still undefeated...

At the mid-season mark, the Spartans remain undefeated.

The boys played very poorly against an upstart Wando team Feb. 25 at Lugoff, but managed a 7-0 win anyway.

A week later, we got back on track with a 24-0 win at Gilbert. Conner Campbell had a good day, scoring two trys. Zach Roberts did a fair job of distributing the ball and scored a try. The game started a bit slow, but we found our pace late, distributed the ball and spread the field. We took a step forward but we need to do a better job rucking. And our tackling was high.

In the coming weeks, our schedule will be more demanding. We play Greenville next Friday. After that we face a very good Easley team.

Spartans 27 Lugoff 5

The Greer Spartans took another step last Friday with a 27-5 win over Lugoff-Elgin. Ian Gilliand, a winger, scored his first try of the season to get the team rolling. The squad held a 15 point advantage at halftime. The trys were evenly distributed among forwards and backs.

Again, the Spartans were able to use some crafty kicking and hard-charging forward play to keep LE off balance. I was particularly pleased that we achieved this victory despite being down five players. We were missing our starting prop, wing and fullback. And our hard-charging center, Jacob Cook, had to leave at the 20 minute mark, which left us with no substitutes.

We have won a few close contests, so Friday’s game marked the first time the team was able to spread the field and open up the game. They are learning – recycle the ball quickly – and you will find an opening. They are also beginning to believe in themselves.

With the exception of Phillip Rogers, our speediest player, we should be full strength this Friday as the Spartans take on Wando at Lugoff Elgin High School. Kick off is 7:30 p.m.

Spartans 7 Brookland-Cayce 0

Our boys captured the Spartans first-every victory Friday with a 7-0 win over an athletic B-C squad. Giandre Acosta scored a try off a 5 meter scrum midway through the first half. Peter Nelson connected on the conversion.

The Greer team nearly scored a few times in the second half but were a pass or knock-on away from putting the game away. For their part, B-C played the Spartans even in the line-outs and scrum downs. But they were relatively easy defend and our opponents seldom spun the ball wide or kicked.

It was scrappy, but the team gutted out a win. I am pround of the boys and am especially pleased for the guys who returned to the team this year after perservering a really hard innaugural 0-8 season.

We are getting there. Next up: Lugoff Elgin

Greer vs Greenville Act II

In a short practice-scrimmage, the Greer Spartans piled on a lot of points against the Greenville B team (some 40-0) then fell short against Red Raider A team 12-0.

I thought we made great strides this week, even though our attendance at practice was poor. Our rucking was greatly improved and we moved the ball in a much more fluid manner. For the most part out set pieces looked solid, despite being down a prop and lock. It was a good day.

Greenville picked up their first try on a quick tap, catching our boys off guard. On the second, they were the beneficiary of a questionable forward pass and knock on. No matter. Last year, Greenville pushed us around. They took our line outs, rolled over our scrums and ran through us. This year it’s different. We held our own and stood up to them. They failed to mount much offensive rhythm, too.

To be sure, they are more established. They have 50-something players and a state championship to their history. And they remain better than us. But we are closing the gap. How far we close between now and season finale against them will directly be directly related to our level of work and commitment.

Possession on Tuesday.

Good news...sort of

The game Friday night has been postponed.

The weather should be torrid tomorrow. I know that we have a number of boys who are sick with the flu. And we have a few folks with some injuries. This, too, will give us more time to get better. Our learning curve -- if we work hard and get everyone to practice -- will be shorter than every other team. If it is not, then we are not doing our jobs as coaches.

That said, I do not want us to be idle this week. It is suppossed to be fantastic Sunday, so I am working with Coach Reid (Greenville) to get a game with them on Sunday afternoon at Furman..will try to work it around the super bowl. It will not "count". As we say in Rugby it will be a friendly. More info on that as it becomes available.

And since we don't have a game Friday, we can run a robust, physical practice this afternoon. Gentlemen, bring your mouthgaurds!! And get your dues in!!!

Spartans 7 Chapin 7

Of course, half of our team taking the field against Chapin was playing their first game. And our backline was minus two very good athletes.

I concede our inexperience and lack of depth. But that’s still no excuse for sloppy play. Our forwards tossed balls into the air at the breakdown. Our backline defense played as individuals, at times, seeking the big hit or interception instead of moving up together in a cavalry line. And we had folks freelancing. Our 10 gets binned for pushing, a retaliation aginst a Chapin kid who shoved one of our boys.

We started off well. A well timed kick to space, the ball bounces inside the five meter line. A short time later, our 9 slips through the defenders and scores a try. Conversion is good.

After that we sputtered and failed to muster any cohesive office.

In short, we need to calm down. Set the ball. Ruck over the opposing team. And have good balance at the tackle point.

Despite our errors, we had a chance to win at the end of the game. But what happened in those waning seconds was illustrative of our failures. With the ball on Chapin’s five meter-line and our team pressing, we had a game plan..slow, prodding, rucking…it is indefensible if you run it correctly. We preach patience. We teach teamwork. But one of our guys picks up the ball up and tries to be the hero by doing the impossible.

He got stuffed. And our team got stuffed. The long whistle. And we lost..well a tie, really.

To be sure, this player had an overall solid game. And there were many other glaring errors. I don't mean to pick on him. But this moment really capsulates our problems. These can all be repaired with time. And it will start this week at practice…Possession drill. Bring your mouth guards and prepare for fun!

First game this Friday

The Greer Rugby Spartans will travel to Chapin Friday to take on the Chapin Eagles, a state power in high school rugby. Our game will kick-off at 7:30 and we'll depart from East Riverside Park around 4:20. Everyone should meet there before departure. Before our game, Chapin will take on Spring Valley at 6 p.m. I do not want any players driving to away games. The Eagles will feed the boys hotdogs following our game and there will be medical personnel at the pitch in case of injury. Direction to field, can be found at the Chapin website.

great job and more...

The boys did an incredibly great job during the jamboree. For more than half the team, it was thier first taste of rugby. We ran away from Greenville2 some 25-0. Against Easely, we had the ball in thier half nearly the entire game but fell short on penalty kick, 3-0.

Against Greenville A, we played them even. But they scored a try and were ahead 5-0 when the game ended. There were only 20-minute halves. And there was much stoppage as the officials explained rule violations to new players. Looking ahead the games should be much more fluid and fast-paced. It is important to note that Easley crushed us by 50-something points last spring and Greenville by an equal margin. We will be good. Must keep working.

We will have practice Sunday at3 p.m. at East Riverside.

Also, there is rugby tournament at Furman this Saturday. Here is the schedule:
Teams
Pool A

1 UNCG
2 Furman
3 App-State B

Pool B

4 App State
5 CoC
6 Citadel

Schedule

10 a.m.1 v 2
10:50 4 v 5
11:40 1 v 3
12:30 4 v 6
1:20 2 v 3
2:10 5 v 6
3:00 3rd v 3rd (if we are running behind -- it gets dark at 5:30 -- this game may be eliminated by the tourney director)
3:50 2nd v 2nd
4:40 1st v 1st

Sunday practice and jamboree

East Riverside Park is closed. We will practice at Furman (at the rugby field which is next to the football stadium) on Sunday 3-5 p.m. Those needing a ride meet at East Riverside park at 2:30. Bring recruits.

Remember, get registered with USA Rugby.

The jamboree schedule (on Monday) is:
2:30 - Greenville 1 vs. Easley
3:00 - Greenville 2 vs. Greer
3:30 - Easley vs. Greer
4:00 - Greenville 1 vs. 2
4:30 - Greenville 1 vs. Greer
5:00 - Greenville 2 vs. Easley

Jamboree Schedule, CIPP, uniforms

The Upstate Jamboree, originally scheduled for Saturday at Sirrine Stadium, has been moved to Furman. The games will be 2:30-5:30 p.m. MONDAY. This will give the field plenty of time to dry out. Depending on field conditions, we may practice Sunday at East Riverside...probably 3-5 p.m. I will let everyone know by Saturday night the status of Sunday's practice. If we do practice Sunday, it very important that all attend. Again, our practice on the football field at East Riverside Park.

If we played today, the following folks would take the field: Andrew Alvarado, Djeki Bidjerano, Markail Drake, Zach Roberts, Carter Verrilli. 15 against 5. We would be crushed. These are the only players who have registered with USA Rugby. This is a liability issurance. The league requires it. The refs require it. You need to get your kids registered this tonight. If we don't get our players registered by Saturday, we won't be able to play Monday.

It is $20. For directions, go to the Player and Parent Form.

History of Rugby

Some great stuff.

This week and jamboree

Well, mother nature has conspired against us this. Practice is cancelled tomorrow due to wet fields. The Jamboree on Saturday at Sirrine has been called off for the same reason. HOWEVER, it has been rescheduled for MONDAY at Furman. School is off Monday (so am I). So we will likely run the games in the afternoon. I am working with Coach Reid (Greenville) on this. So, stay tuned.

Also (VERY IMPORTANT) we will probably have practice on SUNDAY late afternoon. I am not sure of the location. We need to do some live scrumming so we may do it at Furman with my college team providing some resistence and helping out. It's extremely vital that everyone make this practice. We have much to go over before the jamboree. I'll post more later. Just need to wait to see how well the fields dry. Stay tuned and get CIPPed!

Parent meeting and clinic

Two important items: We will have our parent meeting 6:40 p.m. Tuesday at the field. Please bring your calendar and checkbook (if you wish to purchase shorts and socks and pay dues) The meeting will be over by 7 p.m. -- the same time practice is over. Also, there is a free rugby clinic at Furman this Sunday on the rugby pitch, which is located next to Paladin Stadium 2- 4:30. I am treating this as a practice. Remember, if you cannot make practice post on our discussion board (on the left).

Musings on football and rugby

Here is a link to you tube video discussing football and rugby. I recently spoke with Robbie Davis, the Oklahoma coach featured at the beginning of this clip. Many are lobbying support for him to become director of USA Rugby’s Director of Youth Development. Admittedly, I don’t have much pull on the national level, but I was interested to hear his thoughts on how to grow the game at the high school level.

Robbie is a football guy. He played the game in high school, in college (at Central Oklahoma) and has coached football for nearly a decade. He is an AD at a high school. He has only coached rugby for four years. When Robbie took over the Canton High School football team in 2005, the team was coming off an 0-10 season. Three years later Canton advanced to the state play-offs for the first time in 25 years. Last year, they made it to the state championship game. To be sure, Robbie is a fantastic coach, mentor and motivator….all traits that helped him transform a hapless team to a state power in a few years. But ask Robbie what was the number one factor that contributed to his team’s success in a football-rich state. His answer is one word: rugby.

When Robbie took over the 0-10 football program, he asked his team to take on rugby in the spring. Their teamwork, communication and tackling -- staples of both sports -- improved dramatically.

Like football, position,balance and leverage are essential in rugby. I played football in high school on a state runner-up team, even gave the game a try in college and remain a huge fan. Too often, I see football players launch themselves into players, trying to use their helmet and shoulder pads in a singular effort to bring an opposing player down. More often, they fail. In rugby there are no helmets and shoulder pads. Players are forced to wrap, use balance and drive at what I call the “break down point” the place where opposing players meet. They must make contact with their shoulders and control their opponent's hips. A good football position is a good rugby position: head up, flat back , driving with the strongest muscles in your body, your thighs and butt.

My son played football at Riverside, linebacker. He was fairly athletic but had horrible form. He couldn’t tackle his 10-year old sister. He threw his body at his opponent’s shoulders, failed to wrap and too often the better players churned right on through. With much extolling, he is learning to become a decent tackler through rugby, though he occasionally slips back into bad habits.

In rugby, the person winning the battle at the breakdown point is not the player who arrives there with the most force. It is the guy who arrives there with his body and balance under control who wins the day.

Some years ago one of my Furman teams lost a national championship game to Bentley, a team in Boston. Bentley was a small team, our guys were bigger and had been coached in the fundamentals. But Bentley held the advantage at the break down point. I was flummoxed because we had a taken such pride in winning that crucial part of the game. But we could not push around the smaller Bentley team. I asked the winning coach afterwards what his secret formula was. Was there a drill or off-season regiment he followed? His answer was simple: most of his players were wrestlers. They understood balance, leverage and body position. Wrestlers make awesome rugby players. They understand leverage and have grit.

Too often football coaches see rugby as a threat. Their players could get hurt. (the injury rate in rugby about the same as in football, statistics show) Some of their best athletes could be siphoned off, opting to play the sport that actually spawned football. But rugby is a spring sport.

Robbie has a novel idea to grow the rugby in the U.S. Through clinics and outreach, he wants to conduct a nation-wide campaign to convince high school football coaches to embrace rugby in the spring. Rugby, he says, makes better football players. He’s seen it work at Canton. And who can argue with all those wins.

Here are some great resources related to football and rugby:
can rugby make me a better football player
Rugby and Football
Injury rate: football and rugby

2011 Matrix

January 15 -- Jamboree at Sirrine Stadium in Greenville

22 -- Open

28 -- @ Chapin (7:15 p.m.)

February 4 -- @ Spring Valley (tba)

11 -- @ Brooklyn Casey (7:15 p.m.)

18 -- LUGOFF-ELGIN (7:15 p.m.)

25 -- Off

March 4 -- @ Gilbert (tba)

11 -- off (st. patty's weekend)

18 -- GREENVILLE (6:30 p.m.)

25 -- EASLEY (6:30 p.m.)

April 1 -- GREENVILLE 2 (6:30 p.m.)

New season, higher hopes

It's a dawn of a New Year!

With our innaugural season behind us, we are hoping to build on our experience, improve from week to week and field a more competitive team this season. All of our freshmen....12 of them last year...are a year older. Some have even sprouted a few inches. While still very young and physically small we will be a bit more experienced than last year.

Sure, we lost every game last year. As the newest and youngest team in the state (by far..and that is not coachspeak) we took our lumps. But the team improved, and was competitive at time. Moreover, Greer won several 7s games during summer. And a handful of our kids went to camp. The first few practices have been promising. We need to keep recruiting. This year, we have a few players from Mauldin who should help our cause immensley!

We're planning a clinic at Furman this Sunday and a Jamboree on the 15th.

Here we go!