Jessica Houser
Posted on Saturday January 3rd, 2004 @ 12:57:46 am

Testimonial:
How can we define Leona Rugby? On the field – driven, impassioned, focused, with an emphasis on working as a team. Off the field – themed away weekends, ‘spooning’, do-rags, ‘freaking’, food challenges, long talks about nothing, and long nights at Fiddlesticks. In a word – Houser.

Anyone that’s played with or against Jess Houser knows she’s strong. That’s obvious. She breaks tackles constantly, posts the ball well, and hits like a truck. But what makes her so dangerous is how smart she plays the game. She’s able to think three plays ahead and she’s always in the right place at the right time (that’s not a coincidence). It’s not a surprise that her rugby resume is ever-growing. Jess was a key player on her Vassar College side. She was Women’s Coordinator for Met NY RFU. Jess helped found and captained the Village Lions and currently plays with the Division I Chicago Women’s Side. She’s played for the Northeast and Midwest Select Sides and she plays for our national team, the Eagles. Wow!

Her impact is equally as strong off the field. Whether it’s a big night out or a low-key night in, Houser is always there in full force. She brings a whole new meaning to the words “food challenge” — just how many people do you know who can stuff 12 large marshmallows in their mouth or can, sans hands, consume the greater part of a phallic cupcake? She is the captain of “therapy sessions” during long car rides. With her wit, insight, and candidness, talks about guys, rugby, the education system in the rural Midwest or the latest 50-cent cd make hours quickly pass by. And to top it all off, she’s quite the baker — you just can’t resist her elegant dessert or lemon bars!

While Houser’s talents and positive characteristics run strong and long and her schedule full of rugby endeavors, one might think that Jess is just too busy. That’s far from the truth—she fits the description of friend in every sense of the word and challenges each of us to live up to the definition of Leona that she’s embodied.

–Erin Martshenko and Renee Ovrut
Biography:

Nicknamed ‘La Casa’ with thanks to her one-woman mauls during the inaugural year of the Village Lions women’s team, there was little that Jessica Houser could not do.

A native of Indiana and a natural lock out of Vassar College, Houser first left her mark on the Lions off the field, playing a lead role in shaping the newly expanded club, taking an active role in league affairs as Women’s Coordinator for the Met NY RFU and creating a Met NY Women’s Division II, which opened the door for a regional playoff structure and a path for Las Leonas to the National Division II Championship, which they of course won in May of 2002, the team’s third year of existence.

But the greatest mark left by Houser on the Village Lions was an undying competitive spirit. After failing to make the Northeast Select Side in 2001 and 2002, Houser finally cracked the side in 2003, scoring a try in the National All Star Championship and earning a spot on the Eagle A side which played against Canada A in August of 2004.

After relocating to Chicago in 2004, Houser played her way onto the Midwest select side and a certain invitation to the Eagle camp in 2005. Houser will also forever be known for organizing the women’s first ever tour, a 2-1 affair through Venice, Florence and Rome in 2001 that earned the Lions recognition from the Italian RFU.

But whether in New York, Chicago, or Italy, forever Houser’s heart will beat as a Lion’s.

–Christian Averill

Tags: Hall of Fame