Jack Wendling: From Wildcat to Eagle
Story by Chase Beyer | Photos from Jack Wendling’s Instagram | Design by Katie Jo Stewart
For Jack Wendling, playing rugby has been more than just a dream, it has been his life. Wendling describes what it takes to play rugby not only as a CWU student-athlete, but also as a USA representative at the same time.
Ever since his childhood, it has been his dream to play for the USA. In September 2021, Wendling's dream became a reality when he was selected to play for the USA National Rugby Sevens Team.
Alex Cleary, a childhood friend and current teammate of Wendling, wasn’t surprised about Wendling earning his spot on the USA National Rugby Sevens Team.
“My first reaction is awesome, great, I’m happy for him, but what’s next? Because this isn’t it for Jack, at all,” Cleary says. “If anyone is surprised by this, they obviously haven't been watching Jack Wendling.”
Childhood
Wendling knew from a young age that he loved everything about rugby.
“I’ve been playing rugby since I was six years old, it was the first sport I played. My dad got me into it when I was really little and we’d actually have to travel up to Canada. Being from Bellingham was good, because it’s like an hour drive to Canada,” he says. “They have youth leagues there and so of course when you're six, you don’t know what you're doing and you just run around with a ball. I’ve been playing literally my whole life.”
Wendling’s favorite part of playing rugby in his early childhood was the long drives before practices. He’d play on Gameboys with friends like Cleary in the back seat for hours during the ride to practices in Canada, and at times to practices in Seattle for a select team.
“Jack’s always been like a brother to me,” Cleary says. “I have known him since I was 12, when we spent so many of those carpool rides together.
Moments in the Jersey
Wendling says he felt the pressure of playing at the national level before his first game even started. He walked in to 15,000 fans yelling in BC Place.
“I was literally shaking, just playing in front of that many people,” Wendling says.
Even though the pressure was on, Wendling had everything under control, telling himself to make the best of the moment. It is safe to say that he did make the best of it, scoring in his first game against Chile.
“The first game was definitely very intimidating and nerve-wracking, but as soon as I got on the field everything went away and we were just playing rugby, like it’s not a big deal,” Wendling says.
However, something that is a big deal to Wendling is the atmosphere and team chemistry. He says he loves that older guys on the team want to help the younger guys.
“They want to pass on that knowledge. They know they are not there forever and so they like to sit down and watch films with me, or we will be at dinner and we’ll just start saying life stories. It's really cool,” Wendling says. “On the field they try to help you out and make you a better player, but off the field they’re just dudes who want to meet the new teammate.”
CWU Rugby
The CWU rugby team’s atmosphere is much different from the national team, on and off the field, he says.
“Everyone needs to be on the same page because everyone can get the ball, everyone needs to tackle,” Wendling says. “So it’s like everyone needs to do these things and it's a lot less individualized and more like everyone needs to be together. You can’t not be close with your teammates.”
CWU’s recent success is a part of their culture on the field as well, according to Wendling. He says CWU has always been a decent program, but only recently have they been named top three in the country.
Before the pandemic, the CWU rugby team had gone undefeated, along with beating teams for the first time, like Brigham Young University. Wendling plans to bring back that same energy this year.
“We want to win that national championship. That's what the goal is, to win a national championship and only on top of that, we want 4.0’s,” he says. “I never got a 4.0 in high school or any of that, but when I came here, it just pushes you to be the best person and student ... A lot of guys will say the same thing, high school, maybe they got 3.5’s or maybe a 3.0. Then they come here and you do want to be the best, not only in the classroom but on the field as well.”
The CWU rugby atmosphere is special to Wendling, as it focuses not only on being the best athlete he can be, but also pushing the players to be the best students as well. However, his favorite part of playing for CWU is getting to take part in the traditions.
“The team will get together at least twice a year,” Wendling says. “We will hang out for a couple hours and just have fun, connect with the guys.”
Wendling’s favorite tradition is the feed after the games.
“After every game, you always have a feed with both teams. You get to bond with the other team, which is really cool,” he says. “You know, we just collided heads and [were] borderline trying to fight these dudes in the game and then five minutes later, after the final whistle blows, it's a ‘Good game,’ and then you just eat. It’s a lot of fun.”
Student, Athlete and Friend
Being a collegiate student athlete has good aspects as well as challenging ones. One of the biggest challenges, Wendling says, is managing time.
“A lot of it is just you have to be really good with your time. You have a few hours every day blocked out because you're playing, so you know when it's homework time, you can’t miss it,” he says.
While focusing on both school and sports may seem challenging to some, Wendling says finding the balance between them is rewarding.
“When you're at class, you completely forget about rugby and it’s kind of nice because you have a break, you're focused on your studies and at practice you completely forget about school, so all that stress is gone,” he says. “It's a really good balance.”
It all comes full circle back to the atmosphere at CWU that really makes rugby special to Wendling.
“Our coach is really good, he keeps everyone on their stuff. If you're not on your stuff, he’ll call you out on it,” he says. “If you're on your stuff, he will praise you for it. He does a really good job just keeping people accountable. He came in and started that culture.”
CWU Men’s rugby has a culture that is not only upheld by the coaches, the players have their own standards as well.
“Jack’s not afraid to hold me accountable. I’m not afraid to hold him accountable and Jack’s always looking out for me and I’m always looking up to him.” Cleary says.
Whether he’s playing for CWU or for the USA National Team, on the field or celebrating with his team, Wendling’s love for rugby gives him the drive to keep pursuing new heights.
“Playing for the national team was a dream come true. I scored in my first game and that was surreal,” he says.
