Earlier today Serevi Rugby and U.S.A. Rugby announced a long-term partnership that will see Serevi Rugby run several camps and events around the country that will get more kids playing rugby and identify more potential players for the Eagles. On the back of that news we sat down with Serevi Rugby CEO to get more details on the partnership and what it means for the organization.
This Is American Rugby: How did the partnership come about?
Ross Young: The partnership developed out of the ongoing work and relationship between our company and USA Rugby, since our inception 3 years ago. It became clear that USAR wanted to focus more on the very top end and National Team performance so it made sense that we worked together with this partnership as we share mutual goals of growing the game in America. As Serevi's programs developed, and we had more involvement from their coaches, and ours to help them (Matt Hawkins moving across to National 7s Head Coach and Justin Fitzpatrick – recently helping USA XVs team as assistant Coach) the backbone of the agreement fell into place.
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TIAR: How involved will Matt Hawkins and his coaching staff be? For example, will they travel around to different camps or will they rely more on the Serevi coaches to tip them off to players?
RY: National Team coaches and their high performance staff will be present at a select group of our Training Camps (see below), with additional input from Serevi coaches including Waisale Serevi, Ben Gollings, and Justin Fitzpatrick - being the eyes on the ground at other USA Rugby Academy programming. These are a start but not exhaustive and a number of camps will take place with the USAR coaches as they cannot be everywhere.
Upcoming USA Rugby Academy Training Camps – by Serevi , featuring USA Women’s 7s Head Coach Ric Suggitt and USA Men’s 7s Head Coach Matt Hawkins include:
- Orlando Area -- Resident HP Camp (15s & 7s) with Serevi Coach Justin Fitzpatrick & Matt Hawkins, January 2-4
- San Francisco (NorCal) January 11-12
- Denver (@ Infinity Park in Glendale) February 1-2
- Atlanta, February 14-16
- San Diego (SoCal), March 9
- Boston, March 1-2
- Greater Washington, D.C/Maryland, March 15-16
- SouthEastern U.S., April 12-13
- Minneapolis, May 3-4
TIAR: Will you have permanent facilities around the country like you do in Seattle and Chicago or will you just be holding camps around the country?
RY: Promising athletes at our Training Camps and Elite Residence Camps will be invited to train year-round in one of our Training Centers – as you saw in Seattle. As the program grows we’ll look to open other Training Centers in locations such as Chicago, Southern California, and beyond. With so many good sporting facilities around the country we will also look to place programming in any facility that is a of the appropriate standard and the location fits.
TIAR: What relationship will you have with the U.S. age-grade coaches?
TIAR: What relationship will you have with the U.S. age-grade coaches?
RY: We will continue to reach out and work directly with age-grade coaches across the country both in holding programs with their teams, but also looking to them to help identify potential high performance athletes that can become part of the pathway. It is important that between us and USAR that we use all the contacts we both have that play a role in developing the game.
TIAR: Can you give more detail on what you mean by "Elite Residence?"
TIAR: Can you give more detail on what you mean by "Elite Residence?"
RY: Elite Residence Camps are 3-7 day camps, typically held during the summer, where athletes stay in dorms/hotels and train in a manner akin to National Team Camps. Promising athletes here will be invited to train year-round in one of our Training Centers. Invitations to these camps will come from the Training Camps around the country (see above).
TIAR: How much has the success of your Seattle and Chicago academies motivated you to expand?
TIAR: How much has the success of your Seattle and Chicago academies motivated you to expand?
RY: The previous work we’ve done with high performance athletes certainly showed us that there is not only the need for these types of development programs, but that they work. For example, Oliver Onelani Kilifi, one of our Seattle members, was called up to join the USA Men’s XVs Eagles for their match against the Maori All Blacks earlier this month. We look forward to having many more stories like Oli’s to share as we build the program. The opportunity to work with USAR, SBRO’s and all the stakeholders within Rugby in the USA should certainly increase the chances of quality talent and potential being identified.
TIAR: Do you think by joining with U.S.A. Rugby you will lose some of your flexibility as an organization?
RY: While partnering with USAR is an important milestone for our company and will allow us to expose more young athletes to the game, we maintain a full slate of programming outside of this partnership allowing us to continue local youth programming in partnership with the YMCA’s of the world, as well as programs around the world with national teams and youth in places like Bermuda, Fiji, and Hong Kong. I would hope that taking into account all the points we have discussed today this key strategic partnership will allow us to be more flexible and broaden our reach as an organization.
TIAR: Do you think by joining with U.S.A. Rugby you will lose some of your flexibility as an organization?
RY: While partnering with USAR is an important milestone for our company and will allow us to expose more young athletes to the game, we maintain a full slate of programming outside of this partnership allowing us to continue local youth programming in partnership with the YMCA’s of the world, as well as programs around the world with national teams and youth in places like Bermuda, Fiji, and Hong Kong. I would hope that taking into account all the points we have discussed today this key strategic partnership will allow us to be more flexible and broaden our reach as an organization.
Here is what other stakeholders on the rugby community had to say about the announcement:
“For years we’ve all known that America has the athletes to compete at the highest levels of rugby, but not enough young players being exposed early to our sport. If you watch collegiate football or track and field, you get every sense of the raw athletic talent available with a blue passport. That’s very exciting for the competitive and commercial opportunities for rugby, worldwide. Serevi Rugby and USA Rugby’s partnership will set further into motion the rise of rugby in America, in both 7s and XV’s, and invites other nations to keep our eye out for them.”
Mike Tolkin, Head Coach – USA Rugby Men’s National 15s Team
“We are excited to begin another step towards improving the game in America by way of the joint Serevi/USA partnership. Serevi have proven themselves as a quality organization and with this new platform to identify and train young talent in a more professional and consistent basis will surely strengthen the Eagles program moving forward.”
Rex Norris, Head Coach - Kent Crusaders Girls Rugby Club (Kent, Wash.)
“This partnership will open doors of opportunity for young women around the country as they are introduced to rugby or continue to build their skills. For moms and dads of young female athletes, this agreement indicates that ours in not a fringe sport and an outlaw movement. We are increasingly able to provide your daughters with the best opportunity in sport, for life. As rugby grows in our country, it will allow young women to create positive high school memories, realize collegiate ambitions – and even achieve Olympic greatness, while empowering themselves to get active, get fit, manage conflict, set goals, and challenge their boundaries.”
Tony Pacheco, Head Coach, USA Rugby Men’s Collegiate All-Americans 7s Team
“This Serevi partnership with USA Rugby provides an excellent mechanism for player development that is more comprehensive and structured. For young athletes who need access and exposure to training, and for national and collegiate coaches who need more players getting more quality training opportunities, this partnership improves our competitiveness at all levels.”