Kelly Griffin

Kelly Griffin (born November 7, 1986) is an American rugby sevens player and Olympian. As a member of the United States women's national rugby sevens team, she won a bronze medal at the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens, and a silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games.[1][2][3] She was also captain of the United States Women's Rugby Sevens team for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[4]

Kelly Griffin
Born (1986-11-07) November 7, 1986
EducationBerkeley High School
Alma materUniversity of California, Los Angeles
Height5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
Weight145 lb (66 kg)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker
National sevens team(s)
Years Team Comps
2011-present United States 27
Coaching career
Years Team
2021–2022
2023–present		 Northern Loonies
Golden State Retrievers
Medal record
Women's rugby sevens
Representing  United States
Rugby World Cup Sevens
Bronze medal – third place2013 MoscowTeam competition
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place2015 TorontoTeam competition
NACRA Championship
Gold medal – first place2015 North CarolinaTeam competition

Early life and high school

Kelly Griffin was born and raised in Berkeley, California and played soccer and basketball starting at the age of 6.[5] She attended Berkeley High School in Berkeley, California, where she played basketball for coach Gene Nakamura, who called Griffin's 2003 team the group he was "most fond of" from his 24 seasons as head coach.[6]

Collegiate rugby

Griffin moved from Berkeley to Los Angeles to attend UCLA in 2004, and her freshman she year joined the UCLA Women's Club Rugby team, known as the UCLA Bruin Rangers.[7] She helped lead UCLA to several national playoff appearances, and was named a USA Rugby AIG Women’s Collegiate All-American in 2007 and 2008. Additionally she was selected for the USA Rugby Under-23 team in 2006 and 2007.

Women's Premier League

After graduating from UCLA with an applied math degree in 2008, Griffin returned to the San Francisco Bay Area and joined the Berkeley All Blues Women's Rugby Club. During the 2011 season of the Women's Premier League, Griffin won the 7s National Championship with the All Blues and was named tournament Most Valued Player.[8] The All Blues also won the 2011 Women's Premier League Championship, with Griffin leading the league in tries scored.[8] Additionally, Griffin won the 2011 Women's All-Star National Championship with Pacific Coast team, rounding out her three championships in a six-month period.[8]

USA Rugby Eagles Women's Sevens

In early 2012, Griffin signed a full-time training contract with USA Rugby, and along with 7 other women, became the first professional female rugby players in the United States.[9] Griffin moved to Chula Vista, California to train at the Olympic Training Center with the rest of the contracted 7s players. From 2011/2012 on, Griffin has played in the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series, captaining the USA team for several tournaments. Additionally, going into the 2016 Summer Olympics, Griffin leads the country in appearances on the World Sevens Series Circuit,[10] and is the only athlete of the "original eight"[9] to have remained in residency throughout the four-year lead up to the 2016 Olympics.

In addition to the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series, Griffin competed with the USA Eagles Sevens at the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens. After an undefeated campaign in pool play, the USA went on to claim the bronze medal by beating Spain in sudden death overtime 10-5 in the 3rd place match.[3]

In June 2015, Griffin was selected as captain of the USA Women's Sevens team for the North American and Caribbean Rugby Association Championship, which also served as an Olympic qualifying tournament. The USA would win the NACRA gold medal, and also qualify for the 2016 Rio Summer Olympicss by beating Mexico in the Championship game, 88-0 .[11]

In July 2015, Griffin competed as part of Team USA at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto. The United States women's 7s team lost to Canada in the gold medal match, leaving the tournament with silver.[12][13]

On July 18, 2016, Griffin was named as captain of the USA Women's Olympic Rugby Team,[14] which competed in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, the inaugural Olympiad to include women's rugby.

World Rugby Women's Sevens Series

Rugby World Cup Sevens

NACRA Women's Sevens Championship

Pan America Games

Olympic Games

Coaching career

Since 2019, Griffin has been the head coach of the University of California, Santa Barbara Gauchos women's rugby team.[15][16]

In 2021, Griffin was named the head coach of the Loonies women's team for the Premier Rugby Sevens Inaugural Championship in Memphis, TN. She would lead the Loonies to their first women's championship, behind performances from stars Alev Kelter, Joanne Fa'avesi and Delaney Aikens.[17] She would continue to coach the Loonies again in the 2022 Series where they would finish runner up.[18]

In 2023, the league announced that Griffin would become the head coach of the expansion Golden State Retrievers women's team.[19] Griffin's local ties to the Bay Area were a key part in moving coaching roles.[20]

References
  1. "Kelly Griffin". Toronto2015.org. 2015 Pan American Games. Archived from the original on January 27, 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
  2. "TeamUSA Rugby at the 2015 Pan American Games". TeamUSA.org. United States Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
  3. "Eagles claim third place victory with thrilling sudden death try". Archived from the original on January 27, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  4. "USA Rugby Names 2016 U.S. Olympic Women's Rugby Team". Archived from the original on August 7, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  5. "Rugby Legend Phaidra Knight Interviews Team USA Star Kelly Griffin". Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  6. "Nakamura's final hurrah". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  7. "UCLA Club - About Us-Women's Rugby". www.uclaclubsports.com. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  8. "Kelly Griffin". USA Rugby. Archived from the original on August 5, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  9. "The Breakdown: Women's Rugby News". The Breakdown: Women's Rugby News. Archived from the original on August 1, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  10. "Get to know Team USA's Women's Rugby Sevens squad". Archived from the original on August 6, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  11. "Griffin Queen of NACRA 7s - Video". June 15, 2015. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  12. "Team USA Takes Home Silver And Bronze In Pan Ams Rugby Sevens". Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  13. "Eagles selected for Canada, Pan American Games in Toronto". Archived from the original on January 27, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  14. "USA Rugby Names 2016 U.S. Olympic Women's Rugby Team". Archived from the original on August 7, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  15. "Kelly Griffin New Head Coach For UCSB | Goff Rugby Report". www.goffrugbyreport.com. August 6, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  16. "UCSB Women's Rugby - Our Coach". sites.google.com. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  17. Main, WRCRA (May 16, 2022). "Coach of the Month: Kelly Griffin". USWRF-WRCRA. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  18. "HEAD COACH PROFILE: KELLY GRIFFIN | Premier Rugby Sevens". www.prsevens.com. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  19. djcoilrugby (March 2, 2023). "Premier Rugby Sevens 2023 Coaches". djcoilrugby. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  20. Ingemi, Marisa (July 14, 2023). "Day job for woman pursuing pro rugby dreams? Working on S.F. housing crisis". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
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