4 things I look forward to in the first OFFSeason

I know this topic is a bit early to bring up and talk about, but just as I am excited to see how this first year unfolds for ProRugby I am also excited for the first Off-Season and the 2nd season to Kick off. with that said as the season goes on I am sure there will be certain areas of the league we will see that needs to be fine tuned here and there as I am sure ProRugby Is watching also. so to being here is my 4 areas I would like to see address, there will be others also I will bring up as the season goes on.

1- better Media coverage: I have seen local news stations covering a few of the teams, Sacramento and San Diego have been the most active from what I have seen. I am not sure if Ohio or Denver has had anything similar as well, and the one team I am most disappointed in is San Francisco ( only because they are the team I choose to support and is my home town market and the area I am most familiar with). As far as I am aware there has been no media coverage at all. No radio interviews, there are 2 radio sports stations, no Television interview's, There are 5 news stations and 1 sports station CSN. No news paper coverage , there are Three major papers well two really but three papers along with another plethora smaller community papers and that's just the Bay Area its self from San Francisco to Oakland to San Jose that's not counting the other media outlets that's just a hour or so drive out side the "Bay Area" reach. with that said this league if they want to make money and put butts in seats needs to make sure every team is doing the most they can in reaching out to the public aside from doing local readings at schools. Not that there is anything wrong with that connecting to the youth which is always a good thing but they should be connecting with those fans who prefer contact sports (Football) and getting the word out to everyone. at the very lest at lest put up a few billboards in the area or on a few buses and trains so people can see them when they are commuting.

2- Getting the officals the best learning opportunities in the off season. I hope the league is proactive in getting the few officials they have now some good quality learning time, maybe see if another union like the RFU or someone in SANZAAR will let them train and observe those officials during matches or participate in lower division matches to gain the experience and see how other officials interpret the laws. This is not a complaint at all to the officials that PRO Rugby has now, in fact I think they have done a amazing job thus far into the early season! But one of the areas where rugby specialist over look when it comes to developing rugby in this country is not to just get players more games but there also needs to be a better training system for officials in this country so that way maybe one day USA Rugby can have possibly 2-3 officials representing this country at the Rugby World Cup or the Olympics.

3- More broadcast partners, to have the capability to stream games online and to get a TV broadcaster this first year and so quickly is an a achievement that we should applaud ProRugby for getting done, but with that said I still think the main online streamer we where all hoping for and many probably still want to see is to get games on ESPN 3. AOL has a done a fairly good job of putting things together for us fans thus far, but  if we want more people to care about this league and to help get the name out there more the ESPN brand still carries plenty of weight around the sports minded people and I am sure would prefer to watch a sporting event through their platform then to go to AOL. But enough about AOL , One World Sports is a channel that I am sure till the press release not many of us had even known existed. I personally love 1WS (30 million) and have always enjoyed there broadcasts of sporting games and hope that they continue to stay on as broadcasters for the years to come and hope to see them grow as a channel also, got to  make it more accessible to more providers. lets be honest PRO will not be on ESPN or ESPN 2, FS1 and NBCSN these first 2-5 years. At least not till they can pull an average of 5k a game and have some good investors and sponsors lined up which then I'm sure one of those sports channels would like to pick up a few games a year, Game of the Week type. till then why not take the 1WS approach and go after the smaller guys and build your viewership up so that way you can then take the numbers to the folks at Disney (owners of ESPN) and Fox and say hay we have something that will bring you more eyes and dollars to your channels. Probably the first step would be to get the local sports channels in each market to televise the home games at lest for each team and I am talking about your Comcast sports net (Blank) and the few Fox sports net channels that are still out there and Root sports (8.3 million). Now the problem with that is every market varies such as the SF market where the CSN channel there is already crammed with two MLB teams playing at the same time along with play-off issues when they have both the NBA and NHL teams playing at the same time. so the SF club may be bumped to tape delayed programming. The best bet and I am sure easy Major network to land would be CBS Sports ( 30 million)  which currently they don't have much to broadcast at this time of the year. outside of them maybe beIN sports (16 million +) would pick up Pro Rugby games here and there, they just signed a contract with the NASL to show a game a week which helped them to finally break into the USA market and have broadcasting rights to a USA based sports league, why not help them add two to there resume, while also keeping the 1WS broadcasts you now have two TV avenues for fans to take.

4- Finally my last is player development. I may be in the 1% who would like to see this happen but I do think this could have positive ramifications after a few years down the road. Why not have a All-Star/Barbarians team represent PRO Rugby and have them play a few international and national matches? obviously there will be players who will be called up to the Eagles for a few test matches here and there , but what about the other players who weren't called up. Pro Rugby hasn't said much on what the plans are for the league and the players in ether level of the player system they have, for the off season but my suggestion is to comprise a coaching staff made up of the Coach of the year and a few others and help that person select a team of players from every club. train for a few weeks and set out for a 2-3 week tour of playing other international clubs. Give those players a chance to experience what its like to play past our boarders and to experience different styles of play, so that way when they do get a chance to be called up they already have an idea what to expect. On top of all that it'll help keep players in rugby playing condition a bit longer and help add a bit of prestige and honor to be selected to participate on a all-star/barbarians team. ( similar to the current all star teams the major leagues have now, players do take some what pride in being placed on such teams)




* don't forget to like LLRugby Facebook page

RUGBY OREGON standings 4/21

Boys Club Championship
1- North Side Panthers
2- Polk County
3- Beaverton Barbarians A
4- North Clackamas crusaders
5- Clark County warriors

Boys Varsity Premiership
1- Union High School 1
2- Lincoln High school
3- Portland Pumas
4- Summit High School
5- Oregon City

Girls Club Championship
1- Grant
2- Lady Barbarians
3- North Clackamas
4- Battle Ground
5- West Linn

Girls Varsity Premiership
1- Linn Benton
2- Valley Panthers
3- Canby
4- Reynolds
5- East Oregon Wendigo

Rugby Oregon Rankings 4/15

 

Boys Club championship-
1- Northside Panthers
2- Polk County
3- Beaverton Barbarians A
4- Bend Blues
5- East Oregon Sasquatch

 Boys Varsity Premiership-
1- Union High School 1
2- Portland Pumas
3- Lincoln High School
4- Reynolds High School
5- Battle Ground High School

 Girls Varsity Premiership-
1- Linn Benton
2- Canby
3- Valley Panthers
4- Reynolds
5- Cleveland

 Girls Club Championship-
1- Grant
2- Battle Ground
3- Lady Barbarians
4- North Clackamas
5- West Linn

*rankings are my own doing, only influenced from the current standings that Rugby Oregon has posted on there own website.

Pro Rugby & Autism 4/02/2016

I am absolutely excited for PRORugby to finally kick off, with that said I write this open letter or plea to those in charge to take the opportunity and use the first game in league history and the first month to help bring awareness to Autism and those with loved ones on the Autism Spectrum, ASD. Help shine a light this April and take the time to connect with these amazing people. It's not just kids but adults with ASD who have a hard time in a "normal" setting that we all take for granted.



Since my daughter was identified on the spectrum we have been active and engaging when it comes to activism, we have met other families and individuals with the same qualities or similar and others who are more sever then our daughter. With all the recent education that organizations such as Autism Speaks and The Autism Society and countless others who may not be as poplar in name recognition, like Parents Helping Parents in san Jose , CA , there is still so much that needs to be done to help support and educate countless others about the in's and out's of dealing with someone with ASD and how to provide a equal opportunity in not just a education setting but through out America. Whether that's how to confront a class mate or co worker who is having an issue in focusing with outburst or making sure that the person who has ASD is understanding and equipped with how to handle situations outside of there own home while engaging "normal" people out in the world that we find so easily to do.

To the people over at Pro Rugby North America and the founding clubs, San Francisco, San Diego , Sacramento , Denver ,Ohio ,Why not have Autism Awareness night. Invite the local Autism organizations in each market where you currently have clubs, offer if not free then half off priced tickets to be sold to anyone involved and seeking help through that organization. Have a booth for those groups to hand out information available for people to stop by and ask question. Have a sensory are set aside during the game day festivities and the game its self.

Wear Blue Autism awareness Night: Encourage your Fans to Wear Blue during the month of April in support of those who have ASD, give local Charites or the non-profits in the area a profile in the game day programs or plugins during the game announcements. Have players wear Autism Awareness warm up T's or shoelaces similar to what the Glendale Raptors did last year. Invite the youth to walk out with the players, and parents if child needs assistance.

This past year the Seattle Seahawks them self's took an amazing step forward to insuring that fans but with ASD can enjoy game days, " But the Seahawks just took steps to make that environment a little more accommodating: The team now offers special toolkits to fans on the autism spectrum, giving them some gear to improve their experience at the game." Special tool kits were created and provided by the non-profit group called I'm A-Okay, "The kits feature both noise cancelling headphones and earplugs, since many children with autism are sensitive to noise. The kids also have a detailed game day schedule to help parents prep for every aspect of the visit to the stadium. A toy is included, as well as stickers and ID wristbands to let other fans know that the child may experience some difficulties at the game." such simple yet effective way to help make attending a rugby match in America that much more enjoyable for the fan who is on the Spectrum and for a parent like my self who wants to take there child to a game.

There is countless other ways that you ProRugby can do your part and USA Rugby for that matter also, you can make a big difference in countless lives. I am just a man sitting at his key board reaching out to you who have the power to  make a difference in so many life's and impact so many others. As much as the general public is a wear of some the underlying issues that associate with someone on the spectrum in society there is still so much that needs to be taught and understood. A mother or father should not have to apologize to the other people in line at the grocery store when there son or daughter break out into a tantrum and they can not get them to calm down, A young man or woman should not feel embarrassed if in the middle of class or work they have to leave and isolate them self's because they cant stop the urge to hit them self's or stop fidgeting. Parents should not be a shamed because there child is different!

Dear PRO Rugby North America this April help #LighItUpBlue at the many games happening next month, bring #AutismAwareness to the rugby community and the rugby community to the Autism community. Get in contact with the people at autism friendly locations or the other organizations through out America about possibly getting the same "Tool Kits" that where provided to the Seattle Seahawks to help make the games that much more enjoyable for that young fan, for that family , individual person. I encourage you to please help make a impact in the many lives of people who have Autism Spectrum Disorder, I promise you that not just Pro Rugby but the over all sport of Rugby will leave a everlasting life changing experience to everyone it touches. Can you imagine the day that a USA rugby player who is representing on the National team or playing his/her first Pro Rugby match is someone who is on the spectrum, that is a day I look forward to see.

And if you are still not convinced that the Sport of Rugby and Autism don't mix, here is a few articles from the UK where the sport of rugby was introduced to kids with ASD and had a very positive effect on there lives and actually helped young people come out of there shell's and begin to interact with other people, sadly these articles are quite old and have not found anything recent just yet but am open to adding them if anyone wish's to inform me. 1) - Parents hail 'enormous' benefits of rugby training for autistic children    2) - Kicking autism into touch


I ask those of you who wish to see some action to please connect with ProRugby through there social media sites and urge them to step up and make a difference in 2016 and to also get in contact with USA Rugby to help make every game Autism Friendly, use #AutismAwerness or #RugbysupportsAutism #AutismInRugby when posting please.

PRO RUGBY-
Twitter: @ProRugbyUSA
Facebook: www.facebook.com/prorugby
Instagram: @PRO_Rugby_USA
Website: www.prorugby.org/

USA RUGBY-
Twitter: @USARugby
Facebook: www.facebook.com/usarugby
Website: www.usarugby.org