Player Profile: Jessica Anne Turner

Rugby nickname: JT
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Position(s): Hooker and utility back (15s); Utility forward (7s)
All Blue since: 2012
Occupation: Strength and conditioning coach

JT first got into rugby while in college at Humboldt State.  She was working out at the gym in hopes of making the soccer team, when a couple of rugby girls spotted her one day and tried to recruit her.  She promised that she would check out what this “rugby thing” was all about if soccer didn’t work out.  Later, at JT's first rugby practice, she was nervous about tackling and getting hurt.  But after being reassured that she’d be taught how to handle contact, JT saw the light.  She discovered that rugby “was hella fun…it’s so liberating to run around and smash!”
 
The path to being an All Blue was an interesting one for JT as she had been “retired” from rugby for five years when she decided to get back into it.  Curious about the higher levels of the game, she went and tried out with the Pacific Coast Grizzlies All Star team.  There, she met a bunch of All Blues players, as well as Kathy Flores, who was coaching the All Blues at the time.   JT eventually decided to move up to Berkeley.  Despite knowing nothing about 7s when she set foot on the pitch that summer (which earned her the nickname “Tank” from Laura), JT fell in love with the game of 7s rugby, and decided that she “wanted to be really good at it at some point.”
 
And people were key to JT’s development as a player.  She is especially thankful for having worked with Kathy Flores, Laura Cabrera, and Irene Gardner.  According to JT, Kathy was the one who encouraged her to come to Berkeley to play for the All Blues, and who “gave [her] a shot when others probably were nervous about that choice.”  Laura, who had “no sugar in her coaching cabinet” pushed her and others to their breaking point, which JT felt was important in knowing how to deal with high stress competition, especially for 7s.  And Irene, whose “solid work ethic” and “peaceful energy” were things JT admired, was a good role model for her.  Irene “[knew] how to bring the best out of you no matter who you are and what you know.”
 
As a player, JT sees her versatility on the field as an asset to the team.  She likes the challenge of “being forced to be uncomfortable and learn new skills in an accelerated fashion.” Her flexibility on the field also allows her to fill in voids where the team needs her, and where, if she is call upon, “will literally work [her] ass off to figure out how to do the job right.” Matching her versatility on the field, sometimes she gets more fired up, and sometimes she’s the calm one, adjusting her energy to match the task and the team’s.
 
When we asked JT if she had passions outside of rugby, she mentioned “more rugby?”  Her eventual goal is to coach elite level players when she retires from competition. She is a “fitness and wellness nerd to the max,” interested in the intersection of mind, body and spirit.  Unabashed, she says that an ideal career for her would be “something at the intersection of an elite rugby coach, a hippie healer, a strength and conditioning coach, and a comedian. I will inspire you to achieve eternal peace, personal greatness, also yell at you for not executing well, push your multi-dimensional limits, while cracking terrible jokes at water breaks.”

The monthly Player Profile series aims to highlight an All Blue currently playing during each of the 3 seasons.  Curious about someone in our community? Let us know who you'd like featured!
 

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