The future – age groups include 3 FL players
Boys’ Age-Grade Camp Proves Successful in Player Development
GLENDALE, Colo. – The top 40 prospective athletes for both the Under-20 National Team and High School All-American programs converged on Glendale’s Infinity Park last week for the USA Rugby Boys’ Age-Grade Training Camp.
The 80 players were selected based off their performance from the six regional All-Star tournaments around the country, as well as from the H.S. National Championships, Collegiate National All-Stars and coach recommendations.
“We were very pleased to get this number of quality athletes into camp and started on their journey toward becoming a senior Eagle,” High School All-American Coach Scott Lawrence said. “The camp served as a quality baseline for us and now the real work begins of maturing some players and continuing to identify others.”
The camp, which ran from Monday, July 20 through Sunday July 26, included strength and conditioning testing, strength and conditioning workouts, educational seminars, prehabilitation and core workouts/seminars, a nutritional seminar with USAR nutritional consultant Adam Russell, and skill development focusing primarily on ball handling and contact skills. Players went through film study of their training throughout the week, and the forwards got the opportunity to work with the USA Men’s National Team scrum coach, Bill LeClerc, while the scrum-halves got some time to work on their passing with USA Rugby’s CEO and President of Rugby Nigel Melville
Both teams also had an inter-squad scrimmage on Saturday, followed by a film study review, and exit one-on-one meetings, where individual development programs were delivered to each player. The scrimmage was also viewed by USA Eagles Head Coach Eddie O’Sullivan, who spoke with both teams following their scrimmage.
The young players were also allowed to watch some of the Collegiate All-Americans training prior to the team’s departure for South Africa.
“Every one of the players and coaches worked tremendously hard throughout the week and significant gains were made in the players’ and teams’ development,” Age-Grade Program Director Matt Sherman said. “It was particularly nice to have all three teams (the Collegiate All-Americans, Under-20s and the High School All-Americans), training in close quarters throughout the week.
“Players at various levels were able to see that they are part of a development pathway toward becoming a senior Eagle, and players at the High School All-American and U-20 levels got to see and experience firsthand what the next level looks like and how to get there.”
The new Under-20 Coach, Ray Lehner, and his staff were also pleased with the progress the team made, but weren’t naïve in the amount of work that still lies ahead.
“The boys rose to every challenge, and stayed engaged the entire week,” Lehner said. “It’s a good beginning, but we still have a lot of work to do.”
Coaches and players from both teams are anticipating the next camp to be during Christmas break, which will likely include an international match. All the details have yet to be confirmed.
The players invited to this camp include:
High School All-Americans
Fernando Assing (At Large)
Joe Brady (Met NY/Union County)
Gavin Brown (South Indiana/North Central)
Sean Carley (Met NY/Xavier, N.Y.)
Patrick Coleman (Met NY/Xavier, N.Y.
Jorge Cuisana (Met NY)
Charlie Denk (Ohio Elite/Ohio City Warriors)
Michael Durant (New England/Boston College HS)
Cameron Falcon (Louisiana)
Hunter Frisinger (Hong Kong U18)
Jason Fry (Sacramento Jesuit)
Parker Gilbert (Middlesex County/Saracens, UK)
Nick Glocke (Wisconsin All-Stars/Grafton RFC)
Jordan Harestead (At Large)
Mateaka Hausia (Pacific Coast/Diablo)
Sione Hausia (Pacific Coast/Diablo)
Madison Hughes (Cobham RFC, UK)
Chuck Koehler (Wisconsin All-Stars/Pulaski Roos)
Bryant Larson (Minnesota/Moundsview)
Riley Locker (Washington/Chuckanut Bay)
Jonathan Marshall (Carolina All-Stars/Chapel Hill Highlanders)
Alexander Marshall (Wisconsin All-Stars)
Daniel Metcalf (Texas/Dallas Jesuit)
Jesse Milne (Pacific Coast)
Travis Moscone (Pelicans/Piedmont)
Drew Ohmann (North Carolina)
Dion Opperman (Glendale Raptors)
Rashawn Rogers (Ohio Elite/Westerville Worms)
Kyle Ruane (Rio Grande/Albuquerque Eagles)
Adam Sandstrom (Wisconsin All-Stars/Lake County RFC)
Michael Sangaline (Eastern Rockies)
Christian Schupay (South Indiana/Broad Ripple)
Tei Staladi (Washington Liberty)
Joseph Sullivan (Team Indiana/Cathedral Royal Irish)
Ray Taumaoe (Washington/Chuckanut Bay)
Caleb Tracey (Northeast/Portland, Maine)
Evan Von zur Muehlen (Texas/Westlake HS)
Gregory Wood (South Indiana/Cathedral Royal Irish)
High School All-Americans
Head Coach: Scott Lawrence
Asst. Forwards: David LeFlamme
Asst. Backs: Michael Engelbrecht
Skills Coach: Damian Dowling
Manager: Justin Hickey
Under-20 Forwards
Joshua Alden (Texas A&M)
Tim Barford (Loughborough University/Texas A&M)
Charlie Barkmeier (Colorado State/Colorado Youth Rugby)
Colin Bartolomeo (Glendale Raptors)
Kyle Denham (University of Utah/Skyline Rugby)
Andres Diaz (Texas A&M)
Patrick Fargen (Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
Mohammed Guizani (Fort Lauderdale RFC)
Isaac Hall (Bishop Dwenger High School RFC)
Kevin Herrera (Olympic Club)
Patrick Jones (University of Utah)
Ben Landry (UW Platteville/Kettle Moraine High School)
Patrick Latu (San Mateo Warriors)
Vladi Mnatsakanov (Liberty RFC)
Colton Rahav (Arizona State)
Steve Rice (Elon University/Lassiter High)
Vytas Semogas (Brentwood College)
TJ Staladi (Liberty RFC)
JP Swanepoel (Kansas City Jr. Blues)
Gerhard Veit (University of Central Florida)
Sam Sirell (UCLA/Marin Highlanders)
Under-20 Backs
Naki Angilau (University of Utah/Highland Rugby)
Steve Brown (Sierra College/Mother Lode Rugby)
Curtis Chaffin (Houston Athletic Rugby Club)
Joe Cowley (Charlotte Rugby Club)
Dustin Croy (Glendale)
Dimitri Efthimiou (Mystic River)
William Farrell (Alpharetta RFC)
Brian Hussey (Miami RFC)
Andrew Jackson (Los Angeles Cougars)
Lukas Jacobson (Texas A&M/Woodlands Youth)
James Jones (St. Mary’s/Christian Brothers High)
Ryan McGlynn (Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison/Mt. Carmel High)
Kelton Miller (Oklahoma University)
Conor Mills (Texas A&M)
Michael Oliver (Old Alleynians)
Don Pati (University of Utah)
Johannes Swanepoel (Kansas City Jr. Blues)
Jack White (Duquesne University)
Jack White (Benedictine College/Colorado Youth Rugby)
U20 Staff:
Head Coach: Ray Lehner
Asst. Forwards: Luke Gross
Asst. Backs: Salty Thompson
Skills Coach: Jason Payne
Manager: Craig Brown
