Calgary Journal Online

New coach and new players could be a formula for a future championship

The University of Calgary Dinos’ new women’s rugby coach has big plans.

Plans to recruit new players, to develop a disciplined team and for a national championship in the next few years.

Sports fans: it’s time to meet coach Simon Chi.

“We’re winning small victories here and there,” Chi said. “We’re using the skills we have been working on since day one in camp.”

Ellen MacGregor helps throw to teammates in training. The former team captain was sidelined earlier in the year due to a 3rd degree ankle sprain.

Photo: Drew Henn/Calgary Journal

Scoring the first points in Dino history was Brynna Walker, one of the many young players that make up the squad.

“We’re a young team and we’re going to rebuild on that,” Chi said. “They have come leaps-and-bounds since the start of the year and have really gelled into a tight-knit group.”

University of Calgary athletic director, Kevin Boyles believes Chi is the right man for a big job.

“Simon’s got a great rugby background and has a lot of passion in playing at the CIS level. He’s done a great job of pulling the team together,” he said.

Second-year Dino’s player Ellen MacGregor believes the rugby program is definitely on the rise.

“The first year we were just feeling out the new league and didn’t know what to expect. We have grown so much in one year, and next year we will be really competitive,” MacGregor said.

MacGregor was named captain at the start of the year, but was forced out of action with an ankle sprain. She is excited for next season where the team will look to win its first ever CIS match, and more importantly, to continue to grow and get better as a team.

“You really feel like you’re a part of something here,” said MacGregor about the program. “We need to keep our nose to the grindstone and we’ll get there.”

Playing only their second year in the competitive CIS league, the Dinos have had to lace-up against some of the most established programs in Western Canada.

The University of Alberta Pandas have won four national championships and have been a force in the Western League since entering in 1999. The University of Lethbridge has also come on strong, winning the previous three national championships.

The concentration of these successful schools within Alberta makes it tough to attract new players to our young University of Calgary program said MacGregor, but she believes that once the program has shown some success, players will look to the Dinos.

“Places like the University of Alberta and the University of Lethbridge have had teams for a long time and players are choosing these schools because that is where the championships are going,” MacGregor said. “Once we show that we can, too, be competitive, then players will start choosing the University of Calgary to play rugby.”

Given the amount the program has developed in its two active years, the Dinos are on a path to being a competitive squad in years to come.

Simon Chi’s message is “to work hard. It takes 10,000 hours to become a master at something.”

When asked where the program will be in three years, MacGregor had no doubt that it will be “right at the top, contending for a Canada west title or even a national championship.”