Many athletes say sports allow them to create special bonds and friendships that don’t exist elsewhere. That holds true on the men’s and women’s rugby teams at the Coast Guard.
Lt. Vincent Nitopi has been playing and coaching Coast Guard rugby for 11 years. He’s loved every second on the field — but what sticks with him is the community rugby gave him. That support network changed Nitopi’s life.
A key piece of his career hinged on advice from his teammates about his Coast Guard direct commission application to join the service. “That honest conversation with people I trust was super helpful,” he said. “From a professional and personal standpoint, I can’t say enough about the people I’ve met and what they’ve done for my career.” Nitopi is thrilled to see things come full circle today as he mentors and coaches fellow Coasties on the rugby team.
One of those mentees is star player Lt. Hollis Connick, who was selected to represent the United States Armed Forces team at the International Military Sports Council (CISM) Rugby Challenge earlier this year. CISM is the equivalent of the military Olympics, where the best of the best from allied militaries around the world come together to compete.
When she’s not making or dodging tackles, Connick serves as an apprentice marine inspector at Sector Delaware Bay, where she oversees domestic vessel enforcement and inspections. Connick has been playing rugby since her second year at the Coast Guard Academy. Though she was recruited for track and field, she found life in the offseason was missing something. Enter Coast Guard rugby. By her senior year, Connick was captaining a top-ranked Coast Guard academy rugby team.
Over her career, she’s mainly played the fullback role, which serves as the last line of defense for a rugby team. However, Connick assures, she gets plenty of chances to go forward on offense. Good fullbacks need a comprehensive vision of the field, she explained, so they can exploit gaps and help the team score. More recently, she’s been playing the center position—playmaker, like a quarterback in football.
Connick agrees with her coach on the meaning of rugby. “Rugby has always been at the cornerstone of my professional and personal communities,” she said. “When I move to a new city, a rugby team is the first thing I look for.”
She has been struck by the Coast Guard rugby community’s openness, going back to her days in New London. “We accept everyone, from novices to veterans. Everyone brings something to the table,” she noted. Above all, Connick is grateful to have her command’s support and to be able to pursue her passion and compete in elite international tournaments.
Most recently, she joined the Armed Forces women’s rugby team at the International Military Sports Council (CISM) in Amsterdam. It's a memory she’ll never forget—thanks, in part, to some fun and unique souvenirs she picked up along the way. “Trading gear is a tradition in the rugby community,” she told MyCG. Connick and her teammates were thrilled to swap equipment with the Ireland Defense Forces Women’s Rugby Team. She returned with new friendships, challenge coins, and patches from around the world. The American contingent had a strong tournament; the women’s team beat the Netherlands and Ireland and finished in second place after a hard-fought defeat to France.
Win or lose, coach and player agree that rugby cultivates leadership skills. Connick also finds that rugby has taught her problem-solving by “assess[ing] and develop[ing] the whole of a person” in order to build trust. And, she added, rugby offers constant opportunities for all players—not just the captain—to step up and lead.
Ultimately, Connick’s experience confirms that teamwork and culture are the backbone of success—both in the scrum and in the Coast Guard. “It's not necessarily about the individuals; it’s about cultivating a culture of respect at the team level.”
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