Sport: Rugby
Born: February 7, 1955
Town: Tinton Falls, New Jersey
Kathleen Teresa Flores was born February 7, 1955 in Philadelphia and grew up in Tinton Falls, NJ. Her parents were of Filipino and Hawaiian descent. Fast, powerfully built and highly coordinated, Kathy attended Monmouth Regional High School and starred for the field hockey and basketball teams, as well as the track team, where she became all-conference in the javelin in 1971 and 1972. Her best throw for the Falcons was 131’8” as a senior in 1973. Kathy topped that marked in AAU competition several ties as a member of the Shore Athletic Club, for show she also competed in the shot put.
Kathy continued her athletic career at East Stroudsburg University, playing varsity basketball and competing in the javelin. She earned a degree in Physical Education and later was inducted into the ESU Hall of Fame. In 1978, Kathy moved to Tallahassee to pursue an advanced degree in Exercise Physiology. The Seminoles fielded a women’s rugby squad and Kathy found the sport to her liking. The skills she had developed in field hockey and basketball—in addition to the strength as a track athlete—proved to be ideal for the Number Eight position, where she could push from the back of the scrum and was adept at providing a clean ball for the backs as well as being a defense-busting runner. Kathy was small for that position at 5’5” and 160 pounds, but led Florida State to four national championships.
In 1986, women’s rugby was just getting off the ground in the US. Kathy was part of the country’s first touring team, which played against national teams in England and France. One year later, she captain the US national team in its first international tournament, beating Canada 22–3 to win the Can-Am title. In 1990, Kathy was named to World XV squad following the New Zealand Rugby Festival. In 1991, Kathy played Number Eight for the US team that wo the first Women’s Rugby World Cup, defeating England in the final.
Kathy moved to the West Coast in 1994 and was captain of the Berkeley All Blues, a prominent national semipro team, for four seasons before retiring in 1998 at the age of 43. She went right into coaching for the All Blues, as well as the San Francisco Fog, a gay men’s rugby team. The All Blues won 11 championship in 14 season with Katy as captain or coach.
In 2002, Kathy became the first woman—and first woman of color—to coach a national rugby team when she was named head coach of the US women’s national squad. Kathy held that position for nine years and also worked for USA Rugby in an administrative role. She also coached the Cal women’s rugby team during this time. In 2013, Kathy accepted an offer to coach rugby at Brown. She also coached the rugby team at Providence.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kathy was diagnosed with late-stage colon cancer. She passed away in the fall of 2021. More than 200 of Kathy’s former teammates, players and coaches attended a virtual remembrance organized by the Women’s Rugby Foundation. In 2022, Kathy was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame.