Following a successful career playing for the St. Thomas University Tommies women’s rugby team, Becca Baker was on the sidelines with the team last season as an assistant coach. Going into the 2022-23 season she will have the title of “Head Coach”.

Baker has a long history of playing rugby and has garnered several awards for her performances on the field including MVP of her Fredericton High School team, MVP of the Tommies in her final season and MVP Forward for the Fredericton Loyalists.

Along with being an assistant with the Tommies, Baker is also an assistant with the Oromocto High School Blues and has coached the Her’d program through the Fredericton Loyalists, a rugby program that focuses on the development of female high school players.

Baker will be joined by long time teammate and fellow 2021-22 assistant coach, Emily Donelle.

“Emily and I have a long history of playing rugby together, we have a very similar style of coaching, and she is someone that I trust to have the same goals for the team moving forward,” said Baker. “Emily is very knowledgeable of the game and has a lot of passion for the development of young female athletes. After sharing our four years at STU, Emily and I want to make sure that everyone passing through this program feels the same way that we did when they graduate.”

Baker says her four years playing for the Tommies were some of the best years of her life and that she’s proud to be able to give back to the STU community. “The athletic department have been extremely helpful with the transition, and I am excited to join some of the long-term, esteemed coaches of STU,” added Baker.

St. Thomas University Director of Athletics, Michael Eagles, is happy to see alumni like Baker and Donelle jumping at the opportunity to give back to their teams.

“We are very pleased to that Rebecca Baker is the new head coach of our women's rugby program,” said Eagles of his newest head coach. “It is so gratifying to see recent alumni like Rebecca and Emily giving back to the program. We are looking forward to seeing the program's progress as they have tremendous rugby backgrounds, competitive drive and tremendous loyalty to the STU women's rugby program."

Baker attributes the lessons both her and Donelle have learned over their years of playing, both mentally and physically, to why she feels they are ready to lead the Tommies back to the top of the ACAA.

“Playing at the collegiate level for four years and coaching for the last two years has taught me a lot about the discipline, mindset, and hard work required to be successful. As a coaching staff, we are focused on instilling these ideologies in our athletes as we develop our players into highly skilled athletes.”

Baker and Donelle will turn their attention to recruiting and preparing for the 2022-23 ACAA season.