Over the past week I was contacted by Christian Scholten from Life
West Rugby Club out of Hayward CA. (east bay of San Francisco Bay Area) and
wanted to share quick information on the Gladiators who are a new club and
enjoying this fantastic first year playing Rugby.
LLR- When was the club formed?
CS- Dr. Tez Molloy was recruited from the Philippines to
form a Men’s Rugby team here at Life West and after spending time engaging the
community the team was formed in January of 2013.
LLR- Where are practices held and games played?
CS- Trainings are held at Sunset Park on the corner of
Sunset and Western Blvd in Hayward Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 7:00 to
9:00
LLR- I’m sure you are well aware of Life University and
they’re very successful college and men’s club, is this something life west
wishes to try and recreate here in the Bay Area?
CS- Life University and Life West have a strong rivalry and a
long history, however we are separate institutions. Our goal is to be the
number one team in the country. Along
the way we look forward to many good matches with Life University. We also look
forward to sharing the benefits of chiropractic with elite athletes. Our
program is very new and to achieve the status that LU has would be fantastic.CS- As a new team in their first year, the Life West Gladiators have played the season in the Northern California 3rd Division (NCRFU). We’ve had an outstanding season with a 10-0 record, finishing off with top points and an over +500 point differential, we look forward to advancing a division by next season.
CS- We actively recruit players through several avenues: by
attending rugby tournaments and letting teams know that if their players are
interested in pursuing a rugby scholarship while obtaining a Doctor of
Chiropractic degree, through outreach into the local rugby community and
overseas through our vast network of alumni and friends who wish to see the
rugby program grow and develop into elite status. We’ve developed relationships with key people
in the US, as well as Tonga, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the UK. There
happens to be a fantastic Tongan community in Hayward where many of our players
currently come from. We also have strong
relationships with the local high school rugby community.
CS- Anyone wanting to learn more about the rugby program can
visit www.lifewestrugby.com/ or LIKE our Facebook page www.facebook.com/LifeWestRugby
and keep updated on all developments.
CS- Practice is held on Tuesday and Thursday at Sunset Park
in Hayward, local players are welcome to join in for training. Aside from the
rugby website, people can learn more about the school at www.lifewest.edu
CS- Since we have just started our program, assembling a
team of student athletes would take years and would most likely be
inconsistent. We wanted to begin now and
mature into having a collegiate side and club side. This was where the beginnings of the great
partnership between the local community and our own students have played out.
CS- Our first goal is to win this weekend in Boise by
beating Budd Bay, and then we’d like to advance in the playoffs and win the
Division 3 National Championship. We’d
love to move into Division 2 next year and create the same success there,
eventually moving into Division1. * Life West won in Boise over the weekend
34-24
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