Last weekend, the Kutztown University Rugby Club made their first attempt at entering a team of incoming freshmen in the Surfside 7's rugby tournament.  Not all of the players that were contacted could make the trip and some of them had already committed to their high school teams that had entered the tournament before Doc called them about participating.  So with the recruitment of long time 7's stalwart Sean Lynch as the coach on the day, we ventured into the tournament . Most of our players had never met one another and had never even played 7's before that day. The initial side that took the field for the first match was an experiment. Coach Lynch and Doc Jones new nothing of how the combinations were going to jell. Subsequently , the brand new golden bears lost the first match three trys to one. 

Well, Doc only pulled this whole idea together so the boys could meet one another and get to feel at home when they arrived on campus.

So coach Lynch and Doc took the loss in good stride like the good sportsmen they attest to be. Doc had a brief fireside chat with the boys and Coach Lynch said a few flattering words before the second match of the day.

The bottom line was four more games , twenty two trys scored,,,, with 

one against and this picture of the team and the" plate trophy. "  

What a great day

7s Camp Hugely Competitive

Wednesday Jul 15, 2009 in Elite Level Rugby USA 7s

(Marco Barnard is quickly becoming a 7s impressario. Ian Muir photo.)

Check out Marco on You tube scoring against Canada.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPfvFeX_aAQ&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Efacebook%2Ecom%2Fprofile%2Ephp%3Fid%3D1131152908&feature=player_embedded

Marco Barnard makes All-American

This makes his 3rd selection to the all american team

All American Team Named

Boulder, Colo. – Following the National Guard Collegiate All-Star Championships held in Glendale this past weekend, USA Rugby have officially announced the 2009 Collegiate All-American selections.

With a pool of nearly 20,000 men’s collegiate players across the U.S., the Collegiate All-American selectors and coaches spent nearly nine months on player identification, fitness testing-standards implementation, and monitoring to narrow that down to just 44 All-Americans and 30 honorable mentions.

The three-day format for the Collegiate All-Star Championships proved to be very beneficial for both players and the player identification process in 2009 as the level of play for many territories is on the rise and selections have been increasingly difficult with so many deserving players.

"The competition in the collegiate ranks across the board was very high, not only this weekend, but throughout the season. The job of finding the best college rugby players in the country was tough because of the increased talent that we saw overall,” Collegiate All-Americans Assistant Coach Kimball Kjar said. "I feel the staff and the selectors did a great job identifying the best college rugby players and I look forward to seeing many of these players represent their country as an All-American."  

The 2009 selection panel, which includes Kevin Battle, Blake Burdette, Curt Huckaby, Don Ferrell and Bill Sexton, along with the coaching staff of Alex Magleby, Kimball Kjar and Bob Ford, developed a player database throughout the collegiate season, culminating with the Collegiate All-Star Championships. 

"It seemed as if the talent pool was deeper this year. On behalf of the selectors, I want to thank the territorial coaches for their collective hard work,” Curt Huckaby said. “The players played exceptional, making our role difficult but rewarding."

The All-American program will likely be touring South Africa this summer, but details have not been finalized.

The 2009 All-Americans include:
Name                          Position                      University
Backs
Barnard, Marco            Scrumhalf                    Kutztown
Clark, Chad                 Flyhalf                         St. Mary’s
Davies, Shaun              Scrumhalf                    BYU
Engelbrecht, Keegan     Flyhalf                         California
Folau, Byron                Center                         BYU
Grossheider, Kyle         Wing                           Life
Harris, Ryan                 Wing                           California
Hawley, Colin               Fullback                      California
Kelm, Duncan              Flyhalf                         San Diego State
Lasike, Paul                  Center                         BYU
Leland, Hunter              Flyhalf                         Texas A&M
Lubbe, Dylan                Flyhalf                         BYU
Matealonia, Benny        Scrumhalf                    Life
McMaster, Aaron         Flyhalf                         Life
Muhn, Dustin                Wing                           California
Mulhall, Stephen           Center                         San Diego State
O'Meara, Brendan        Center                         St. Mary’s
Qaqa, Vito                   Wing                           BYU
Roberts, Lucas             Center                         Penn State
Ross, Alex                    Fullback                      San Diego State
Scully, Blaine                Wing                           California
Sua, Manti                    Wing                           BYU
Tiberio, Peter                Wing                           University of Arizona

Forwards
Barrett, James              Prop                            California
Bester, Paul                  Flanker                        Life
Biller, Chris                  Hooker                       California
Brown, Joey                 Hooker                       Mesa College
Buchanan, Tim              Lock                           Arizona State
Dolan, Cameron           Lock                           Life
Evans, Roland              No. 8                          Arkansas State
Fry, Eric                       Lock                           California
George, Mike               Prop                            Wyoming
Herbert, Richard           Flanker                        Cal-Poly
Katzfey, Tom               Lock                           St. Norbert College
Malani, A***a            Flanker                        BYU
Parker, Chris                Lock                           Texas A&M
Pasque, Tommy            No. 8                          Colorado
Purcell, Brenden            Prop                            San Diego State
Rock, Casey                Lock                           Metro State
Silverman, Ross            Prop                            Santa Barbara
St. Pierre, Steve           Flanker                        BYU
Strauss, Seth                Prop                            Life
Su'a, Mike                    Prop                            BYU
Vedder, Brandon          No. 8                          St. Mary’s

2009 Honorable Mentions:
Bou-Mikael, Saade      Fullback                       LSU
Devalve, Levi               Prop                             University of Connecticut
Dewey, Kevin              Scrumhalf                     Navy
Ducoin, Adam              Wing                            LSU
Farr, Roan                    Flanker                         Arkansas State
Gallo, James                 Scrumhalf                     Southern Methodist University
Harrison, Tyler             Fullback                       UC Davis
Heiler, Zach                  No. 8                           San Diego State
Jarvis, Paul                   Flanker                         Dartmouth College
Johns, Bobby               Scrumhalf                     LSU
Jones, Pat                     Lock                            University of Utah
Kimble, Kevin              Flanker                         Penn State
Lewis, Tony                 Prop                             University of Nebraska-Omaha
London, Chad              Flyhalf                          Palmer
Lotter, Justin                 Flyhalf                          Penn State
Martens, Ryan              Center                          St. Mary's
McKenna, Eddie          Flanker                         Cal State Dominguez Hills
O'Leary, Conlan           Flyhalf                          Dartmouth College
O"Neill, Bobby             Flanker                         Army
Purcell, Jamie               Scrumhalf                     San Diego State
Shepherd, Michael        Prop                             Indiana University
Sumsion, Kyle             Lock                            BYU
Taylor, Ryan                 Wing                            California
Tukuafu, Ilaisia (Sia)     Lock                            BYU Hawaii
Vickery, Spencer          Prop                             University of Utah
Vota, Duran                 Wing                            Curry College
Wallace, Nick              Prop                             St. Mary's
Wessels, Nardus          Prop                             Arkansas Sta te
Whittler, Clint               Wing                            Arkansas State
Wunderli, Matt             Hooker                        University of Utah

USA Ends 7s Season With Shield Win

Sunday May 31, 2009 in Elite Level Rugby USA 7s

May 31, 2009 – The USA 7s team defeated Canada 12-10 in the Shield final of the Edinburgh 7s Sunday, rounding out their 2008-09 season with another trophy, although no further IRB Sevens World Series points.

The Eagles lost all three pool games on Saturday, as did Canada, and faced Portugal in the Bowl quarterfinals. In that game they played poorly, losing 26-5 and entered the Shield semis.

There the young USA team picked up their game somewhat, beating Georgia 27-0, although coach Al Caravelli said he felt the team slacked off late.

“One thing we wanted to do was end the tournament playing a complete game,” Caravelli said.

Canada lost 14-7 to Argentina in the Bowl quarters before edging Spain 21-19 to make the Shield final. The two North American teams had met in the Shield final last week in London, with Canada winning easily 27-7. This time, Caravelli played the same seven players all game (forced to in part because Mark Bokhoven and Mike Palefau had been felled by injury).

“It’s good because you want to have your best seven out there, and to have every player capable of playing 14 minutes,” Caravelli said.

The lineup of Steve St. Pierre, James Gillenwater, Thretton Palamo, PJ Komongnan, Tai Enosa, Marco Barnard and Blaine Scully secured a 100 percent tackle rate throughout the Shield final against Canada, and cut their turnovers from 16 a week ago to six.

Barnard caped off a well-worked try, and then Enosa scored when he fed St. Pierre on the wing, the prop straightened up to commit two defenders, and then hit the looping Enosa for the try.

“The guys knew what it felt like to lose in the Shield final so that was a big motivation for them.”

ARN DUR All-Americans

Article Courtesy of AmericanRugbyNews.com

By: Brian Lowe

Rutgers will be joining the Mid-Atlantic Premier League in the fall replacing Radford, which has opted to go back to Division II.

The Highlanders, who won the DII national championship in 2008, found the going in the top tier just a bit of a stretch.

“We were pleased with them winning two games in their opening season and had hopes for the future. The league - teams and administrators - tried to convince them to stay and were disappointed to see them leave,” Mid-Atlantic vice president and league director Eric Pittelkau told ARN.

Rutgers approached the Mid-Atlantic about joining the Premier League and given their location just an hour north of Philadelphia, they were a possibility in terms of geography.

Rutgers also wanted more competition than they were getting in the Met New York DI competition.

Rutgers is a large state school, it has a rugby squad of more than 70 players, it has a dedicated and lighted turf rugby field, and it gets some school funding with a view to working towards more alumni funding.

”Rutgers is at the north end of our region, whereas Radford was at the southern end,” continued Pittelkau. “All in all, teams are probably closer to each other on average with Rutgers, so we don't anticipate extra travel costs.

”While Rutgers isn't yet (to be fair) on par with our league's best teams, we think they will be moderately competitive and could win a couple of games next season.

“They realize it might take a season or two to get used to the level of play (though they were somewhat competitive with the top of the Northeast Rugby Union last year when they finished third in the playoffs).

“Virginia Tech was 0-7 their first year and this year were the 4th ranked team. While Virginia and Maryland have yet to play as well as the top teams, they have put together a few games over the last two seasons that were gems.”

Pittelkau adds that at least half of the Mid-Atlantic teams are highly regarded, but the standard of play isn't the only consideration for the league.

He says it's also about good facilities and fields, strong clubs in terms of numbers and dedication and organization, exciting rugby games, better refereeing, and building a spectator base.

Article Courtesy of AmericanRugbyNews.com

By: ARN Staff Writers

(Bronislaw Grala photo)

Penn State has been crowned this year’s Mid-Atlantic champion with a close 34-27 win against Navy in Sunday’s final.

The two teams finished in the same order at the end of the Mid-Atlantic Premier League regular season.

The Nittany Lions and Midshipmen went into the championship decider looking to win both the 2009 title and the conference’s top seed for the Round of 16.

Consequently, Penn State will be the Mid-Atlantic’s #1 seed in the national playoffs, while Navy will be the second seed and both teams will play in the pool brackets in Atlanta, GA.

PSU will tackle the South #2 seed Tennessee in the opening round, and Navy will face off against the South #1 Arkansas State.

Earlier on Sunday, Kutztown went some way towards making up for its defeat by the Middies in Saturday’s semifinals by beating Virginia Tech 64-32 in the consolation game.

Article Courtesy of AmericanRugbyNews.com

By: Brian Lowe

(Roy De Boer photo)

Penn State and Navy will be the two Mid-Atlantic seeds in the Round of 16 following their respective semifinal wins Saturday in the conference championships.

The Lions and Midshipmen went into the weekend as the top two placed teams from the Mid-Atlantic Premier League.

Penn State downed Virginia Tech 42-19 in one semifinal, while Navy defeated Kutztown 30-14 in the other semi.

That means that PSU and Navy will meet in Sunday’s championship decider to sort out who will go to the Round as the conference’s #1 seed and who will be the #2 seed.

Article courtesy of eRugbyNews.com

By Katy Rank

When the tide comes in, all ships will rise. This tweaked adage metaphorically describes why Kutztown University coach Dr. Gregg Jones has maintained a successful program at this small college in eastern Pennsylvania since taking over in 1986.The tide, in this case, is comprised of “good kids” who want to train hard and follow a code of sportsmanship and accountability. But Jones also helped create the tide; his recruiting efforts filling the squad with players boasting years of youth and high school rugby experience, international players with a lifetime of rugby smarts, and a 400-man alumni association of former Kutztown ruggers that raises funds to keep the fleet afloat.

As a state school of just over 9,000 undergraduates, Kutztown is an unlikely sports power. While the Golden Bears have never had a losing season with Jones at the helm, they’ve raised their level even higher the last couple of seasons.

In 2007, Kutztown won the prestigious MARFU Premiere League Championship, going undefeated and beating powerhouses like Penn State, Navy, and Delaware. They entered the 2008 National Collegiate Championships seeded fourth and bowled their way to the round of eight before eventually losing to St. Mary’s.

This fall, led by two-time All American and team captain Marco Barnard (a Jones recruit from South Africa), and All American Dirk Scheepers, the Golden Bears began the season ranked first in the nation. After a successful tour of Canada, their only loss in their first six games came in a forfeit against Virginia Tech due to a player registration error. (Kutztown had won the match 65-0.)

Americans, as we all know, love underdogs and winning teams with equal zeal. Since Kutztown fits both descriptions, they have built quite a following both on campus and around town. At Kutztown, the men’s rugby team gets more recognition in the fall than the football team. Each Saturday, KU rugby draws around 500 fans, including a student booster club called the “KU Crew.” to their regulation, rugby-specific pitch, In a nation where rugby teams struggle to find fans outside their player base, the added support (including university president Javier Cevallos) helps motivate the Golden Bears toward their common goal: a National Collegiate Championship.

Within the rugby community, Kutztown is often viewed as a sleeping dragon that someone recently poked with a very sharp stick. Because of the school’s size and their quirky name, they are often underestimated, and the team likes it that way.

“There’s nothing better than being viewed as an underdog,” says vice captain Cory Collins. Marco Barnard agrees: “It brings out the best in our players.”

Four years ago, right around the time Barnard and Collins arrived, Kutztown underwent a mission change. The club won most of their league games only to fall short at the end of the season against big-time competition like Delaware or Penn State. They decided, with Jones’ encouragement, to get serious about rugby. Despite their club sport status, the team began to operate like a varsity program. The change was more psychological than operational and, as a team still in transition, KU’s players must work hard and stay focused to prove their recent success isn’t a flash-in-the-pan deal.

“When you go into a game certain you’ll win,” says Barnard, “you start forgetting the basic fundamentals. We have to go into every match knowing we must do our best to win.”

For Coach Jones, success on the pitch begins with the players’ behavior away from it. His program forbids alcohol at official rugby events, and this includes alumni banquets where undergraduate student athletes are present.

Jones has worked very hard to chip away the nasty reputation that clouds many rugby programs, particularly at smaller state schools. “I call it the ‘70s stigma,’” says Jones. “I run into coaches and fans from that era. The misconception doesn’t go away. We don’t tolerate anything that will reflect badly on the sport.”

This wasn’t always the case with the Kutztown RFC, which was founded in 1984. When Jones took over two years later, he saw what he describes as “loose cannons” infecting the program with foul play and reckless behavior. But those days are long gone. If a potential player competes for a spot looking for a social outlet with Animal House antics, the club makes it clear this behavior is not welcome.

“We just let these guys know ‘this is not the right sport for you,’” says Jones. “The personality of our club has a lot to do with the character of the people we recruit. We have team meetings about integrity and sportsmanship. But we don’t just talk about this stuff. We live it.”

Since Jones focuses his recruiting efforts on players with solid rugby fundamentals developed in strong youth programs, the team can dedicate more practice time to higher level tactics. But achieving the team goals require countless hours of commitment. Speed and fitness dictate their style of play so the team runs and lifts every morning at 7, and focuses their four weekly training sessions on patterns of play rather than specific plays. “There’s no secret behind working hard,” says Collins of the KU training schedule. “We aren’t a fluke.”

As game day coach, Jones is more likely to be sitting in a chair on the sidelines than screaming out plays during the action. He wants his players to be intelligent as well as skilled, and the team captains to share responsibility for the team’s successes as well as its failures.

“We learn patterns of play at practice, and I try to teach the patterns that best fit the personnel we have,” Jones says. “Then I hand the reins over to the team. When it’s game time, they are making the decisions. When it’s time to make a split-second decision, we hear one voice on the field and it’s not mine.”

That voice is the slightly-accented one of Barnard in the back line, which has navigated the Golden Bears to their recent success. KU plays an open game, letting their backs fly down the pitch. This pace, combined with their ability to see holes and run around defenders, has coaches like Bjorn Haglid of Delaware changing their game plans. “Right now, they are the most dominant team on the East Coast,” Haglid says, adding that his team always looks forward to the challenge of playing Kutztown. An offensive force like KU makes the opposition play a tight game, trying to overpower the Golden Bears in the forwards.

“[Jones] works his team very hard to be good both defensively and offensively,” Halgid continues, pointing to “the Marcos” (Barnard and Marco Cardillo) in the back line and the loose forwards as the strengths of the team. “We try to pressure them inside with our larger forwards and hope to take advantage of a misplay on their part.” Such misplays have been few and far between, as KU mauls through their opposition in the East Penn and Mid-Atlantic RFUs.

Cory Collins says KU is motivated by the sting of late season losses a few years back, and that keeps the team unified and moving forward. “We really began to believe that we could get to [nationals],” Collins says. “We have totally changed our outlook and want to represent ourselves as champions.”

Article Courtesy of 10News.com

10News Leadership Award Winner Jim Leiner

10News honors Jim Leiner for creating Pioneer Day School, a school that caters to the needs of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Leiner is the founder, teacher and executive director of Pioneer Day school. The school started as a private school in 2003, and received its non-profit status in October 2005. In addition to Leiner’s financial contributions, donations have helped to fund the school. Pioneer Day School is a certified, state-approved nonpublic school; hence, the teachers can take the students outside the boundaries of school to attend events and expose them to social situations.

Leiner formed the Pioneer Day School after coaching a boy with ASD and found that there was a severe lack of individualized special education in San Diego. This school focuses on helping the students acclimate into society by developing their confidence and social skills. The school keeps their student-teacher ratio low (the maximum intake is 24 students) to ensure that the students are receiving undivided attention and to enhance their succession.