Alaska rugby stars share goal to inspire Alaska's next generation of players

Aug. 8—Rugby is a sport that some athletes grow up playing while others don't find it until later in life.

Alev Kelter of Eagle River and Kathryn Treder of Anchorage fall into the latter category. Yet, they both went from standouts in completely different sports to becoming professional rugby players who landed on the Team USA women's national team.

The sport has opened doors and paved pathways for them to compete and travel all around the world. The pair were in Anchorage earlier this month with a goal of giving back and inspiring the next generation of Alaska rugby players at a skills camp that was put on by the Alaska Youth Rugby Club.

"Rugby is rugged and it's tough and I feel like Alaskans fit that mold," Kelter said. "I'm just happy to see the game growing here. It's such a wonderful sport and I'd love to share that with everyone that I love, especially people back home."

The event took place on the Denali Park Strip on Thursday and despite high school sports being right around the corner, they got an even bigger turnout than they expected.

"I love Alaska and all the people that showed up tonight were amazing," Kelter said.

Kelter played soccer and hockey in college and didn't find rugby until after she graduated, but now it's her passion and full-time job.

"I had the Olympic coach at the time give me a call, and he was a Canadian football coach and also a hockey player and so he was looking for what they call crossover athletes," Kelter said. "He said, 'It's OK that you've never touched a rugby ball, we have plenty here in San Diego.'"

She flew out to southern California "in the dead of winter," tried rugby for the first time and instantly fell in love with it.

"The girls and the women there welcomed me with the biggest open arms you can imagine and I fell in love with not only the sport but the people," Kelter said.

That was back in 2014 and since then, she has competed all over the world, including in the past two summer Olympic Games.

Playing sports and being an athlete was a huge part of Treder's identity after she grew up competing in wrestling and track.

When she got to college at Stanford University, she wanted to keep playing a sport, found the club rugby team and decided to give it a try.

"I went out to the first training, I was immediately hooked and I never looked back," Treder said. "I was really committed to the sport, learning and being the best that I could be."

She played for the club team for four years and following graduation, she joined the Women's Premier League, which is the highest level of women's rugby in the United States. The first club she played for was called Beantown based in Massachusetts, where she had taken a job in data science.

Treder was selected for the Women's Premier League All-Star match, which allowed her to be scouted for the women's national team, and was selected for the U.S. in fall 2019.

The 27-year-old still plays for Beantown but also plays professionally in England as well as for Loughborough Lightning in Premiership Women's Rugby.

"Rugby allowed me to travel all around the country and see different parts of it, play in tournaments and soon I was playing in different countries," she said.

Treder has competed in Australia, New Zealand, England and Ireland, and is going to South Africa this fall.

"I think the cool thing about the sport is that anywhere you go, you're able to find a team and you're automatically able to find a community, friends and teammates," she said.

Unbeknownst to them, Kelter and Treder grew up 10 miles from each other, but their paths didn't cross until the most recent World Cup that took place in New Zealand.

"We knew we had a connection with Alaska but after chatting and hanging out, we realized our friendship goes deep and we're really blessed to be with one another here coaching this camp, and spreading the game that we love has given so much to us," Kelter said.

Never giving up on the dream to compete

When Kelter was one of the last cuts from the Sochi Olympic team for hockey prior to picking up rugby, she was devastated and had absolutely no idea what lay ahead of her.

"I came back home to rejuvenate, connect with family, and kind of find my purpose again," she said. "It was after I realized that 'no' wasn't going to define me, that I didn't make the team wasn't going to define me. It's about my purpose, not my performance."

[Alev Kelter is weeks away from fulfilling Olympic dream]

From there, she prioritized continuing to play sports and use the platform that rugby provided her to "encourage people to be healthy and fall in love with their passions, whatever that may be."

"For me, once I was able to take that step forward and realize it's not about the wins or losses, but it's about you, how good of a teammate you are and the integrity that you bring to the field, and the work ethic and discipline that you have every single day and every minute of every single day," Kelter said. "That's what really matters."

The 32-year-old believes that source of inspiration is "what encourages and empowers people to get up and try again and not be afraid of taking risks."

Just two short years after touching a rugby ball for the first time in her life, Kelter made her first Olympic rugby team.

"Words can't really describe that feeling," she said. "It was unbelievable and it's such an honor to represent Alaska, especially in the Summer Olympics. A lot of Olympians represent Alaska in the Winter Olympics but to do that in the Summer Olympics has been a dream of mine."

Treder returned home during winter while in college and would help out kids that were training in wrestling.

"I love sports," she said. "I love being an athlete, I love a team environment. I love the friends that it brings me and it definitely scratches that itch. My background is in track and wrestling and it feels like rugby is the combination of the two."

Proud pioneers for all Alaskans

There weren't a lot of well-known female role models in rugby for girls while Kelter and Treder were growing up.

However, the two of them take tremendous pride in being trailblazers and examples for the next generation of players of how dreams can come true for athletes in the Last Frontier.

"It means so much to me," Treder said. "I think Alaska actually breeds some pretty special, tough athletes. It feels really good to be part of that echelon."

Kelter was in the Olympic development program for soccer and looked up to former Olympic ice hockey player Pam Dreyer, who is also from Eagle River.

"As far as rugby, we're pioneering that," she said. "Kathryn's an amazing role model for the west side and coming from West High School and it's just wonderful to tag team with her."

Kelter is getting ready to head back to San Diego to start a residency with Team USA for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris next summer. The Americans qualified for sevens competition and are seeded third in the world right behind New Zealand and Australia. Treder plans to head back overseas to compete in the United Kingdom.