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It’s an exciting time to be involved in rugby in the United States. Youth numbers have exploded across the country, college rugby continues to distance itself from it’s sordid past, and attendance at major events is at an all-time high. A part of the evolution of the game in the USA has been the emergence of a true high-performance pathway to replace the non-existent and clouded pathways of the past.
Tomorrow, sixty-seven athletes will hit the field at the USA Rugby Men’s Junior and Collegiate Stars and Stripes Camp that is being held from July 14-19th at the California Maritime Academy Campus in Vallejo, CA. The camp is part of a revamped development pathway and is seen as an entry-point into USA Rugby’s high-performance training squads. On this stage players at each age-grade level are exposed to National Team standards.
This revamped pathway also includes identification tools such as National Tracking Camps (NTC), a newly minted network of scouts, and improved relationships with college and high school coaches. All working in unison to identify players with the potential to represent the USA at the international level.
“The coaching staff at the Stars and Stripes Camp are very excited about the rugby talent that will be on show,” said Men’s Collegiate All Americans Head Coach Gavin Hickie. Hickie, who played professionally in Ireland and England, is the Head Coach at Dartmouth University and has also worked with the USA U20 National team and USA Selects. He is joined on his coaching staff by Clemson Head Coach Justin Hickey and Yale Head Coach Greg McWilliams.
“Many of our players have been “discovered” at the National Tracking Camps over the past five months,” added Hickie. “Over time, this process will ensure that all rugby players, with ambition to be an Eagle, have a clearly defined pathway to get to the elite level.”
The Stars and Stripes Camp runs alongside the USA Men’s Pacific Nations Cup training camp. This provides the opportunity for aspiring Eagles to work with the Senior National Team. The full Eagles XV coaching staff will be in attendance as well as USA 7s coaches Mike Friday and Chris Brown.
“Stars and Stripes is a pretty cool opportunity, unprecedented perhaps,” said USA Rugby Director of Performance Alex Magleby. “Under 20 prospects, many of the best in college, working with the Eagles players and coaches from the Junior All-Americans, Collegiate All Americans, Eagles 7s, and XVs. All utilizing the same systems.”
If that isn’t enough incentive to perform at their best, players at the camp are being looked at for scholarships to send them to New Zealand as part of the recent Taranaki agreement with USA Rugby.
“The best of these (players) will be granted scholarships to play in the NZ NPC Development season,” added Magleby. “The rest will be put into the National High Performance Training Program.”
The Stars and Stripes Camp is just a piece of a growing plan to expand player identification and expand opportunities for both players and coaches. Engaging local coaches to help players in their daily training environments allows coaches to also develop and expand their knowledge base. This growth then introduces players on the local level to a higher level of coaching. Which, in turn, produces more skilled athletes at the grassroots levels.
“Improve the one, improve the whole,” is the mantra shared by Magleby.
The Stars and Stripes Camp culminates in the Stars and Stripes Game on Saturday and plans are in place to make that an even bigger event in the future.
“By next year the goal is that the Stars and Stripes matches are played as curtain raisers for an Eagles test match in June,” said Magleby.
The goal is to roll out an entire day of Stars and Stripes matches starting with High School then Junior All Americans followed by Collegiate All Americans, and finishing with an Eagles test match. Discussions have also taken place in regards to the creation of a Senior club version of the Stars and Stripes match.
“Our community then gets to physically see the pathway levels and visually connect the process. Tours would then follow,” said Magleby. “It’s key that we give athletes every opportunity to put their hands up.”
The USA Rugby Stars and Stripes Camp roster is a who’s who of the top collegiate and U20 players in the nation, but there are some lesser known names on the list that can be attributed to the new identification process. All of these players embark on what should be a memorable experience and solidify another piece of the puzzle in the growth of rugby in the United States.
USA Stars and Stripes Camp Roster
| Name | Position | School |
|---|---|---|
| John Abraham | Wing | Dartmouth |
| Jake Anderson | Full back | University of California, Berkeley |
| Zaefala Anderson | Flanker | |
| Dominique Bailey | Flanker | Davenport |
| Josh Bower | Wing | Central Washington |
| Nicklas Boyer | Scrum Half | University of California, Berkeley |
| Sam Cowley | Full back | Life |
| Stephen Dazzo | Center | Dartmouth |
| Scott Dean | Fly half | Central Washington |
| Demitri Diamond | Center | Colgate |
| Ara Elkington | Flanker | Brigham Young University |
| JP Eloff | Fly half | Davenport |
| Alex Faison-Donahue | Wing | Kutztown |
| Cameron Falcon | Hooker | LSU/New Orleans Rugby Club |
| Devereaux Ferris | Scrum Half | Life West |
| Cathal Finneran | Full back | New England College |
| Chad Gough | Hooker | Utah |
| Wes Hartmann | Flanker | Kutztown |
| Junior Helu | Fly half | Life West |
| Lucas Joseph | Hooker | Notre Dame |
| Sebastien Kalm | Lock | Lindenwood |
| Gibson Klapthor | Wing | Furman University |
| James Kondrat | Lock | University of California, Berkeley |
| Niku Kruger | Scrum Half | Kutztown |
| Chris Kunkel | Center | James Madison |
| Tua Laei | Wing | Brigham Young University |
| Clint Lemkus | Prop | Central Washington |
| Ian Luciano | Scrum Half | New England College |
| Okusitino Mafi | Hooker | Life West |
| Peter Malcom | Hooker | Wheeling Jesuit |
| Cooper Maloney | Full back | Saint Mary’s |
| Nick Marmareanu | No. eight | United States Naval Academy |
| Keenan Mayfield | Flanker | Arizona |
| Jack McAuliffe | Fly half | United States Naval Academy |
| Kingsley McGowan | Center | Saint Mary’s |
| Benjamin Mills | Prop | Utah |
| Jeremy Misailegalu | Wing | New Mexico Highlands/Denver Barbarians |
| Luke Mocke | Scrum Half | Brigham Young University |
| Matthew Moore | Center | University of North Alabama |
| Race Noeldner | Center | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Eli Phillips | Prop | University of North Alabama |
| Ryan Pratt | Prop | Saint Mary’s |
| Nemia Qoro | Center | Arkansas State |
| Gabe Ruflin | Lock | Utah |
| Adam Sandstrom | Full back | Arizona State |
| Seb Sharpe | Wing | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Robert Stortz | Wing | Kutztown |
| David Tamilau | Lock | West Texas A&M/San Francisco Golden Gate RFC |
| James Tayson | Fly half | New England College |
| Taylor Thomas | Wing | Utah |
| George Vrame | Prop | University of California, Berkeley |
| Dino Waldren | Prop | Saint Mary’s |
| Kevon Williams | Wing | New Mexico Highlands/Denver Barbarians |
| Lucian York | Wing | University of Northern Colorado |
| Holden Youngert | Scrum Half | Saint Mary’s |
| Juniors (under-20 athletes) | ||
| Chase Bixby | Lock | |
| Hunter Boesch | Flanker | Fairfield University |
| Steven Branham | Hooker | |
| Evan Clark | Scrum Half | |
| Connor Cudeback | Prop | Cal Poly SLO |
| Mario Diaz | Prop | University of Nevada, Reno |
| Mose Fualaau | Center | Life West |
| Jihad Khabir | Fly half | AIC |
| Aaron Matthews | Center | J Serra Cahthoic High School |
| Darien Pickett | Hooker | Grand Canyon |
| Cecil Rich | Prop | Wheeling Jesuit |
| Zack Webb | Center | Lynchburg College |
