"I'm as old as my tongue and a little older than my teeth," said ASU women's rugby coach Barry Carter in a thick British accent. "Women know how to play the game better than the men."
Carter has been involved with rugby since 1960 and played for the Fleet Air One team when he was flying jets for the Royal British Navy.
The ASU women's rugby program has gained considerable respect since the players have been under the tutelage of Carter, who took over in 1997. The team has garnered four conference championships in the past seven years, while making it to the Final Four, Elite Eight and Sweet Sixteen twice.
At least one ASU player has been named an All-American each year since 1999. Last season, team captain Katie Wright received those honors. Wright, or "Pudge" as her teammates call her, received her nickname after playing catcher on the Westwood High School softball team in Mesa in homage to Detroit Tiger catcher Ivan Rodriguez.
Wright, an accounting major, came to ASU four years ago, leaving softball behind. Soon after her arrival, Wright found a flier on campus inviting her to try out for the women's rugby team, a sport in which she had no prior experience. Ever since, Carter said, "Wright has grown to be a good player and a leader on the team."
Carter said he enjoys his current coaching position with the women's team, although he first came to ASU in 1977 to coach the men's program. After 17 seasons with the men's team, Carter made the switch to women's rugby in 1994 and is not looking back.
"It is a different style of coaching," Carter said.
Carter said when he coached the men all he needed to do was teach the basics, and six weeks later they would be pounding into each other.
After seven years of guiding the women's team, Carter has learned that women reflect more on the big picture.
"Women need to know why you do certain things on the field and the theory behind it," Carter said. "Not just that you are suppose to do them."
Through his experience, Carter said he has found that women focus more on fundamentals and play a more technically sound game than the men.
"Men are stronger and hit harder, but some of these girls can hit," Carter said.
Carter said he has even had to win over his assistant coach, Kristian Lindo, who didn't know what to expect when he took the job in 2000.
"The first year I came out to coach I was a bit skeptical," Lindo said, adding that he didn't know how much dedication to expect on the field from the women.
Now Lindo, a former men's rugby player from UA, "has no doubts. Most of the girls are as tough as the guys. Eighty-five percent are very intense," he said.
This ASU team is no stranger to tough competition, after tying the Fijian national under-21 team this past spring. Fiji is one of the best rugby playing countries in the world. The ASU team was fortunate enough to make the trip to Fiji due to great fund-raising efforts.
As a club sport, the ASU women's rugby team receives less than $1,000 a year from University funding. The team's $60,000 operating cost is covered mainly by parents, fundraisers and sponsorships.
Although the bulk of the team's schedule will be played in the spring, ASU will play NAU next Saturday.
"To be successful at a sport it takes dedication and commitment," Wright said.
Sometimes that dedication and commitment shows after the final scrum. Wright bares pain from a shoulder that she recently dislocated.
Wright drew horrified looks from her newer teammates at practice Saturday when she told them about how she once broke her ankle during a match.
"[Broke it] in two places through the fibula," she said before quickly reassuring the team. "Just kidding guys, I, ah, I broke my ankle walking down the stairs."
Reach the reporter at branko.seretti@asu.edu.
