Best of the Rest

Here’s another collection of articles from around the worldwide web, covering all sorts of topics. We’ve included a few this week about other sports – are there lessons to be learned from the development of Gaelic football, hockey, and elsewhere? Other pieces touch on Major League Rugby, retirements, eligibility, inevitability, and accountability.

 

Mullen playing for US National Team – by Glynn Hill / Houston Chronicle

“It’s one of those uncommon stories you occasionally hear about. A man is sitting on his couch one year and the next he’s playing on a field with world-class athletes. Although in Paul Mullen’s case, that downtime was spent a bit more productively.”

 

Lewis unloads on USA Rugby governance – by Pat Clifton / Rugby Today

“The second impetus for the polar change in Congress’ state of alertness was internal pressure applied by those like Lewis. Congress had to have its nose shoved in the pile on the floor before conceding a mess had been made. ”

 

A tribute to a Leinster legend – by Scotty Stevenson / RugbyPass

“It is we, as much as he, who were robbed by the IRB’s intractable stance. Who among us would have not thrilled at the sight of one of the most creative players ever put on God’s green grass lighting up the big stages of the game? And he would have. Because lighting it up is what Nacewa has always done.”

 

Horror stories of players being pulled from clubs for Elite Squads – by Tomás ó Sé / Irish Independent

“And trying to fill the resultant gap is an amount of volunteers, some of them doing more harm than good. Hearts in the right place, but not well enough educated in the game to be a coach. In a lot of cases, they’re not equipped to teach their kids the most basic skills or how even to make space.”

 

How Finland has emerged as a hockey superpower – by Patrik Bexell / SB Nation

“The new plan is making the foundation of the youth development something that benefits all teams and players even further away from the spotlights of the big clubs. This makes sure that almost all of the junior-aged players in Finland will get access to a skills coach at an early age; something that should make an already skilled Finnish team even more of a threat in the future.”

 

Should Brad Shields play for England?  – by Nick Bishop / The Roar

“The Brad Shields case, and Clive Woodward’s contradictory attitudes towards overseas-based players, illustrates a similar confusion. On the one hand, it’s ‘intrinsically wrong’ to select a player who has not been developed within the English system; on the other ‘squad selections must never be made on any criteria other than performance and merit’, regardless of geography.”

 

Gary Gold’s blazing Eagles beat Scotland – by Martin Pengelly / The Guardian

“The win was never inevitable. It was Blair Kinghorn’s missed conversion of Dougie Fife’s late try that sealed it. But even in the perennially uncertain world of pro rugby in America – attempts from abroad to make a buck, attempts to gather far-scattered players to prepare for internationals – it was a victory that some saw coming.”

 

Selling Sport: The Influence of Coaches and Officials – by Wayne Goldsmith / NewSport

“Sports and Governments can spend millions and millions of dollars on gimmicks, games and gizmos to get kids and their families down to their local club to play football or tennis or rugby or baseball – but all it takes to get them to turn around and never come back, is one poor experience with a coach or an official.”

 

Born to run. And jump. And hit. And catch. And Tackle. And… – by Ghislaine Landry / CBC Sports

“I grew up in Toronto, in a community that valued, developed and supported community sport programs. Every weekend, I played house-league soccer with the North Toronto Soccer Club. I went to Allenby Public Elementary School, which, led by our dedicated physical education teacher Mr. Galofaro, gave me the opportunity to practise and play a lot of sports.”

 

The End is really the Beginning, Part 2 – by Jamie Heaslip / The Sports Chronicle

“I’m ready for the rest of my life and I’m not at all. It’s almost impossible to prepare for retirement aged 34 because a successful rugby career demands an all-consuming existence. Within that there are specific mantras; the next job, stay in the moment, one game at a time.”