making my fiance proud. He's been my rock through this whole process. And, you know, ultimately my, my greatest protector. So making him proud and showing all those nights of, of tears and worrying were worth it. And I think my, my greatest motivator, motivation in the moment is my teammates, because I, I love these girls.
[00:28:30] Like they are my flesh and blood, my teammates right now. And I, you know, letting them down Would be so tough, um, you know, and the game of sevens is, it is so quick, and the bounce of a ball can mean the difference between you winning or losing, so ultimately doing what is in my power to ensure my teammates trust me on the field, and to show them love in that way, that I'm willing to sacrifice for them, I think is my in the moment motivator.
[00:29:08] And then my long term motivator is definitely my, my family, my immediate family, my fiance, my friends, so.
[00:29:18] Jamie: Yeah, teamwork, you've mentioned it before, especially in the sevens game, because you've got to be in sync, because it's like you said, it's a, it's a flash, and that game can shift really quickly. How important is that teamwork?
[00:29:31] And what do you think at West Point in your 47 month experience was the most important thing that you can bring to this Olympic team?
[00:29:39] Sammy: Yeah, I think, I think what West Point ultimately taught me was Adverse situations bring people together and that's sort of the make or break thing that you learn about yourself at West Point because West Point's designed to be hard.
[00:30:00] It's designed to push you to your limits. And, and I think for people that, that takes them one way or the other, it either takes them internally or, you know, people recognize, Hey, I need help in this situation. And that's when, that's when you get the teamwork aspect from West Point. And I definitely learned that.
[00:30:25] And in my four years at West Point, I was constantly, you know, Hey, here's, here's where I'm weak in this area. Can you help me with this? Oh, I see you're struggling with this. Let me help you academically, militarily, and physically, everyone is always helping each other. And I think ultimately, that teamwork is, is what got me onto the team, onto the Olympic team is I, I have the humility to recognize The areas that I need help in and the areas I need to rely on my teammates.
[00:31:01] And in the same vein, I know what my teammates need from me. And I think the best teams in the world are able to recognize in, recognize that in all 12 of their teammates and ultimately the other 6 on the field with you. You know what their strengths are, what their weaknesses are, and how to, how to heighten their weak, how to heighten their strengths and help them in their weak areas, so.
[00:31:29] Yeah, West Point. I, I owe that a lot to West Point, a lot to my, my G4 company, and, you know, my My war sisters, so.
[00:31:43] Jamie: So, little girls watching the games, little girls hearing your story out there, coming to West Point, enduring the hardship, and then going on to, you know, and shifting again, shifting from your sport that you grew up and you loved and you were so good at and probably identified with, right, in high school, and then just completely like, okay, I'll just go over here and I'll just be amazing at that too.
[00:32:05] You know, so what advice would you have for, for those girls looking at West Point or looking at the sport of rugby, you know, to keep their, to keep going and, and fulfill their dreams?
[00:32:20] Sammy: I think the advice I would give to those girls is just to take the leap of faith because a lot of, a lot of my life.
[00:32:31] Experiences, you know, applying to West Point, trying for a spot on the USA rugby team, and ultimately getting named to the Olympic team, switching over to rugby has all been leaps of faith. And I, I, I just would encourage them one door closing is, is another door opening for you and to continue to, to take up space and, you know, go for what you want and let those around you know your goals, because ultimately, You, you can try to get somewhere on your own, but it's, it's so much better and so much sweeter when you have the help of, of those around you pushing you and encouraging you.
[00:33:15] So yeah, ultimately I would encourage anyone looking at West Point and the Army in general to, you know, check out GoArmy. com and yeah, for, for rugby, join, join a club team. Just, just do it. Just take the leap of faith. Find a local team. Parents, little girls can tackle, they can get hit, they will bounce back.
[00:33:40] Yeah, just be that fierce girl you know you are inside and, and take that leap of faith.
[00:33:46] Jamie: Yeah, you talk about the physicality of rugby and I think about, you know, how women at West Point take boxing and did you, you took boxing, right? Took boxing. And do you remember? Yeah. Do you remember that? Do you remember those moments?
[00:34:01] Like, do you remember those feelings?
[00:34:03] Sammy: Oh yeah. And I think I was, my year was the first year they started doing inter gendered, like, you know, It wasn't separate gender classes so we had both men and women in my class and I think I was scared going into that because I was expecting, you know, I'm gonna have to get punched in the face by, you know, a six foot, 200 pound guy and that's not gonna be fun.
[00:34:31] But ultimately, yeah, I, I fell in love with boxing, same way I fell in love with rugby. There's just something, something about contact sports I just like. I do remember a basketball player and she had probably about a head height of difference on me and we were in a graded bow. And she punched me so hard in, in my stomach rib area, I got the wind knocked out of me.
[00:34:57] So I spent the last minute of the fight just, like, you know, second grader falling off the swings trying to catch your breath, just, UGH! UGH! And, you know, throwing punches, but not really, just trying to catch my breath, so. I think, you know, West Point, I'll show, West Point also shows you how you deal with failure, because there's gonna be times where you fail, but it's about how you react in that situation.
[00:35:26] So, recognizing that I wasn't the best at boxing, but I, you know, I'm still willing to get in the ring every time, it, it was a very empowering moment to even get the wind knocked out of me and still be fighting is, yeah, I'm really proud of that moment. you
[00:35:45] Jamie: What an inspiration. I think this is just so fabulous that you are representing not only the USA, but also West Point, and we will be cheering for you for sure.
[00:35:57] I will say that, you know, our former grads at one Stanley cups have brought them back to West Point. So there might be some peer pressure for you to bring back that gold medal and kind of show it off as well. Um, Oh yeah.
[00:36:12] Sammy: Yeah. I, if I get a gold medal at the Olympics, I am going right to West Point and be like, guys, look at what I did.
[00:36:19] This is what you can do. Oh, yeah, I'll be
[00:36:22] Jamie: waiting for you. I bet. Oh, yeah.
[00:36:24] Sammy: I'm I would love to come back. I've already told Coach Bill. You know, regardless of the outcome of the Olympics, I, I would love to come back and visit, you know, Women's Army Rugby, the War Girls and just show how far this sport can take them.
[00:36:40] So I'm definitely looking forward to at least trying to come out in September time frame just to be with the, the team and see how they're doing. But yeah.
[00:36:50] Jamie: Well, that's great. Well, you'll have to keep in touch with us and let us know. We'd love to have you back at the Rockbound Highland home. And of course at AOG and Herbert Hall football weekend or other sport rugby weekend, you know, definitely that we would love to see you back here.
[00:37:04] So thanks so much, Sammy, for your time today. This has been great. We wish you all the best. You have 55, 000 members and then some of the long gray line that'll be cheering you on from all over the world as you take on. The Olympics in Paris. We wish you the best. We are going to be cheering for you. We'll be following you on social media as well as the team.
[00:37:28] And, you know, of course, Long Gray Line is here to support you.
[00:37:33] Sammy: Again, I would just encourage anybody, if you're interested in the Army or hearing more about what opportunities are there for you, definitely go check out GoArmy. com and, you know, the WCAP website as well, ArmyWCAP. com. Yeah. Thank you
[00:37:50] Jamie: so much for having me.
[00:37:52] You know, we always say beat Navy at the end of these, but it's like beat everybody now, right? We have to go on a global scale, beat Navy and beat the world at this point. Go USA. Yeah, that's right. Go. USA. Thanks Sammy. Thank you.
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