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HERRIMAN — Alex "Spiff" Sedrick wore the bronze medal with pride around her neck, a Team USA hat adding to the ensemble as she capped a week of public appearances after returning home from the Paris Summer Games with the breakthrough United States women's rugby squad that earned a spot on the podium in the Olympics.
But as she signed autographs and smiled for photos for hundreds of fans that came during "Rugby in the Park" at her old stomping grounds at Herriman High, she couldn't help but think not only of where she is now, but where she's been.
It wasn't long ago that the 26-year-old known more by her nickname than her legal one — Alexandria, which she joke that her mother uses with her "only when I'm in trouble" — was in the shoes of the young girls that came to visit her.
Back then, she was a newcomer to the sport of rugby, after a multi-sport career at Herriman High and an attempt at gymnastics by the 5-foot-3 center.
Maybe for the next generation of young girls, rugby would be their preferred sport, and not just the sport to which Sedrick dedicated her life en route to a collegiate career at Life University and a spot on the USA Eagles national team that has taken her around the world. Perhaps, even, by the time the Olympics return to her home country in Los Angeles in 2028.
"As Americans, we're really into the Olympics," Sedrick told KSL.com. "They always say, you went to the Olympics, but did you medal? For us to come home with a medal, we hope to show the country that we're a serious sport. Maybe we aren't as popular as basketball, soccer or gymnastics, but we're hoping more people will get a ball in their hands and spread awareness of how great this game is."
With a medal in hand and a breakthrough star in 27-year-old Ilona Maher, the next step for Team USA rugby sevens is clear: to build on its surprise place on the podium after Sedrick touched down a try as time expired in a bronze medal upset of Australia and challenge for gold.
But for "Spiff," that starts at home. That's why she's teamed up with Utah's professional rugby outfit, the Utah Warriors, to establish the "Spiff Fund" and grow girls rugby in the state.
The Warriors are seeding a fundraising effort with an initial goal of $5,000, matched by club partners and contributions from the community. All funds collected will go toward Utah Youth Rugby and Utah Little Rugby in support of the growth of the game and encouraging more girls to participate in Utah youth leagues that count more than 2,500 high-school athletes spread out over 25-plus city-based teams around the state.
Donations can be collected SpiffRugby.com and through the Warriors' numerous "Rugby in the Park" initiatives found at warriorsrugby.com.
"We've built a lot of momentum, a lot of new fans and a lot of fans with more pride in how we're performing," Sedrick said. "Hopefully we can carry that into more participation, more people willing to donate, more people viewing our year-round games on the HSBC Sevens series for 2028 and beyond."
The Warriors and Major League Rugby are a men's professional rugby union league, a sport is slightly different than the sevens variation authorized by the Olympics since 2016. For starters, the game is played with twice as many players, 15 per side, in two halves of 40 minutes each (plus stoppage time). But a rising tide lifts all boats for a country that will host the 24-team Rugby World Cup in 2031, Utah Warriors CEO and co-founder Kimball Kjar said.
"If 15s does well, sevens is going to be able to benefit; and if sevens does well, it affects the 15s outlook just as much," Kjar said. "I had a lot of people reach out to me after the medal match talking about how amazing that was, and for the try to be scored by a girl from Utah, Spiff this and USA rugby sevens that. It definitely raised the awareness within the non-rugby community of the sport, and if there's more awareness of the sport in general, it's nothing but good for the sport overall."
And there's plenty of talent on the Wasatch Front, too.
"This country has great athletes coming out of a lot of states — from California, Oregon, etc," Sedrick said. "But I think people sleep on Utah a lot. We have some great athletes, and we have a pretty tight rugby community out here. Everyone is really supportive, and we want to go on and play at the highest level. To have the Spiff Fund here specifically for Utah programs and little girls' programs, it's really special."
Sedrick hopes the effort will help broaden the talent pool for Team USA, and perhaps even bring another Utah-born athlete like her to Olympic rugby sevens.
It's a similar goal of countless individuals throughout Utah, including Wade Bricknell, founder and president of the newly established U.S. Academy of Rugby in Herriman.
"Utah has a big, healthy family of rugby support, both from ex-pats that have moved here and the Polynesian community," said Bricknell, whose academy coaches include Warriors captain and Lone Peak alum Bailey Wilson, former Olympus High and University of Utah standout Danny Christensen, and former BYU football star Paul Lasike, among others. "Rugby's a big thing in the southern hemisphere, and we're taking advantage of that to start the U.S. Academy of Rugby allows us the opportunity to get that buy-in and support from the community, and partner with different entities like Spiff and the Warriors with interests in strengthening USA Rugby to help bring more talent into the pool and hopefully select players to benefit the USA Eagles national team.
"We want to give kids the opportunity to get more insight and exposure, and help grow the sport on a local level and nationally."
