Lauren Doyle grew up wanting to be an athlete. She played any sport she could and became a star on the track while attending Meridian High School.
Doyle was a medalist in both the 100 and 200 at the IHSA State Track and Field Meet as a senior, but didn't figure to do much athletically in college until she was approached by Eastern Illinois University rugby coach Frank Graziano.
Six years later, Doyle is still playing rugby and nearing the ultimate goal as an athletes, representing her country as part of the Olympic team.
"Whose dream isn't going to the Olympics?" Doyle said. "I had wanted to pursue sports ever since I was young. I never really thought there was that opportunity, until I found out about the residency program with Team USA."
Doyle was a senior-to-be at Eastern in 2012 when she was invited to a camp in Chula Vista, Calif. She was invited back and after playing in a couple tournaments was asked by Team USA Women's 7's Rugby coach Ric Suggitt to move to California and become a contracted player for the team.
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"She had a good work ethic and a good attitude," Suggitt said. "She was also very quick with a knack for finding the space on the outside edges of the field."
Doyle debated on whether or not it was the right move for her, but not for long.
"Initially, I wasn't going to go, it all was happening so fast," Doyle said. "But in the end, it was a very easy decision. It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. I knew I could finish up school later, so I told my mom and dad, 'I'm moving.' "
Doyle did get her degree, she took classes online through DeVry University that transferred back to Eastern, where she graduated from in December 2014. But other than that, her life since 2012 has mostly been rugby.
Doyle, 24, is one of 15 contracted players with the team, and one of 12 who travels. She practices six days a week at least twice a day, lifts weights twice a week, gets a massage on Friday and goes to "lots and lots of meetings." There are three meals a day available at the training center, though Doyle said sometimes she opts instead for Subway. She gets paid, though not well, and has to pay for her own housing in the pricey Chula Vista housing market. She lives in a house with three other teammates.
There's also plenty of travel. Doyle has played in tournaments in Dubai, India; China; the Congo; Houston; Atlanta; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Amsterdam; and Fiji, and has participated in a rugby awareness program that toured Alaska last September.
On the rugby pitch, Doyle has been the team's starting center for two years, though Doyle is quick to point out lineups change daily, and she can also play wing or sweeper.
"I do most of the ball-handling. My jobs are to pass and be evasive," Doyle said.
Doyle has had to battle through injury. She said her nose had been, "whacked a few hundred times," and she tore her ACL three months after being contracted, then tore it again after coming back. But she's been fully recovered for more than a year and said she's just as fast as she was before the injury and a lot stronger.
She's fully ready for a run at making the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Team USA hasn't qualified yet, but is in a good position according to Doyle.
"I can't be 100 percent sure, and I don't want to jinx anything," Doyle said, "but I think we can make it."
