Olympic-sized dreams

By KEVIN JAKAHI

Tribune-Herald sports writer

Recent Waiakea graduate Tracy Poch is a relative novice in rugby, starting the sport last December, but she stands a very good chance of being in the 2016 Olympics — if her progression rate continues to climb.

Rugby 7s — not the standard 15s — will be reintroduced at the Rio Games in Brazil. There is already one Hawaii athlete on the U.S. women’s team in Bui Baravilala, a 2009 Radford graduate from Oahu. Poch is hoping to double that number.

Last month, Poch had a two-week tryout for the national USA under 20 national team at the Olympic Training Center at Lake Placid, N.Y. There were 38 candidates competing for 26 spots, a numbers game that will squeeze much harder in the coming years.

But for now, Poch is in good shape, considering she started from the ground floor.

The Hawaii Youth Rugby state championships were held in late April at Hilo Bayfront. Poch led the Lady Hilo Reign to the under 19 title. It was the first year for girls rugby on the Big Island.

The season started in December, and Poch, who competed in judo and wrestling at Waiakea, found a sport that suits her toughness. Rugby also taught her the value of team play.

“My younger brother (Suwaiter) has been playing rugby for three years,” she said. “My sisters (Sinella and Sita) went to all the games. When they made a girls team, we were all on it. It was my kind of sport, tackling, and I enjoyed it. I had a lot to learn even before I touched the ball. I didn’t know much about the rules and what was what. I learned the whole season and all of a sudden it came naturally, like, ‘OK, I got it.’

“I’ve not always been a team player. I was in individual sports. I won in wrestling and I did jiujitsu and was undefeated in that. I was always an individual. That was always my personality. When I went up for the select team, I had to be a team player. I never met the other players. But it was a good experience, and I thank them for opening up my mind.”

Before the state championships, Poch played in a 7s tournament on Oahu, where word of her strong play reached the ears of the USA national team.

In the eyes of Sandra Elvin, one of her coaches on the Lady Reign, Poch’s toughness was evident from early on, and her skill development — shoehorning her physical play into a sport with unfamiliar rules — soon took shape in giant steps.

“She has a lot of aggression and is not afraid to hit anybody on the field. She’s the type of player if she gets hit, she gets right back up and keeps going. Her aggression and endurance are really powerful,” Elvin said. “It was a major accomplishment in March on Oahu with a second-place finish against some teams that have been playing together for years. She really shined when the scouts saw her. She really played like a true team player.

“Rugby is a sport that you can’t do by yourself. You need every single player to work as a unit. She has a pretty good chance to make the team if she continues to learn.”

After she graduated from Waiakea, Poch’s plan was to join the Navy. That’s been put on hold. She’s just waiting to hear from the USA national under 20 team. Until then, she’ll head to a community college in Utah next month, where she’ll enroll in the spring semester and join a rugby club.

“I talked to some of the girls who made the team before. They said it takes a long time to confirm you’re on the team,” Poch said. “It’ll be another month. I’m nervous and excited. That would be the greatest honor ever to be on the 2016 Olympic team.

“It’ll take a lot of training. I’m willing to do that and make that commitment. That’s a lot of hard work but that’s my focus.”

To submit an ‘In the Spotlight’ feature for publication, email kjakahi@hawaiitribune-herald.com.

In the spotlight

Tracy Poch

Sport: Rugby

School: Waiakea (2012)

BIIF sports: Judo, wrestling

Accomplishments: Two BIIF wrestling titles; runner-up at state wrestling as sophomore

Motto: “Strive for today, suffer now in the beginning, overcome in the end”