Client
Services
Sports Documentary Film Production
Industy
Women’s Rugby / Youth Sports
When TOA Rugby first approached OnTheGo Media about traveling with their Women’s U18 team to Long Beach, California, the plan was relatively simple.
Travel with the team. Capture their games at the Belmont Shore tournament. Create a highlight film showcasing the weekend.
But as we began pre-production and started building out our shot list, we realized there was a much bigger story to tell. This wasn’t just about rugby.
It was about the athletes. The coaches. The relationships. The preparation. The wins and losses. And, beyond this particular team, an opportunity to tell a story about the continued growth of women’s rugby. So we went back to the drawing board.
Instead of creating a traditional tournament recap, we pitched something OnTheGo Media had never created before: A documentary.
Our team began developing a documentary concept that would follow the TOA Rugby Women’s U18 team throughout their entire experience in Long Beach.
We presented the idea to TOA leadership, and they were immediately on board.
The next thing we knew, we were on a plane to California preparing to shoot our first-ever documentary.
From the moment we arrived, the team welcomed us in. That access allowed us to capture much more than what happened on the rugby field.
We documented practices, hotel downtime, team bonding, the jersey ceremony, conversations between players and coaches, and the moments behind the scenes that most people would never otherwise get to see. Then came tournament day.
Throughout the Belmont Shore tournament, our cameras followed the team through every high and low.
We captured each match while conducting interviews with players, coaches, TOA leadership, tournament personnel, and others who could help us tell a story larger than the final score.
The goal wasn’t simply to document what happened. We wanted viewers to feel like they were there.
We wanted them to understand what these athletes had put into reaching that moment. We wanted to capture the nerves before a match, the excitement of competition, the disappointment of difficult moments, the relationships between teammates, and the passion surrounding the sport.
By the time we left Long Beach, we had captured far more than a collection of highlights.
We had a story.
Once we returned home, the next challenge began.
We had to take hours of footage, interviews, matches, behind-the-scenes moments, and individual stories and turn them into one cohesive film.
Every interview, music choice, sequence, and transition had to serve the larger story.
We wanted the final documentary to take viewers through the same emotional journey we experienced alongside the team-to celebrate the highs, feel the lows, understand the work that happened behind the scenes, and ultimately walk away with a greater appreciation for these athletes and the sport of women’s rugby.
It was our first documentary, and it challenged our team creatively in ways we hadn’t experienced before. That’s exactly what made it so rewarding.
After months of planning, traveling, filming, and editing, we had the opportunity to premiere the finished documentary with the team whose story we had been trusted to tell.
Watching the athletes experience the film together-and seeing their reactions to moments they had lived months earlier-became one of the most rewarding parts of the entire project.
What started as a tournament highlight video had become something that these athletes, their families, coaches, and organization could hold onto long after the final whistle.
This project became bigger than anything we originally envisioned.
It gave OnTheGo Media the opportunity to step into documentary filmmaking for the first time while helping tell a story we believe deserves to be seen.
Our hope is that the film doesn’t just showcase one team or one tournament. We hope it contributes, even in a small way, to greater awareness around women’s rugby and the athletes, coaches, organizations, and communities helping grow the sport.
We’re incredibly grateful to TOA Rugby for trusting us to take an initial idea and turn it into something much bigger.
What was supposed to be a highlight film became our first documentary.
And we couldn’t have asked for a better story to tell.
This shoot was a dream come true. Working with JJ Watt wasn’t just a massive opportunity – it was proof that bold outreach, great planning, and creative execution can lead to incredible results.
