The rain poured down on the Naval Academy field, but Staff Sgt. Katie Leadbetter and her teammates weren't about to let it wash away their shot at another gold medal. Leadbetter was one of the soldiers on the All-Army Women’s Rugby team competing in the 2026 Women’s Armed Forces Sevens Championship in Annapolis, Maryland. The team entered the July 31-Aug. 3 tournament as the defending champion. "We just went into Sunday knowing that we had to put it all in to bring it home because this was our only chance, and it ended up being in a pretty big rainstorm," Leadbetter said Aug. 12. "It was pouring rain the entire game, and it was a hard-fought game. It was a really close game." The Army edged Navy 22-17, scoring the winning try in the final minute.
"It was really just bringing it all together and playing as a team effort rather than playing individually," Leadbetter said. She said the team's ability to respect one another and its opponent helped bring the players together. Rugby pull For Leadbetter, the championship is just one piece of a busy life. The soldier works as a medic with the Army's Golden Knights parachute team, serves as a part-time paramedic with Cumberland County EMS and plays on the All-Army women's rugby team. Medicine became Leadbetter's career, but rugby has remained the sport that keeps pulling her back. Growing up, Leadbetter's mother let her try just about every sport, including soccer, basketball, baseball and football. When she was the only girl on her football team, a teammate's mother suggested she try rugby.
She played from ages 8 to 12, picked up the sport again at 16 and returned to it in 2021. "I just started really missing being athletic and playing a sport I loved. So I found a local team, Fayetteville Area Rugby, and I just went out with them," Leadbetter said. "And then it immediately clicked that I should have never left and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon." That return eventually led her to the All-Army team, which earned its third consecutive championship in the recent competition. With tryouts held each year, many of this year's players were new to one another. The team is made up of soldiers from the Army, National Guard and Army Reserve stationed around the world. Leadbetter said the players had only about two weeks to get to know one another, bond and learn each other's playing styles. "This year was one of the years where I felt like we had a lot of new people. We had a few people not able to make it due to other Army duties and orders, so I was the oldest Army rugby player on the team besides our captain," said Leadbetter, who just turned 26. "I was one of the veterans on the team this year, and it's really awesome to just have such a wide selection of women that love the sport and are eager to play and win." Balancing work responsibilities Performance under pressure extends beyond the rugby field for Leadbetter. She is the senior enlisted medical adviser for the Golden Knights, where her current assignment ends next April. She also works part-time for Cumberland County EMS as a paramedic, usually on weekends and holidays. "I have a busy life, but I think I've just learned to strive, and I do my best when I'm just keeping busy," Leadbetter said. "I love to do my job, and I love to work in medicine." Her work with Cumberland County EMS also helps her stay sharp for the moments when those medical skills could be needed in the Army. "It's really an honor … I get to go out to the community and get to meet people, get to help them on their worst days and learn a lot during it, and keep up my medical skills," she said. "That way, if I'm ever needed in my Army job with the Golden Knights, I know I'm like right on it, and I already know what to do, and I'm prepared." Originally from La Habra, California, Leadbetter said she didn't plan on a career in medicine. She enlisted in the Army in November 2017. She said she had considered becoming a firefighter or dog handler, but initially planned to become a truck driver. Then a recruiter told her she had scored high enough on the military entrance exam to qualify as a combat medic.
"I told him I didn't know anything about medicine. I don't know. I wouldn't know what to do. And he's like, 'They'll teach you everything,'" she said. "It's probably the best thing that could have happened because I love medicine now, and I love the career I chose." After completing training and airborne school, Leadbetter got assigned to Fort Bragg in March 2019, where she's been ever since. In her various roles, Leadbetter said, she's found support from her Army leadership. Members of the Golden Knights have also celebrated her accomplishments on the rugby field. That support, and the opportunities she's found through the Army and rugby, are part of why she encourages others to take a chance on something new. "I can honestly say it's changed my life and I'm in a wonderful position for being 26," she said. "I really have no regrets in my life, and I hope other people can learn from that and take that chance to try something that they never thought they could do." Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528. This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fort Bragg soldier helps Army rugby win third straight title