Thunderbolt and Lightening

Friday night's St. Thomas-Strake Jesuit match up was picked as the game of the week and it definitely lived up to expectations. Despite recent domination of the series by the Crusaders, there was a large crowd on hand to witness the 45th contest in this storied rivalry. No one left the stadium disappointed, as the game proved to be an exciting affair. Jesuit managed a 38-27 win for their twelfth consecutive victory over the Eagles, but STH ensured the final result was in doubt until the last whistle.

The game was delayed for an hour as a result of storms which produced some intense lightening in the area. It was reminiscent of the game two years ago which was delayed for two-hours before being completed. It is difficult to say how much, if any, the delay effected the teams. One thing is certain, the lightening in the sky was matched by "lightening" on the field as both teams put up a load of points.

The game turned on turnovers and mistakes, with some extremely costly ones being committed by the Eagles special teams. This will be a game of "what ifs" for St. Thomas as they played great football, but repeatedly gave the Crusaders good field position which was used to generate points.

The Eagles took an early fourteen point lead after giving Strake the ball on the opening kickoff. The Crusaders then proceeded to turn the ball over leading to an early Eagles's touchdown. A few plays later linebacker Logan Stryk took a deflected ball in for a 5 yd score and the Eagles were off to a quick lead. The adrenaline began to wear off rapidly however, and after another muffed kickoff Strake managed to score, quickly followed by another touchdown - two scores in less than nine seconds. The Crusaders put in another score early in the second quarter and it looked as if they were going to pull away. However, the Eagles demonstrated their mastery of the spread offense and Hunter Kopycinski lead them on a nifty drive and a score right before the half. With the score tied at 21-21, and less than a minute and a half on the clock, it looked as if the teams would go into the locker rooms tied. Strake then put together a quick drive, capped by a long run from their tailback Jordan Hollingsworth. The Crusaders led 28-21 at the half.

The touchdown before the half was a severe psychological blow to the visitors, one which I am not sure they recovered from. Strake completely dominiated time of possession in the 3rd quarter scoring at the end of a quarter-eating drive. The Eagles would put together a late drive in the 4th quarter which was capped by a brilliant one-hand grab by Ian Stout, but it proved to be too little too late.

Both coaches have to be happy with their team's efforts on Friday night. Coach Counter's crew once again demonstrated character and resilience in coming back from a early STH lead. Crusader QB Hunter Schiro responded to two early and costly interceptions by playing a fantastic game, maintaining his confidence and poise like a veteran. For Coach Hollas and his staff, the defeat was gutting, but his team was extremely competitive and played well enough to win had they not committed so many mistakes. Like the Crusaders, the Eagles had some questions at QB going into the game, but both Fisch and Kopycinski played well. If anything, the game demonstrated that Hollas can used these two players in different roles - Fisch as the running QB and Kopycinski as the passer. Both teams managed to move the ball well and put up points.

However, both coaches also have some major concerns going into this week's games. Both secondaries proved to be very vulnerable (something that hurt STH last season). While the play up front was solid for both teams, they must shore up their coverages before they face their next opponents. The Eagles' running game was also suspect. If you do not have a reliable running game in the spread offense, teams are able to tee off on the passing game. Coach Hollas will need to address this issue if he is going to give his quarterbacks the time they need to run the passing offense. Finally, the Eagle special teams are going to need some major league work. The game's final score rested squarely on the mistakes made by St. Thomas mistakes in the kicking game.

It was a game of mistakes, passion, and excitement. If I am not mistaken it was a giant step in the continued revival of the proud STH football tradition. While there was huge disappointment on the part of the Eagles, however, they must be heartened by the fact that they could have won this game. Strake won its twelfth straight, and Coach Counter and his men demonstrated once again not to take the Crusaders lightly. It will be interesting to watch the season progress and the results of both these squads in 2009.

Coaching a Son

I recently completed an incredible four-year journey with my oldest son Conor. I was privledged to coach him during our program's most successful run. Although I have heard horror stories from coaching colleagues about their experiences with their own sons, mine was exceptional and I head into the 2010 season saddened by his graduation.

Conor was exposed to rugby at a very young age, but did not get actively involved as a player until elementary school when he began playing touch-rugby for the Woodlands RFC. As is often the case, the Woodlands was short on coaches, so I joined the staff on the youth team. An interesting thing happened while we worked together in the Woodlands. I spent a great deal of time working with Conor on his skills, but I developed a player-centered approach with him. At the time I had a very coach-centric approach, and by watching and working with Conor I developed a new and infinitely more valuable way in which to work with players. By giving him and later all my players a major stake-hold in decisions, I saw major growth in their ability to make the correct decisions. Even at a young age I trusted Conor's instinct and as he grew as a player the trust became implicit. It was during this period that we also developed what I call the Dad/Coach - Son/Player relationship. Whenever discussing matches we would always determine whether or not we were discussing as family or as members of the team. We were able to maintain a loving relationship on one side and a business relationship on the other.

I moved to St. Thomas in 2002 (perhaps the greatest professional decision I ever made). Conor entered school as a freshman in 2006, but immediately gained the trust and respect of the coaching staff (under the leadership of my best friend Jim Wolfinger), and proceeded to start and play every minute of every match for the next four years - 74 consecutive matches in which the Eagles won an extraordinary 61. He served as captain of the squad at the National Championships in 2007 as a sophomore and then as full captain during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. While a STH Conor broke every record in the school's record book except for one. What an incredible experience to be able to work and coach any player with this type of skill, but to have him be your son was an unbelievable experience. I have so many brilliant memories from our time together and could not be more proud. One memory which stands out was the 2007 Western Championship in which Conor hit a massive drop-goal at the end of the match for the win. As the post-match chaos broke on to the field, Conor and I found each other and embraced and all time stopped for me. Sharing the excitment, love, glory, and thrill with him was a priceless treasure.

The pride comes not from all his accomplishments, but because of the character, poise, and grace which Conor showed throughout his career. Despite his individual achievements, he maintained a deep sense of humility and his only desire was to see his team win. He gave everything he had toward that end. His opponents feared him, but had a massive amount of respect for him. When he won the Texas Player of the Year award in 2008, he got a standing ovation from his peers which is the ultimate sign of respect.

I would not have traded the opportunity to coach my son for all the money in the world. I like to think I may have helped him develop, but perhaps it was his influence on me that helped me grow more as a coach and person. I got to do something that few dads get to do anymore - spend time with their child. All the conversations, matches, and comraderie are an indelible part of me. Although I am sad I will not longer have the opportunity to be his coach, I watch him leave with a huge amount of pride and the knowledge that he will be a huge success wherever he goes. I can recommend without reservation that Dad/Coach is the best thing that you will ever do. My greatest thrill is that I have two more sons are their way up which will give me an opportunity to experience it all over again!

The Big Step

The Texas Youth Rugby Association and high school rugby took another big step toward maturation as a accepted sport in the Lone Star state this past July. The Texas High School Rugby Conference was officially formed at a general meeting held in Houston. Although the THSRC operated under a semi-official status last season, the coaches put their seal of approval on the new structure - a foundation for the future growth of the high school game in Texas. The new THSRC will be under the overall authority of TYRA, which is a state-based organization (SBO), but will handle all single-school rugby operations.

Why another structure and layer of administration? There was a growing concern among single-school coaches that TYRA was having a difficult time meeting the "administrative" needs of their teams. Single-school teams have a far different framework in which they work than clubs. They must answer to athletic directors, face UIL and TAPPS athletic and academic rules, and individual school rules. In addition, their field times are usually shared with other varsity sports and are scheduled through the athletic directors office. The THSRC will be able to plan, respond to, and organize the single-schools in a manner that is sensitive to the needs of its constituency.

This is the best possible organization for single-schools as they move into a new era of high school rugby. The new THSRC is modeled after the highly successful soccer and lacrosse leagues that came before it. The new organization provides a sense of stability and legitimacy which will foster more growth for the high school game. The organization is divided into easily recognizable districts with a playoff format very similar to football. The hope of THSRC administrators is the new structure will help them gain traction with recalcitrant ADs who in the past have written off rugby because of its haphazard structure.

Perhaps the most important success of the meeting was the spirit of cooperation and common purpose which manifested itself for the first time. Despite a number of spirited disagreements, the different organizations came together in common cause, providing the groundwork for a solid foundation for the future. Much of the credit goes to TYRA President Rick Marshall who fully supported the new setup. Let us hope that for the sake of the game that this cooperation grows and flourishes. First steps are often the hardest, but once made, walking comes easy - kudos to all of the coaches and administrators for their hard-work and commitment to the stability and growth of the high school game.

JB Memorial

The STH Rugby family will be having a memorial for Johnie Brown on Monday night (August 17, 2009) at 7:00 pm in the Reckling Gymnasium. We invite anyone who knew Johnie, but most importantly, all who have played or been a part of Eagle Rugby to come to the event.

Johnie's funeral was held last Friday and was an emotional and yet joyful gathering. JB would be happy to have so many family and friends paying their respect - not for a life lost, but for a life well-lived.

Sneak Peak of Eagle Football

I was downtown this morning for the first intrasquad football scrimmage for the St. Thomas Eagles in 2009. It is clear early in the season that Coach Hollas has his troops feeling much more comfortable with the offense than last year. There is an old adage in football in which the most growth in a program comes between the first and second years - we will see if this is true with Hollas's Eagles, but right now they appear to be on the right course.

In the battle for starting QB, Senior Scooter Fisch looked to have staked a major claim today over his sophomore rival Hunter Kopysinski. Fisch has an impressive arm and good speed. Although he had some difficulty moving the ball against the first defense, there were flashes of great things to come. Kopysinski will be a good one down the road, but could use a year of experience on the varsity working on his progressions before he is fully ready. Fisch is much bigger physically as one would expect with an older player. It will be interesting to see how Fisch, who has not played since his freshman year, adapts to Friday night lights and all the stunts he will see in game one against Strake Jesuit. He definitely has the physical tools and according to the coaches, Scooter is a lead by example player - best of luck to him as the season progresses.

The defense was very impressive. There were a number of very hard hits throughout the morning delivered by Eagle defenders with linebackers Logan Stryk and Kyle Willard standing out. Senior Ian Stout was the recepient of one of the blows and was forced to leave the field. This must be disconcerting for Hollas and his staff as Stout played with an injury most of last season keeping his production down from his breakout sophomore season. They will need a healthy Stout this year. Although there were some breakdowns in coverage, for the most part the secondary was solid. This was a weak spot in the defense last season and the growth of this unit will be the key to any hopes of post-season play for the Eagles.

Coach Hollas and his staff must be pleased with the state of Eagle football at this early stage of the campaign. The offense seems to be much more comfortable with the spread and on defense, schemes have been simplied (and were well-executed during the scrimmage). The pre-season is a time of hope for every program in which all things are possible. The Eagles are determined to win more than two games this year, so hopes are high. Coach Hollas has his crew believing in the system, so opponents should not underestimate the Eagles. Just how far they have progressed will be revealed when the Eagles open against the Strake Jesuit Crusaders on Sept. 28.

Rugby and the Olympics

How important is the fact that rugby is one step away from returning to the Olympics for the first time since 1924? In a word - huge! Rugby in the United States has grown exponentially (at least at the high school level) over the last ten years, but it has not broken into the mainstream in the sporting community. With a single stroke of a pen, rugby will become legitimate in the eyes of the non-rugby world.

The Olympic games are the biggest sporting event in the world and billions of people are glued to televisions every four years. TV=$ The never-ending quest for sponsorships dollars should be eased with rugby joining other sports in the Games. Money and sponsorship will help gain visibility for the Eagle's Sevens squad and the game as a whole.

Today's youth rugby players in the United States now have a major goal to shoot for. Representing one's country at the international level has always been rugby's biggest honor, but now the chance to represent one's country as an Olympian is an even bigger honor.

This is a major step for making rugby a mainstream sport in the United States. The US Eagles Sevens team is always competitive at the international level which will increase the likelihood of viewership back home. Lets not forget that the United States won the last two gold medals in rugby before it was removed from competition. This is an incredible time for rugby fans and we all look forward to the return of the world's greatest game to the world's greatest sporting event!

Read more about rugby's return to the Olympics at: http://www.erugbynews.com/article.php?sec=4&a=5271

Good Bye JB

Johnie Brown will be laid to rest today - be assured that his legacy will be carried on at STH by his friends and players. We will miss you JB - we hope the grass is green and the pitch is soft!

1560 The Game

My broadcasting partner Lonnie King and I will be working our second season together on 1560 this year. Friday night football on the radio - it will be a blast. Lonnie is incredible - a seasoned professional and a fantastic human being. It is honor to be paired up with him and I look forward to a great season together. Our first broadcast is on August 28th - St. Thomas v. Strake Jesuit. An exciting redux of an old rivalry. More on the game later.

Johnie Eldrege Brown

Houston and Texas rugby lost a giant last week with the passing of Johnie JB Brown. Brown died unexpected at the age of 58 and left a huge hole in the rugby community. Best known for his smile and quick embrace, JB was a legend as a player and coach. He was a star for the Houston Old Boys for almost 25 years - a scoring machine and a menace defensively. His ability to go the length of the pitch is still talked about in pubs across the Lone Star State. One can argue that his biggest impact to the game was not as a player, but as a coach and molder of young men. Johnie defined true character and helped instill it in his charges during a ten-year career with St. Thomas High School. He was a major factor in the Eagles rise to national prominence in 2007. From 2007-2009 the Eagles appeared in the State Championship three times (winning back to back titles in 2008 and 2009), three straight Western RFU Regional Championships, and three straight USA National High School finals. Johnie was the Head JV Coach at STH at the time of his death.JB will be sorely missed by family, friends, coaches, players, and the rugby community at large. He was a great man and his influence and spirit will live on through the lives of all the players he touched for some many years. Good bye Johnie - we love you and miss you!