Emilie Bydwell ’04 became the first female coach to guide a rugby team to an Olympic medal, showcasing her vision, leadership, and the power of a united squad.

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By Darryl Gangloff

Head Coach Emilie Bydwell ’04 led the U.S. women’s rugby sevens team to its first-ever Olympic medal in Paris over the summer. The team won bronze in a dramatic 14-12 victory against Australia.

Bydwell was named head coach of the team in 2021 following years of experience as a coach and player. She was a three-time All-American at Brown University and made her USA Eagles debut in 2008. She has represented the U.S. in World Cups and won a senior club sevens national title with the San Diego Surfers. Bydwell was named USA Rugby Coach of the Year in 2016 and coached three consecutive USA Rugby Club Sevens National Championship teams. She most recently served as the USA rugby director of women’s high performance. 

What was it like coaching at the Olympics in Paris?

It was my third Olympics, but this was my first time as the head coach. I think the biggest change was having a really clear identity of who we are as a team, what our values are, and what we want to represent on the field. Our team has such a range of athleticism and this wonderful diversity of experience. I really wanted to create an American style of sevens, have that shine through, and make sure the players were really expressing their strengths and who they are as athletes. That’s what I focused on in the years leading into the games. When we got there, it was just wild. You can’t treat the Olympics like any other event, because it’s not. It’s so special.

Can you reflect on your team's nail-biting victory against Australia in the final seconds?

We needed to be united and resilient under pressure. That’s one of our critical success factors as a team. We just needed to get it together and be in the moment. The cool thing about rugby is there’s not a buzzer, and what’s nice about rugby sevens is when you get scored on, you get the ball back. If we could retain possession, we were going to have all the time we needed. It was awesome, just awesome!

How did it feel to win the bronze medal?

It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I know people talk about this all the time, but it’s the culmination of work, emotion, and pressure. This year was all about the process. We’re going to peak when it matters. To see the players and how they reacted to that, and how hard they worked, and how much they sacrificed to be in that position—yeah, it was really special.

You built your team's identity around the song The Highwomen. Can you explain that philosophy?

I just knew that if we were able to get the culture right in this environment, it would unlock the potential of this team. The song tells the story of four different women archetypes in history who sacrificed themselves for something that was going to be bigger than themselves. At the end of the day, our players resonated with that element. We dug into those archetypes and came up with our team values and how important that was going to be—how we wanted to inspire people and be successful. I wanted everybody to feel that they could be themselves. That’s the strength of the group.

You're the first female rugby coach to win an Olympic medal. How does that feel?

It’s really important that other unions and teams are seeing the value of having female leadership. For me, the way that I was able to develop the culture and identity around our team was unique. It’s so important for people to consider what the strength of a female leader could be for these teams. The only way that anybody will think about that seriously is if the woman who’s in the role has a team that performs. Did having a female leading our program have a performance impact? I would argue that it did. It wasn’t the only performance impact, but it did have an impact.

How did your time at Hotchkiss help prepare you for your role?

Hotchkiss was really important in terms of my growth. I went into Hotchkiss having the identity of being an athlete, and I was given the opportunity to explore my passion for art, leadership, the outdoors, and other things that I was interested in. It was really impactful. If I hadn’t gone to Hotchkiss, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing. My sports experience was great. I played ice hockey and track. Hotchkiss has a good balance of a really competitive sports program and really strong academics. I had the opportunity to meet so many different types of people from so many different backgrounds. That helped me start to understand how diverse this country is— and you can’t build a culture for a team that represents a country if you don’t understand the country.

What career path did you take to become head coach of a national team?

The biggest thing is that it hasn’t been linear. I went to Brown, and that was a really important time. Then I found rugby. I’d already played a little bit in Montreal, but when I graduated I was playing for the national team for rugby. I didn’t think there were jobs in rugby, so I ended up working in a lab for three years at Harvard Medical School. I knew that was not going to be my career. I was playing rugby internationally, and that was great. Then I decided I wanted to teach, and I went to coaching pretty quickly. It was not a clear trajectory. Now I have my dream job.