It has been a huge month (and summer really) for Stars Rugby 7s. I apologize for the lack of posting, but when summer 7s comes nearly all attention turns to the pitch, to training, and to rugby travel. There will be a big recap of all the action as we traveled between regional qualifying 7s action, the
USA Rugby National Club 7s Championships in Seattle,
Serevi Rugbytown 7s in Denver, and the
Women's High Performance 7s Camp hosted at the American Pro Rugby Training Center in Little Rock, AR.
These past 3 months have been a whirlwind of 7s activity for many of players as well with several athletes attending Serevi residency camps, the HP7s camp in Arkansas, and others invited to week-long stints at the Olympic Training Center with the Eagles. Nearly every player competed at the club and representational levels at tournaments across the US - as well as a few abroad. And we're honored that Canada Star
Nia Williams was named Women's MVP of the Club 7s National Championships, on her 21st birthday no less!
With all this action and travel, scouting and recruiting, our rosters are nearly set for
Central Coast 7s in October and the reveal will include several names familiar to rugby fans in America. Our Tobago 7s invites were also released last week and I'm thrilled that nearly half the spots for 2 men's and 2 women's teams have already been taken. The growth and future of our program is bright.
And now the big news: Stars Rugby 7s has been working hard over the last few months in also developing coaches that can guide our athletes to the next level. We are thrilled to introduce Andy Katoa and Orene Ai'i as coaches for the Stars program:
Andy Katoa
 |
| Andy Coaching in Aspen |
Andy
Katoa
has
been
an
indispensable
resource
for
the
USA Men’s Rugby 7s
program
since
2007.
Katoa
served
as
an
assistant to
Al
Caravelli
from
2008–2011,
and as team manager with
Alex
Magleby
from
2012–2013.
Katoa’s
other
responsibilities
included player
identification
and
development.
 |
| On tour with Atlantis 7s (and a few rugby legends), Argentina 1997 |
As
the
Gentlemen of Aspen
7s
head
coach
from
1999
–2011
Katoa
dedicated
himself
to
creating
a
strong
and
competitive
team. His
Aspen
7s
team
qualified
for
the
National
Championship
competition
every
year
under
Katoa’s
direction
and
in
2008
they
won
the
National Championship.
The
team
played
in
the
final
in
2009
and
lost
in
the
semi-‐final
game
in
2010.
 |
| With Ata Malifa and Dallen Stanford at the 'Play On' premier |
Today
Katoa
continues
to
build
USA
Rugby
by
coaching, recruiting
and
developing
players
for USA U-18's All American program. He is also involved with Eagle Impact Academy and coaches 7s with
University of Arizona Men's Rugby.
Orene Ai'i
Name: Orene Ai'i
Nickname: Renz
Playing History:
International Teams:
Samoa - 1998
New Zealand 'A' - 2001
New Zealand 7s - 1999 - 2005
Achievements:
