Following up the Men’s Collegiate All American’s Summer Tour, Head Coach Matt Sherman took time out of his schedule to sit down with me and give a quick recap on the tour.
Following up on two years of somewhat middling success, the program had a breakthrough this summer with its first winning record. Playing games against top English and Canadian squads, the team went 2-1, defeating Cambridge University twice before falling to the Ontario Blues.
The team showed a very strong level of play for what was essentially an all-star team of players who had never played together before, and more than held its own against their international counterparts.
Despite trying to juggle a roster of over 30 players, Coach Sherman and his staff did an excellent job of switching lineups around to best take advantage of the unique skill-set of the different players and in doing were able to showcase the talents of many different players with bright rugby futures ahead of them.
Q=Considering that these are not guys that you have coached previously was there anything that surprised you during the course of the four matches (i.e. a specific player/players significantly raising his level of play from where you expected or the team as a whole succeeding in certain aspects of play at a higher level than you anticipated)?
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A=I don’t think there was a specific player who stood out, but I think the more noticeable trend, and positive sign, is that with the rising tide of more and more strong collegiate programs across the country, we are seeing a talented, skilled, and experienced group at this level across the board, providing ample depth and competition. (As a side note- I’m not sure how many changes we made between games but it was a lot with no drop off)
Q=Also how difficult was it to meld together a team out of guys who had never played together before and get them to play cohesively?
A=The players did a great job of driving a team first attitude, and the result was them coming together quickly as a group. In that sense, it wasn't very difficult for the staff, because the players bought in right away and made the team their own.
Q=With that in mind what would you say worked especially well for you and your team?
A=I think on the whole, especially against Cambridge, we did a good job of winning the field position battle. We weren't perfect, but improved each game at it. I also think we were good at winning the space off the hip around the tackle. Many of our tries came from flooding that area in support, while we also successfully kept our opponents from offloading through gaps by being really urgent and alert to cut down that space off the ball.
Q=What did the team struggle with the most and what (if anything) would you have done differently?
A=I think by the final match, and really the 2nd Cambridge match a bit too, guys were tired. Some of it physical, but also mentally. We tapered back a bit, but not to the optimal level I think to win all three games. With that said, the All-American program is about more then just winning game, it’s about identifying and developing players, so I’m not sure we would have done anything differently.
Q=Was the tour a success in your eyes?
A= Yes I think so. Our program’s overall goal is to identify and develop players that can go on to represent the senior national team in the future, I think this group has a large number that meet that criteria, and they all improved and developed over the 2.5 weeks. With that said, we would have like to have won the final match. One of the goals we talked about as a team was to not just develop future Eagles, but to develop Eagles with a winning attitude and culture, a mindset that expects to win and does what’s necessary to do so. Two out of three is a good start, but if we’re honest, there are things we could have done better in the final match that would have earned us the result, and in that sense, it’s not good enough.
A=I don’t think there was a specific player who stood out, but I think the more noticeable trend, and positive sign, is that with the rising tide of more and more strong collegiate programs across the country, we are seeing a talented, skilled, and experienced group at this level across the board, providing ample depth and competition. (As a side note- I’m not sure how many changes we made between games but it was a lot with no drop off)
Q=Also how difficult was it to meld together a team out of guys who had never played together before and get them to play cohesively?
A=The players did a great job of driving a team first attitude, and the result was them coming together quickly as a group. In that sense, it wasn't very difficult for the staff, because the players bought in right away and made the team their own.
Q=With that in mind what would you say worked especially well for you and your team?
A=I think on the whole, especially against Cambridge, we did a good job of winning the field position battle. We weren't perfect, but improved each game at it. I also think we were good at winning the space off the hip around the tackle. Many of our tries came from flooding that area in support, while we also successfully kept our opponents from offloading through gaps by being really urgent and alert to cut down that space off the ball.
Q=What did the team struggle with the most and what (if anything) would you have done differently?
A=I think by the final match, and really the 2nd Cambridge match a bit too, guys were tired. Some of it physical, but also mentally. We tapered back a bit, but not to the optimal level I think to win all three games. With that said, the All-American program is about more then just winning game, it’s about identifying and developing players, so I’m not sure we would have done anything differently.
Q=Was the tour a success in your eyes?
A= Yes I think so. Our program’s overall goal is to identify and develop players that can go on to represent the senior national team in the future, I think this group has a large number that meet that criteria, and they all improved and developed over the 2.5 weeks. With that said, we would have like to have won the final match. One of the goals we talked about as a team was to not just develop future Eagles, but to develop Eagles with a winning attitude and culture, a mindset that expects to win and does what’s necessary to do so. Two out of three is a good start, but if we’re honest, there are things we could have done better in the final match that would have earned us the result, and in that sense, it’s not good enough.