Meet The Team: Coach Marcus Hurley

I first met Coach Marcus Hurley in the summer of 2006 at the Midwest Boys U-19 All-Star Tournament (now RCT). We were patrolling the opposite sidelines as I coached the Illinois Tornados side and he the Midwest U-17 All Stars. The Tornados were victorious on the pitch that day capturing one of 4 consecutive Midwest Championships; both teams were successful in developing players for HSAA consideration. Many of these same athletes would go on to college scholarships at top programs including Life, Davenport, and Arkansas State with some later gaining recognition as Men's Collegiate All Americans.


Since then our paths have crossed several times - I coached Northwestern University Men while he coached at Indiana University. He continued building men's collegiate rugby in the Midwest and regenerated Big Ten Rugby with a pre-season XVs tournament that grew into hotly contested conference play and now a spring 7s championships. That IU team most recently won the fall XVs title and has featured at the USA Sevens Collegiate Rugby Championship notably making it into the Cup Quarterfinals last spring. He is still actively playing and coaching, running camps, coordinating youth rugby, and growing the sport with a new academy coming soon to Indianapolis - so lengthy philosophical chats have strengthened our relationship over the years.

Marcus was a natural choice to join our Stars Rugby 7s coaching staff when family commitments left Coach Joel Bonnaud unable travel for the Las Vegas Invitational. We will miss Joel this tour as his commitment to developing youth rugby and positive, player-focused coaching style has been an asset to our Women's Developmental sides. Yet, I have no hesitations as with Marcus we find a capable coach bringing a wealth of 7s knowledge, game analysis, and player development that matches our mission.

Marcus will lead the Women's 2nd side in the Elite bracket and has spent the last weeks studying the game film of our opposition as well as familiarizing himself players' pre-tour profiles and has been planning sessions with Women's 1st side Coach Liam Hutchinson. Marcus's professionalism and demeanor, his own commitment to growth as a coach and administrator, and history with the game benefit the program. With is academy growing back home this should be a beneficial exchange of coaching/ideas/best practices/players for more decades to come!

Here's more on Coach Marcus:

Marcus Hurley is a professional coach, administrator and general advocate for the sport that he loves, rugby. Marcus has dedicated much of his nearly 20 year coaching career to the growth and development of the youth and collegiate game in Indiana and throughout the Midwest for both men and women.  Marcus founded the Big Ten Universities Rugby Conference, served as head coach of Indiana University Men's Rugby team and has won several championships with Rugby Indiana All-Stars as head coach.  

When not on the sideline, Marcus is coaching his daughters Olivia and Kennedy who he hopes will one day will share his love the game and have the chance to make the same amazing memories and relationships that he has been blessed to make.  

Marcus is currently the Director of Rugby at the University of Indianapolis RFC, and is working with a New Zealand based rugby group toward the launch of his own development academy, LegendBorne Academy in Indiana.  He has long been a fan of the Stars Rugby program and the amazing work of Liz.  Marcus hopes to encourage those working to achieve their goals of competing at the highest levels as well as learn from the players and coaches joining the tour. 

Meet The Team: Coach Nic Benson

Nic Benson joins the Stars Rugby 7s coaching staff as a result of our Stars Rugby XVs match vs the Capital Rugby Union 3 weeks ago. Stars Coach Toga Fanueli (Calgary '15, Las Vegas '16, Vancouver '16) also serves as the head coach of the Capital women's team; he strongly recommended that Nic join our staff.  In a bit of reversal of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" as the Capital centers were a dominant force in the match, it was an easy decision to invite Nic to the staff.

After an hour long phone call last week about our shared passion for the sport of rugby as well as the administrative/media/partnership/sponsorship aspects of running a side like Stars - Nic enrolled at San Diego State for their MBA program in Sports Management - Nic's offer was solodified. He is joining Stars Rugby 7s for the Las Vegas Invitational next week and tournaments beyond. Nic will be supporting all 4 of our Elite teams in Las Vegas and assisting the lead coaches with video analysis, player feedback, and game tactics as well as scouting opposition.

Here's more from Nic in his own words:

Nic has played and coached rugby for more than 20 years. After getting his start at the grade level in Kenya and the UK, he went on to play at Florida State University. He spent the last three years as head backs coach for the Washington Renegades and served as backs coach for the Capital Rugby Union Women's Select Side. Recently relocated to San Diego, Nic is an assistant coach with the Old Aztecs. 

Nic started coaching while he was recovering from an injury and enjoyed teaching the game and helping players develop so much that he never went back.  He is excited to get to know the Stars Family, help provide much needed opportunities for developing players in the US, and to learn from the elite and talented coaches on the Stars team.

Reintroducing Coach Vaha Esikia

The 2014 Tobago 7s tour was a near perfect experience of playing rugby in paradise with training (and recovery) on the beach, KB won the grand finale goat race, our women's developmental team made the Plate final vs Heidi's Heroes from the UK, the men went 6-0 in pool play and the reseeded Cup round to make the Cup Final vs Esher from the UK, and the women's elite team won the Cup Final over Atlantis in a 7-5 thriller! The team bonded over copious amounts of fresh coconut water, team skits, boy bands, rookie traditions, ugly Christmas sweaters and breakdancing with the biggest contribution to the Stars Magic coming from the phenomenal coaching staff!

The Tobago 7s tour saw the return of Stars veteran coaches Orene Ai'i and Liam Hutchinson; with 3 teams entered in the competition, Stars added USA Rugby Eagle XVs veteran player & U-20 coach Vaha Esikia to the mix. The balance of personalities, diverse playing experiences, and the impressive collective rugby IQ of these men provided an optimal training and learning environment for our Stars athletes. Looking back a the rosters, while we had a few "stars" of the game, the majority of our players came from D2 & D3 clubs and the college level and the results in a short time is a credit to the coaching.

Vaha and I have known each other for a few years largely by reputation and then via social media chats and in lengthy phone calls discussing the development, growth, and media for his Las Vegas Rugby Academy. I knew his playing history from the 2007 Rugby World Cup and that he had been a valued coach with the the U-20 Junior World Trophy team. He had reached out for feedback on some players and assistance in recruiting from the Midwest for a U-20 camp and we kept in contact. Bringing him on board for Stars was a no-brainer - his personality and dedication to family fits in perfectly with the Stars vibe and I can confidently say that all of our players enjoyed watching him and Orene pair together to take the field for Team Venezuela!

Vaha had committed to the Selects program for the 2015 Las Vegas Invitational and led their Elite 1 side in tournament play. We greatly missed his presence at the Stars compound and so brainstormed the 1st ever STARBQ to benefit his LVRA programming and bring together the Stars players and coaches playing with other teams for the LVI.

The STARBQ has now become a hallmark of our tours and for every tournament we bring together family and friends and raise money for a local youth rugby initiative. That's pure Vaha - rugby family at its finest. I am proud to announce he will return to Stars for the 2nd half of our 2015 touring season to guide the program from August well into the foreseeable future! We'll miss his presence in Calgary.

Here's his bio:

Vahafolau (Vaha) Esikia is a  native of The Friendly Island of Tonga. He has been a resident of the USA since age 5 and began his rugby career while a sophomore at San Mateo High School. He committed to an hour drive to play rugby for Los Altos High School Rugby Club. As a junior he decided to escalate his knowledge and skill by joining the local San Mateo Rugby Club. At the time the SMRC had several former USA National Team players including Alatini Saulala, Vaea Anitoni and Vuka Tau. After high school Vaha put his rugby career on hold and served a 2 year mission for his church. Upon his return he continued with San Mateo Rugby Club before moving to Las Vegas where he joined the Sin City Irish  for one season and continued with the Las Vegas Blackjacks Rugby Club.


His rugby career for the Eagles began in 2006 with selection for the Pacific Coast Grizzlies ITT All-Star 15s in Florida; his performance at the all-star tournament earned him an invite to play for the NA4 Falcons. Vaha received his first Cap for the Eagles against Ireland A and played his last game for the Eagles in 2008 against Ireland A. He earned 17 caps with USA over the course of his international career. He had the honor of being a member of the USA Rugby World Cup Team in 2007 and started as center in all 4 matches.

In 2009 he started his coaching career when he formed the “Las Vegas Rugby Academy” (LVRA). In 2012 he became the backs coach for the Las Vegas Blackjacks and in the same year he also was named the USA U-20 skills coach. In 2013 he was promoted to head coach for Las Vegas Blackjacks and became a licensed World Rugby Educator. Fall of 2014 saw Vaha add coaching UNLV and make his debut with Stars Rugby 7s.


COACHING CAREER
Las Vegas Rugby Academy: Director of Rugby 2009 – Present
USA U-20 Rugby: Skills Coach 2012 & 2013
Las Vegas Blackjacks: Head Coach 2013
     Backs Coach 2012 & 2014
Selects 7s: Elite 7s Head Coach 2013-2015
UNLV: Head Coach 2014- Present
Stars Rugby 7s: Women's Coach 2014
     Men's & Women's Coach 2015 - Present


PLAYING CAREER
International & All-Star:
USA Rugby Men’s National Team XVs
     *17 Caps 2006- 2008
USA Falcons
     *NA4 2nd Place 2006-2008
Pacific Coast Grizzlies XVs 2002-2007
     *ITT National Champions 2002-2005, 2007
     *3rd Place 2006
Pacific Coast Grizzlies 7s
     *ITT National Champions 2002-2004
     *2nd Place 2005 & 2006

Clubs:
Las Vegas Blackjacks 2009-Present
     *2010 USA Men's Division 1 National Champions 15s
     *2009 2nd Place
San Mateo Rugby Club 1996-2003, 2006-2007
     *2001 & 2002 USA Men's Division 1 National Champion 15s
     *2003 2nd Place
     *1998 - USA Club 7s National Champions
Las Vegas Blackjacks Rugby Club 2005
Sin City Irish Rugby Club 2004
Los Altos High School 1995-1998

Stars Bring On Palmer College of Chiropractic Coach Joe Lippert

It is easy to look at Stars Rugby 7s as a vehicle solely for player development but one of the other key aspects is in coaching opportunities. Nearly every rugby player in the USA has been part of a practice where perhaps 10 players are at a training because of weather, work or personal obligations - and that will continue as long as rugby is an amateur, mostly club level sport. We all began as crossover athletes and rookies to rugby and nearly every fall and spring 15s season and summer 7s cycle begins with an influx of new players, going back to the basics of the game, and slowly evolving with the goal of hitting peak performance at that season's national championship only to reset once again the next season. The continuum of player and team development is full of stops, starts and unknowns. 

To give coaches the opportunity to work with athletes with guaranteed numbers and discipline at practice, with the ability to plan sessions anticipating a level of athleticism, ball handling & tackling, and to provide coaches the chance to develop their own skills with each tour is a valuable tool. On Stars tours coaches get to focus and ONLY coach rather than serve as recruiters, scouts, administrators, travel coordinators, videographers and financiers. Some of our coaches get to "coach up" beyond the college or local club level. Some get to focus on pure 7s tactics. Some get the challenge of working with a different gender, with different players outside of their regions, or to experiment with different systems. And they get to reassess and deploy their tactics in a controlled environment and in organized tournament settings over the course of a few days of play. Having USA Rugby's Director of Coach Development Josh Sutcliffe as a part of our coaching team has been a huge asset; having instant access to his suggestions, thoughts, and feedback has improved our staff and provided practical opportunities for additional development as well as long term dialogs. The more coaches we can integrate into Stars with both fantastic rugby experiences and a passion to learn as a coach, the better. Ultimately we want to refer coaches for additional opportunities like Elite City 7s, the new women's elite coaching opportunities via the revived NASC weekends, or for Hawks & Falcons tours!

Joe Lippert is a coach I've known for several years in the Midwest; I have been constantly impressed with the success he has achieved on the pitch as player in 15s and 7s (including playing for Stars Coach Sam's Youngbloodz 7s program that has included Stars players Kaelene Lundstrum, Ashley Perry, Pate Takeivikata, Carter Beelman and Lee Hoskins) and in leading teams from the sidelines. Just barely 30 years old, Joe has consecutive national playoff appearances under his belt as the coach of the Wisconsin Rugby Club and a USA Rugby Men's Division 2 National Championship title. 

Joe has moved on from our Wisconsin days to take on the prestigious post of coaching Palmer College of Chiropractic (following fellow Stars Coach NeMani) which for years led the Midwest Division 1 Men's Club ranks with a string of USA Rugby Sweet 16 and Final Four appearances. Joe has been key in developing their new women's club side and we have chatted many a time about players and recruitment opportunities. I cannot think of another young coach that has accomplished as much as Joe and Stars will give him the chance to focus again on 7s as, to date, Palmer has been a 15s-only program. He'll be a stellar addition to our coaching staff and be able to provide many of our athletes with the chance explore Palmer's academic opportunities and rugby scholarships!

Joe sent his rugby bio:

Playing

2003-2008 University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Captain, Club President

2007 & 2008 WI Collegiate Select Side

2008-2011 Eastside Banshees

2008-2011 YoungBloodz 7s

2012-2013 Wisconsin Rugby Club 7s

2007-present Bangkok Southerners, Annual Player & Tourist

Coaching

2007-2008 UW-Eau Claire Player-Coach

2009 & 2010 WI Collegiate Select Side Assistant  

& Head coach

2011-2013 Wisconsin Rugby Club Head Coach

     *2012 National Runners-Up Division 2 Men's Club

     *2013 National Champions D2 Men's Club

2014-present Palmer College of Chiropractic,  

Head Coach Men’s D1 & Women’s D2

I want to join the Stars Family because…Touring rugby changed my life for the better and I want to contribute and facilitate similar experiences for talented young American rugby players.  Stars Rugby has quickly established itself as a top touring side and a special group of people.  Seeing the camaraderie on display in Las Vegas and in the program’s social media updates has given me great vibes and made me hungry to tour and coach in the high-performance environment Stars Rugby competes in.  Talented young American ruggers deserve the opportunity to compete with and against the best.  I look forward to being a part of America’s fastest-growing elite rugby touring side/family.  Hopefully, I can open the door (and offer scholarships!) to some talented Stars who may be interested in chiropractic as a future career.  

Stars Rugby 7s Returns Coach Joel Bonnaud for Stampede 7s Tour

Stars Rugby 7s is proud to return Coach Joel Bonnaud to the staff for Calgary Stampede 7s. I came to know Joel quite well as my club 7s coach with the Columbus-based W1823 7s side. We've amassed plenty of time together on the road traveling to qualifier tournaments around the Midwest 7s series and off-season trips to New York 7s & Atlanta 7s.

His passion for the game, strong relationships with the players, and tireless efforts in providing year-round programming for our club made him a clear choice as a coach for the Stars team. Plus he has tutored us in French, hosted our team for Thanksgiving dinner, for barbecues & team bonding, all while demonstrating remarkable patience & calm and a fantastic sense of humor.

Joel shared his bio and coaching philosophy:

Joel grew up in the South West of France (Toulouse area) – an undeniable rugby stronghold – and was then involved in the game very early on, reaching the Federale 1 level (top amateur level) in his Senior years.In 2005, Joel and his family moved to the NYC metro area and a couple of years later, he decided to start giving back and share his passion by opening his own youth rugby club, Try Rugby.


Moving once more in 2011 to New Albany, OH, Joel kept running his youth club, but also started coaching women's college D1 rugby at The Ohio State University Women’s RFC. In two seasons with the team he led the squad to CRC 7s championship match and consecutive appearances in the USA Rugby Collegiate 7s Nationals Elite 8.

In 2014, merging efforts with the prestigious Tiger Rugby, Joel not only launched the Tiger Youth Rugby Academy (opened to all Grades, Boys and Girls, with its own facilities), but also created the women’s club 7s team “W1823”.

After a successful first Midwest Competitive Summer, W1823 went on to participate in New York 7s, Atlanta 7s. Several players had the great opportunity to play for Stars Rugby in Tobago 7s, Vegas 7s and as well join the American Rugby Pro Training Center high performance 7s camps. In February 2015, Joel had the privilege to coach one of the Stars Rugby Elite Women’s teams in Vegas.




Joel’s coaching philosophy focuses on player development, which is why he founded W1823 and joined Stars Rugby: “Outcome only is a byproduct of content. The goal isn’t then to collect easy wins in order to show a nice record, but to evolve in an environment of excellence, surrounding yourself with the best and playing against the best…There is no better reward than watching players and team as a whole continuously reaching new heights and pushing their limits."

Stars Rugby 7s Adds Coach NeMani Delaibatiki

For Release 04.30.15 -

Stars Rugby 7s is pleased to announce the addition of NeMani Delaibatiki to our coaching staff.

Coach NeMani Delaibatiki (Mani) is currently the director of rugby at Arkansas State University through June 2015. He played over 25 years of rugby including premier rugby in New Zealand and stints in Italy and Australia. This led him to the United States in 2003 to play for Philadelphia, Belmont Shore, and Palmer College of Chiropractic before turning his focus to coaching. He coached Palmer to several USA Rugby Sweet 16 appearances in 15s as well as trip to a USA Men's Division 1 Club Final Four in 2010. Palmer went on to consecutive Final Fours in 2011 and 2012 under the guidance of his good mate Luke Stringer.

At Arkansas State University Coach Mani had the luxury of recruiting and coaching some of the best collegiate rugby athletes in the country. Arkansas State has been undefeated in rugby 7s for the last three years and are the reigning back-to-back USA Rugby Collegiate 7s National Champions. The Red Wolves have repeatedly reached the Final Four for 15s with the exception of spring 2015 - attributed to the high injury toll.

In February 2015 Coach Mani took his young 7s team, led by key seniors Tom Haussrer and Dylan Carrion, to compete in the Las Vegas Invitational alongside the USA 7s stop of the World Sevens World Series. The Red Wolves won the Cup Championship of the tournament, playing in front of a sold out stadium crowd for the final, wherein they qualified for the CRC 7s tournament in May 2015. The Red Wolves will travel to Philadelphia's PPL Park and play against some of the biggest names in college rugby including Life University, Cal-Berkeley, Air Force, Dartmouth.

The fall of 2014 brought Arkansas State's first ever women's rugby team, another program led by Coach Mani. The team has competed in multiple 15s matches and 7s tournaments this spring and expects to grow to a level on par with the men's program.

Coach Mani shares, "I am very excited to be part of the Stars Rugby 7s program as one of the coaches to Canada and am looking forward to working with the players that are selected. I hope I can bring something to the table that can add to the existing spark and high standards and can't wait to get started."

Stars Director Liz Entwhistle added, "I am thrilled to bring in a coach of Mani's caliber to the program. Arkansas State University Rugby has a legacy of producing the finest rugby players with several All Americans and national titles to their name. I have a high level of respect for Coach Mani and Red Wolves Rugby and look forward to the developmental work he'll undertake with our athletes to raise the level of competition for Stars Rugby 7s."

About Stars Rugby 7s: Stars Rugby 7s was founded in November 2013 with the mission of developing rugby 7s players in elite tournament settings. Teams compete in multiple high performance assemblies and international tournaments each year with a deep talent pool combining internationally capped 7s and 15s players, elite prospects, athletically gifted players new to the game of 7s, and crossover athletes. There is a major focus on recruiting players that lack regular exposure to high level coaching /playing opportunities due to geographic restraints and the lack of resources which varies greatly throughout the United States. While mostly US based, the Stars rosters include players from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK and welcomes any players committed to the team and rugby camaraderie. Tours have included the Las Vegas Invitational, Calgary Stampede 7s, Australia Central Coast 7s, Tobago 7s, and Atlanta 7s with numerous championship appearances and titles won.

A Word From Our Coach: More From Andy Katoa

Full disclosure: I met Coach Andy via Twitter. We were favoriting and retweeting all things rugby back and forth, then progressed to direct messages, then emails and actual phone calls to discuss the world of rugby 7s, of training, coaching and developing athletes, of observations of the iRB Sevens and more. Thank goodness for social media!

Andy has worked with several of the players you'll see on the pitch this weekend at Gold Coast 7s. He has spent significant time in player development and identifying talent as an assistant at the High School All American level with Salty Thompson, in coaching the highly regarded University of Arizona rugby 7s team that produced recent Eagles Peter Tiberio, Brett Thompson and Ryan Matyas, and as the manager for the USA 7s men's team.

 He was highly involved in getting Carlin Isles to crossover into rugby 7s - it's worth noting that Andy is somewhat of a crossover himself having played collegiate football and being drafted by the San Diego Chargers in 1991. Andy coached Isles at the club level to prepare him for his Eagles 7s contract, working on development when Isles first stepped on the pitch with the Gentlemen of Aspen. The likes of Mike Palefau, Maka Unufe, Leonard Peters and Pila Taufa are former/current Eagles whom have flourished under Andy's guidance. Andy is additionally veteran of a few rugby 7s touring sides and led the Gentlemen of Aspen to a USA Rugby Club 7s National Championship in 2008.

 Grantland's Video: The Fastest Man In Rugby Carlin Isles

 features Coach Andy and his role in developing Isles for the Eagles

This summer Andy recommended several athletes for our Stars program and assisted with some of our funding work for the Calgary Stampede 7s tour. As we spent more and more time discussing the direction and potential of the Stars program, I threw it out that he should join us on a tour as a guest coach. I was a little shocked and beyond thrilled that he said yes not just to our Australia tour but for Tobago 7s and beyond. "Liz, I want to be your Stars men's coach," still echoes in my mind; his commitment becomes even more meaningful given that he was recently named the  Head Coach for the Tonga 7s.

Andy led a the Tonga team into the Oceania 7s tournament last week where he debuted two 19 year olds in the flyhalf and center positions after only having two weeks to evaluate talent and make selections. The young team, which included Star player Eddie Paea, had its trials. Tonga drew a difficult pool of Australia, Samoa and New Caledonia yet still advanced to the Cup Quarterfinals and eventually place 6th. Their appearance in the Plate Final  earned Tonga a spot at Hong Kong 7s.

Eddie commented on Andy's amazing knowledge of the game and on how much the players appreciated his coaching. Andy reported, "It's been a great experience so far with these kids...loads of talent here and in Tonga. I've been given clearance to full access of kids in NZ and Australia. It will make Tonga that much better." 



Here's a quick message from Coach Andy:

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to say hello and that I'm really looking forward to spending time with the Stars 7s in Australia. We know that Liz has been working hard on putting together a mixture of young talent for CCS 7s, soI am really excited to see how we will be able to come together as team and focus on the task at hand.

The focus is for us to do the simple things real well. TACKLE, support, pass, catch, run. We will have about 5 solid days to work out our points of play. With everyone coming in well-conditioned we will be able to execute the basic things at an accelerated pace. This will make things a lot easier on all of us.

Coach Orene and I are really excited to be with the Stars and know the experience will benefit us all. Everyone keep up the hard work and keep the fitness up. We'll see you all soon.

Thank you,

Andy

Counting this as Drew Brees, Carlin Isles and Darren Sproles 

wishing Stars Rugby 7s good luck!

A Word From Our Coach: More from Orene Ai'i

The last few weeks leading up to Central Coast 7s has been spent finalizing our touring plans and planning training sessions, which means I am chatting (or tweeting) daily with our coaches Andy Kotoa and Orene Ai'i. It's a testament to our players and our program that these men are working with our USA side, bringing years of international coaching and playing experience to develop players and guide them to reach their full rugby 7s potential. 

I asked Orene to send in an update regarding his interest in the program - why is he keen to be a Star and return to CC7s? He'll be joining us for this tour after finishing play in Kuala Lumpur for the Agong Cup with Sabah Rugby and come time for Tobago 7s in December, he'll be joining us straight from Dubai!

Here's his update:

Hi My name is Orene Ai'i (Renz),

 
Really looking forward to coaching the Rugby Stars 7s at the CC7s tournament next month. I'm excited at the opportunity to coach some very keen and young players and hopefully pass on some tips to further their rugby development.

With rugby 7s being an Olympic sport now, a lot of emphasis has gone into developing the game worldwide and I feel that this opportunity to coach the Rugby Stars 7s team is a great way to give back and to develop some young prospects in the game at all levels. 

 Having been to the CC7s before as a player I'm looking forward to going again this time as a coach...I know how competitive this tournament is and I think it's great that more and more teams are getting involved because although everyone's there to compete and win, it's still a lot of fun That's what sets 7s rugby apart from 15s...it's a whole spectacle. 

See you soon CC7s!!!

Cheers!!
Orene

Brief Update and Coaching Announcement

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:

Hurricanes - 1999
Auckland Blues - 2000,2001,2003,2004,2005,2012
Crusaders - 2002
Auckland NPC - 1998 - 2005 - 2013
Auckland 7s - 1996 - 2005
Toulon (France) 2007-2009
Toyota Rugby Club ( Japan) 2005 - 2007 - 2009 - 2012

 

International Teams:

Samoa - 1998

New Zealand 'A' - 2001
New Zealand 7s - 1999 - 2005

Achievements:

IRB 7s Player Of The Year - 2005
ProD2 Player Of The Year - 2009 (France)

USA Rugby/Serevi Advanced 7s Coaching Course in Vegas

From USA Rugby:

Dear coaches,

There are only two weeks left to register for the Serevi/USA Rugby Advanced Sevens Coaching Clinic in Las Vegas. This is a great opportunity to take your coaching to the next level with instruction from world-class coaches and players. The two-day course is January 22 and 23 with skill and strategy sessions led by sevens legends Waisale Serevi (Fiji) and Ben Gollings (England). The clinic will be a blend of group discussions, small-group breakouts and practical rugby sessions facilitated by the outstanding Serevi staff of Richie Walker, Justin Fitzpatrick, Emilie Bydwell, Pate Tuilevuka and Matt Trouville. As with previous Serevi clinics in Las Vegas, this is a great opportunity to build your rugby knowledge with more advanced theory and techniques. 

For all active coaches, the clinic is an opportunity to obtain all 10 Professional Development Credits required to keep your certification active for the 2014-15 membership cycle. USA Rugby High Performance and Coach Development staff will be present to answer any questions you may have about the coaching development pathway. With only a few spots open, register today to take advantage of this great opportunity!
See you there,

David McCann
USA Rugby Coach Development Director

And from Waisale Serevi and Ben Gollings:

A LETTER FROM THE LEGENDS

COME LEARN WAISALE SEREVI'S VISION FOR THE GAME WORK WITH BEN GOLLINGS ON GAME MANAGEMENT AND DECISION MAKING

Dear Elizabeth, It is with much excitement that we offer you the opportunity to join us in Las Vegas for our 7s Coaching Course. We have designed the course around you, the coach. In a workshop format, you will work with a team to solve problems and come up with skills/drills to help better your knowledge and understanding of the game and improve your delivery and application. We are often asked: “if we use these drills will it make our players better?”.  Our answer is “it will -- but only so far.” Coaches also need to understand how to manipulate and tweak drills to drive new learning processes and to get new reactions. This course will help you do that. We will challenge you to challenge your team. We want to help you get the best out of them and to create a winning team. We look forward to seeing you there and seeing you grow as a coach. To register today, click here. All the best,

Waisale Serevi          Ben Gollings

EXCLUSIVE OFFER FOR ALL ATTENDEES

Our partner World Rugby Shop has given us the opportunity to offer an exclusive deal on Adidas team wear and training tops to this course's attendees. Get your teams kitted in the Adidas wear the pros use, and when you order 22 or more kits, you will receive FREE Serevi training shirts! Details on how to capitalize on the offer will be given out to attendees at the course.

Coach's Corner: Meet Eyal

Over the course of the Stars founding chats, John Tinsley introduced me to Eyal Hakim out of Florida where he coaches Florida Atlantic University Women and plays for the Boca Raton Men's club. As it turns out Eyal and I share much of the same rugby network so it's fairly inevitable that we'd meet at some point; almost every interaction has involved a "do you know Joe Rugby in California? Or Jane in New York" to mutual discovery of "yes"; the "nos" become quick new contacts and friends in typical rugby fashion.

It was a match made in rugby heaven as we share much of the same philosophies when it comes to principles of play, game strategy (although Eyal has a crazy focus on re-starts - I hear about it daily), team building, and tradition. It's evident that he cares greatly about his own players and about the growth of women's rugby in Florida; the efforts he puts in as a volunteer coach, administrator, fundraiser are mind-bogglingly impressive. Bottom line: Eyal is one of the rugby good guys.

Additionally, having an experienced 7s specialist as a coach is a blessing for the team - plus it allows me to focus on playing, a hand in organizing logistics, and gives another set of eyes when it comes to selections. Plus I was even able to get him some playing time between our games in Vegas with the Sexy Manatees touring side from Calgary (friends from my travels the last 2 years to play at Stampede 7s and the brother team to another of my touring sides, the Sexy Mermaids). Eyal shares my same enthusiasm for growing this team into something sustainable and we've played off each other's energy and visions such that a business plan is in the works to incorporate the Stars into something large and long-lasting.

Here's Eyal's story:

After a career playing football in Texas, I began my rugby career as a lowly wing/fullback trying to learn the game with a bunch of amazing players. I have had the benefit over the course of 20 years in the game to play with some of the best in the country - from playing with Texas A&M University to club level with New York Athletic Club and Boca Raton Rugby.  I've also had the chance to play with the South Men's All-Stars and West Developmental sides.



Being around these players helped motivate me to play better and accomplish more on a larger stage. The pursuit of high level rugby led to athletic travels around the world with Boroughmuir Rugby in Edinburgh, Scotland and being capped for Israel's National Team. After returning to the States, I am trying to give back to the rugby community that I so very love.

I began coaching the FAU Women’s Team roughly 2 years ago and have seen growing success from these young women, but with that success also comes a want for more. The team  has quickly grown and we have our sights set on the D2 National Championship tournament this spring. 

In initial conversations with Liz I brought forth the idea of having players that are from lower caliber rugby areas playing with high level players to see what happens. This has turned into what Liz and I are hoping will be a full program to start allowing women’s players from areas without a lot of high level rugby to have the chance to see how they fit into the spectrum of the rugby world. Vegas means a huge deal to me because I will be able to see how the girls I have coached step up to the challenge of a high level of rugby.