I was privileged to be a part of last weekend's Texas High Performance Collegiate Rugby assembly in Austin. The assembly is the first of two that determines the Texas Collegiate All-Star team (the second assembly will be held in Houston on Oct. 3). It is always exciting to get the opportunity to work with such a fine bunch of athletes!
Saturday's session went from 8:00 until 6:00, with the long-training day being compounded by the rain which fell all day long. Although one might suspect that Burr Field would be in pour condition after all the water, it held up extremely well and was in the best shape I have ever seen it. The players shrugged off the conditions and had an exceptional day of training. They put in a tremendous amount of work and one could see a great deal of improvement from the beginning until the end of the day. Perhaps what impressed me most was the ability of all the players to adapt and learn new concepts and drills quickly and efficiently.
Working with Director of TRU High Performance Michael Engelbrecht is always a treat. He is without a doubt one of the finest coaches in the United States and anyone who works with him learns a great deal. What I like most about Michael is his personality. He is a fantastic gentleman and in my experience, always kind and courteous to everyone he deals with. While he expects his players to perform at a extremely high-level, he never resorts to shouting and screaming. I would say his body of work demonstrates that you can be a good man and a successful coach at the same time.
Sunday's matches were spectacular results for squads that had one day to train. The opponents on Sunday were the Austin Huns and Austin Blacks. The collegiates won both matches putting up over 40 points in each game and giving up only 7. The rugby was hard and at times ferocious, but the collegiates met every challenge their veteran opponents could throw at them.
What was most exciting about the weekend was the fact that close to 90% of the college players who were there were ex-high school players. This is an amazing change from just a few years ago. The growth of the youth game is beginning to make a larger impact of the game as a whole and all the high school programs should be commended for the yeoman's work in this area.
On a similar note, at one stage in Sunday's match against the Blacks, the Texas squad had no less than four US Age Grade National Team players on the field - Andres Diaz (A&M), Hamish Roberts (A&M), Curtis Chaffin (Katy), and Conor Mills (A&M). In addition, A&M's Chris Parker, another All American, was on the sideline due to injury. In addition, Zac Mizell (Dallas Harlequins), was a Super League player. There is some major young talent in Texas right now.
Fun and exciting rugby and a fantastic weekend all around. It will be great to watch as this squad continues to take shape over the next month.
