My name is Shaidynn, and playing rugby has been the best decision I could have ever made. I've played sports all of middle school and high school as a distraction from my home life and financial burdens. I was initially recruited to a rugby team my freshman year during wrestling season. Joining rugby, to me, was like having an epiphany. I would have never expected to be welcomed and celebrated within such a warm and supportive community. Any and every body type had their different strengths. It opened so many doors for me and helped me discover confidence within myself. I've now been playing for four years and have won 2 state championships with my home club (Kent Crusaders, Covington, WA). I've played for Loggers, Try Time, USA West, TOA Rugby Academy, WAR, and Washington Selects, and I have participated in the USA Chula Vista West development camp. I've attended numerous Talent ID camps and have been lucky enough to be in the USA Pathways. Through rugby I've met some of the best coaches alongside amazing people and lifelong friends! Playing rugby changed my mentality and the way I carry myself completely. It's disciplined me in so many different ways and shown me how to have compassion for others and strive for greatness. Playing rugby forced me to trust in the people around me and focus on what I can control versus fixating on what other people are doing and why they are doing it. It made me realize I don't have confidence and showed me why I should never hang my head low. It taught me how to take a loss and learn from it. Rugby has taught me to use my voice and proved that the mind really is my greatest enemy. Rugby has opened so many opportunities for me in ways I could never have imagined, and even if I'm playing with a high-level team, I still go back to the basics. It reminds me that I can't do everything on my own, but playing my specific role can make such an impact. Rugby has increased my social skills as well as teaching lifelong lessons I can look back at and learn from. If there's 1 thing that rugby has taught me and that has stuck with me for years now, it's that if I want people to hear me, I have to be able to listen first, and what comes with being a good listener is being able to assume the best. I plan on attending college on the East Coast to continue pursuing rugby and to hopefully one day be a USA Eagle.

I think the qualities I have to be able to qualify for the YGIG scholarship are that I've been a multi-sport athlete, but during the time period of playing sports throughout middle school and high school, I've never really felt connected to any of the sports I was playing nor the coaches I played for just because my low-income family was always moving around. I felt like I couldn't get too attached to anything or anyone because there wouldn't be any point. I had a "fixed mindset" that restricted me from enjoying the fun in doing sports and experiencing potential lifelong friendships. I've played volleyball, soccer, football, flag football and wrestled. I even threw in discus and shot put all through middle school and high school...but the sport that I really grew a passion for was rugby. I've played rugby since I was 15 years old til the present, and throughout my rugby career I've been able to travel to and play in Canada (Vancouver 7s; placed 3rd, and Canada Westerns; placed 4th), Utah (NAI7S 2x), Montana (Great Northwest Challenge, back-to-back champions), Oregon (Sasquatch Invitational Tournament and PR7s Tournament, placed 1st), Florida (Western Territorial Tournament, placed 3rd), California (Chula Vista USA Camp invitation.) In all tournaments I've played in, we placed top 5 in all of them, and I was either man of the match or team captain. A big accomplishment I've had is being invited to train at the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center, being coached by legendary USA coaches, and meeting so many girls from all over the west coast. I've also been scouted by numerous D1 and Ivy League coaches. A big reason I turned to sports was mainly because that was the only stable thing in my life. At a time when I couldn't stay in 1 home for more than a year, there was always a sport I could play where I knew it wouldn't go anywhere. Me and my family have experienced homelessness and even living in a single hotel room as a family of 5. I had no privacy, I had no life outside of school, and I was too embarrassed to have friends and for them to find out where I lived and risk being made fun of. It felt like I hit a dead end and this was how my life would be for the rest of my life. That is until I started playing rugby. I used to love wrestling, but I felt as if I was too big compared to rugby, which was full of kids of all shapes and sizes. No weight limit, no height restrictions. It was physical and fun. Once I grew love for the game and was getting recognition for my skill, I realized that I didn't need friends; my teammates were already lifelong sisters and my forever support system. I took this as an opportunity to get out of the desperate lifestyle I lived and hopefully make enough to eventually get my family a stable home that had more than one room and one bathroom. Still to this day I see going to college for rugby as my one-way ticket out; ever since then I've been training and using my free time dedicated to bettering myself in the game. Every time I think of quitting, I remember that I need to do this for my family. I strive to have a growth mindset, and just thinking about how I used to feel and live pushes me to do better. My dad has been through it all with me. He has been my number one supporter and has been so dedicated that he's an assistant coach for my home club. He works a full-time job, and after work he rushes to my practice to help coach without being paid for it. He works to put more than food on my table. He puts cleats on my feet and training shirts and team merch on me. He puts gas in the tank to get to practice, and he not only pays the bills but also invests in my tournaments because he believes in me and what I can do. For that I will always be grateful for him. This scholarship would help my journey in affording team kit and affording school in college. I'm going to college for rugby, and I intend to get in on an athletic scholarship, but an athletic scholarship can only do so much. This scholarship would help me tremendously in lessening the stress on tuition fees and other team fees as a low-income family and help me reach my goals without the burden of financial problems.

Rugby family isn't like any normal sports "family." They don't disappear when the season is over or say "good game" and walk away from you. Rugby Family is like a pack of wolves; once you join the sport, there's no going back. You are part of a bond so strong it's unbreakable; no one gets left behind or forgotten, you move as one and grow as one. Everyone is celebrated and appreciated. Rugby family is so much more than just teammates or coaches. It's a culture that's built on honesty, discipline, diversity, and empathy. Rugby family has opened so many doors for me personally; when I was a first-year and had no one coming to watch my games, I had my teammates to cheer me on, my coaches pushing me, and other families yelling my name; everyone was full of encouragement. Rugby family is a whole community supporting you to be the best version of yourself. And it doesn't apply to your home team or club. I've been to many out-of-state tournaments and played for all-star teams who have treated me as if I've played for them for years. The culture within rugby is so deeply rooted and respected it's become the social norm. Rugby family is where you meet new lifelong sisters, dads, moms, and mentors. I hope I can be welcomed into college rugby with the same comradery and excitement as I was when I was 14 years old. I hope playing collegiate rugby shapes me into a person that expands my "growth mindset," as well as helping me develop into a young adult. I don't have a strict plan for college or my future. I don't know many people who have their whole life planned either, but I believe that's what makes going into college so exciting and nerve-wracking. I just hope that I have a group of sisters to experience the crazy things life throws at me and to learn what to avoid early on from my older sisters on the team. I hope playing at such a high level increases my passion for the game and also helps my rugby IQ mature instead of staying tunnel visioned and closed-minded on my gameplay and skillset. I want to stay in a competitive environment that challenges me instead of enabling bad habits and letting me and my team off the hook. I want to be able to learn new things and master the basics in order to execute complex plays. I want to play for a team that allows me to use creativity in the game as well as applying what I know about rugby in the game. I want to be taught why we do certain things, not "just do it." I want to be able to ask questions and have an answer and demonstration instead of being looked down on. I want to play for a team that appreciates me and reciprocates the love and dedication I put in.