'He's a legend': After 15 years, Rusty Wortman to step down as Wildcats' women's rugby coach

Nine years ago, Rusty Wortman traded in his crossover SUV for a minivan.

But unlike many people who make the move to the van life, Wortman’s purchase wasn’t made to accommodate his growing family. He needed the van to transport players and equipment as part of his volunteer position as head coach of the University of Arizona women’s club rugby team.

“Single guy with a minivan. It is kind of hip, kind of now, kind of wow, for sure,” the 53-year-old Wortman said.

Wortman drives the gold-colored minivan with pride. It is, after all, a symbol of his dedication to the sport and players that have trained under him for the past 12 years.

But soon, the UA’s women’s rugby program will be looking for another leader. Wortman plans to step away at the end of the school year. During Wortman’s time with the program, the UA has seen seven players go on to sign on with Women’s Premier League. Former Wildcat Amy Talei Bonte was recently named to the USA Women’s World Cup team.

The decision to leave is Wortman’s, with UA officials saying they’d love to have him stay on in some capacity.

“He’s going out on his terms, but he leaves the women’s program in great shape,” said Troy Vaughn, the UA’s director of campus recreation. “Rusty’s kind of homegrown, he has so many ties to this area. He’s going to be missed severely.”

‘I was definitely not prepared for it’

Wortman’s introduction to rugby was a very Tucson thing.

Growing up, he was friends with Ben’s Bells founder Jeannette Maré, whose father was South African. She explained the sport during one of Wortman’s pickup soccer games when he was attending Amphitheater High School. Wortman said he “didn’t really think much of” rugby, but noted that it sounded fun. He moved attended the UA and played for a city-league soccer team.

And then …

“One day I walked into Bob Dobbs, and one of the managers asked me if I’d every played rugby as he carded me,” Wortman said. “I said no, but I’d be interested.”

Wortman joined the Old Pueblo Lions and trained under John Berry, a native of Wales. The physical adjustment was a tough one, even for someone used to running around a soccer field.

“I remember halfway through practice, hiding behind a tree throwing up,” Wortman said. “I thought I was in shape, but I was not. I was definitely not prepared for it.”

Wortman stuck with rugby. Soon, he was hooked.

“Part of it’s the camaraderie, part of it’s just the game, part of it’s the team atmosphere,” he said. “Most people who play it either love it or hate it, and for me, I loved it.”

Wortman stayed with Old Pueblo for several years, then joined the UA’s team in the early 1990s. Once his eligibility was over, he returned to the Lions, where he stayed until 2006.

Because of rugby, Wortman traveled to Alaska, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and all around the United States.

In 2006, he was forced to rethink things.

“My orthopedic surgeon after my second knee surgery told me to never run again, and I said, ‘Thank you,’” Wortman said. “He said my playing days were done, and I was fine with that.”

His break didn’t last long.

Call him Coach

A short time later, Nancy Purdin, who was running the UA women’s team and the Old Pueblo Lightning women’s team, asked Wortman and Doug Potts if they’d help out.

Wortman agreed.

“A couple years later when Nancy somewhat retired and it transitioned to myself and Doug, I just kind of took the lead,” he said.

Wortman and Potts coached both the Wildcats and the Lightning, which Wortman called chaotic. The teams practiced together, but figuring out who would be at which game was a bit more complicated.

“Eventually it got to a point where we just couldn’t do it. We couldn’t do both,” Wortman said. “The UA was growing at the time and becoming more competitive. Eventually we just transitioned to coaching at the UA.”

Wortman took the lead, with Potts signing on as forwards coach.

“I was somewhat reluctant to do this because the success of the team has very little to do with me,” Wortman said. “It’s the support team.”

Potts has since moved on, but Wortman is supported by people who he says are critical to the program’s success: backs coach Anna Soo, rookies coach Dari Trujillo and forwards coaches Sonny Lew and Ingo van der Heiden. Also included on that list is Adam Dick, who coached the Wildcats for a year after Wortman was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in late 2016.

Wortman said Arizona’s coaching staff is a big part of why he’s comfortable leaving the team now: The program is in good hands.

‘It quickly became my home and family’

Rugby’s popularity has exploded in the past five to eight years, and the UA’s team has benefited.

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“Part of the success that we’ve had is that you have to strike a balance,” Wortman said. “It’s great to be competitive and it’s great to run for the national championship, but if you’re not enough without it, you’re never going to be enough with it.”

Wortman wants his players to have fun, and is committed to keeping their focus on academics. The program’s graduation rate is 94% and the team’s GPA usually sits at 3.0 or above.

The fun part is easy. Rugby has long been known as an accepting sport that isn’t judgmental, so it attracts a wide variety of women.

“That’s an emphasis that we try to carry through the team and the team culture,” Wortman said. “It does attract all walks of life. … Everybody’s adding something to the culture of the team, but it’s also an education for us coaches. I’ve been so blessed over the years. You learn so many different things from so many different individuals.”

Wortman has become a trusted friend and confidant off the pitch, too.

“You have players that are going through trials and tribulations, and you’re trying to help figure those answers out,” he said. “The part you’re never prepared for is the off-field coaching.”

Deidre Kruckenberg joined the team as a UA freshman in 2012.

“It quickly became my home and family, and gave me that group of people that you need when you move somewhere and don’t know anyone,” Kruckenberg said. “Rusty was a huge part of that. He quickly took on the role of not being a father-figure, but being an uncle-figure and friend.”

Kruckenberg, 26, said she knew if she was ever in trouble, she could call Wortman. She said her coach would probably bail her out first and ask questions later.

“Rusty puts his heart and soul into that program. He has really made the team his family and made the program something special,” Kruckenberg said. “He never had kids, and I think we kind of took on that role for him.”

Wortman has attended his fair share of weddings over the years, including that of Carly Gieszl.

Gieszl, 28, played for the Wildcats from 2010-14, coming to the team after never having played a sport before.

She said Wortman “is one of those people who fills a lot of roles for players,” Gieszl said. “He’s the first one to call you out if you’re not living up to your potential, if your grades are falling or you’re just not doing your best. He spends a lot of time with the players, so he knows when things are off.”

Building connections

Wortman is not leaving the program entirely. He said he plans to help transition his replacement into to the job, and then stick around in some capacity if he’s wanted. The pandemic-affected 2021 season is a strange time to leave. But there’s no good time.

“Everybody says that with COVID, I should come back for another year, but I’m not about the victory tour,” Wortman said. “I’m very proud of where the program is, where it came from and where it is now today, and that’s a success for me.”

Wortman said his favorite part about coaching has been seeing his players succeed, during and after their careers.

“Nancy always said, ‘They’re your daughters.’ I never expected that, but sure enough,” Wortman said. “I never had kids, but you have that same sentiment. You want to see them succeed and you help them succeed, and when they fall down you help them pick themselves back up.”

Tara Garcia, who’s in her last year playing for the Wildcats, said she and her teammates always say Wortman is a father figure — and not just because of his tendency to make “dad jokes.”

“He really cares. He’s always someone I can trust,” Garcia said.

“Rusty always says, ‘Rugby isn’t your life, it isn’t what you’re going to be doing after college or pursuing as a career, it’s more about the relationships you build and networking. He does try to really build those connections with us as players and students and people.”

‘He’s done so much for rugby as a whole’

On a Thursday evening earlier this month, Wortman paced the field at Rincon Vista sports complex. His bright red sweatshirt and tall frame were visible from 100 yards away.

A group of 15 or so girls ran blocking drills on the southeast end of the field, the bright green pads illuminated against a pink sunset splashed across the sky.

As players crashed into one another, the pads and the ground, bubbles of laughter rippled up from between their grunts and groans. They were working hard, but the fun they were having could be felt from across the field.

While the Wildcats women’s team won’t be competing in the traditional sense this season because of the pandemic, Wortman said he’s proud of the year they’ve had and the seriousness in which his players have taken the safety protocols and preparation.

The Wildcats have achieved all of Wortman’s preseason goals without playing a game. They plan to practice and scrimmage in the weeks to go come.

“He’s such a legend. He’s done so much for rugby as a whole,” said men’s coach and rugby director Sean Duffy. “What you need in a team, is you need to provide that support for these athletes.

“He’s done an incredible job assembling and keeping the culture moving forward.”

Wortman doesn’t deny that the transition out will be hard.

“The coaching experience has changed my life,” Wortman said. “And I wouldn’t have changed anything for the world.”