Pride of a Nation

  When I first moved to Oregon I began to look into the rugby scene through the state. Many club names kept coming up but Battle Ground always stuck out, the name alone would make anyone interested as to why Battle Ground. Some years passed and now that we are coming out of covid and rugby is now being played I wanted to recheck in and see what programs are coming back online and who's playing. I couldn't find anything about Battle Ground but Chinook now took its place. So when I did a quick search it came to my attention that Chinook rugby is Battle Ground youth rugby. I Thank Lance , club vice president and head youth coach,  for taking the time to answer some questions and giving great insight to where this amazing program is and going. Even though located in the state of Washington,  Chinook Rugby sits just outside Portland and near Vancouver, WA plays under the Rugby Oregon banner. 

LLR- Chinook Rugby was previously named Battle Ground Youth Rugby and Hockinson Youth Rugby, why the name change?

LH- Most of our players originally were from those areas so were known as that. We represent all of North & West Clark County so formed a club to encompassed the wider community and a new name search began. Went through the process of considering lots of names like Clark County but another club/team had that, the mountains like St. Helens and Silver Star we could see from our original home field. We moved from that to wanting to represent  the heritage and native culture of the area. First name that came to mind was the Klickitat tribe and the battle they were to have with the Army became known as Battle Ground, but having klickitat as a neighboring county might again be confusing. The next tribe in the region were the Chinook so we approached the Chinook Indian Nation for permission to use the name, they gave us their blessing and to this day we still liaise with the tribe and have their support.

 

LLR- What age levels does Chinook offer for those interested in joining?

LH- Cater for all student athletes. Officially 3^rd to 12^th grade but often get 1^st and 2^nd grade that can cut it with the 3^rd graders and are keen to play, so we welcome them to participate. The 3-6^th play non-contact co-ed Flag Rugby and 7^th grade up we commence Tackle Rugby with boys and girls teams. The divisions are now all in 2 year brackets to ensure safety and appropriate size.

 

LLR- With the covid pandemic have the programs seen numbers dropped with registration?

LH- Short answer is yes. 2020 was tough on all sports, rugby included. We did pre-season practices for 8 weeks, had our pre-season Jamboree and 3 days later the season was cancelled. We wanted to get students back out in 2021 so delayed the start to the season. For the older grades it was not feasible to do tackle rugby wearing a mask and we also had to localize the league as crossing boarders was not recommended. Not to be deterred we had a successful season of Touch Rugby with the generous help and support from Portland Touch. We had 86 turn out for the Spring and another 19 new to the sport with Girls Rugby in the Fall, so achieved our goal of getting student athletes out of lock-down and back outside having fun with their mates. 2022 we still have the largest club in the Rugby Oregon league (OR & SW WA) with 108 eager and ready to go for this Spring season.

 

LLR- What is a few highlights that Chinook rugby has experienced over the years?

LH- Sometimes the first thing some think of is State Championship titles. Yes, all our divisions have those. The HS Boys have a couple, HS Girls have more, and they are both currently hold the title since the last competitive league in 2019. Highlights are more than State Titles for us, it is about the growth or providing the sport to local student athletes. Best I explain with some bullet points on history of the growth in our club:

• 2007 Founding of Rugby in our local area by Coach Andre de Klerk with a combined Battle Ground & Prairie High Schools boys team.
• 2011 Introduced the HS Girls Lady Pack team.
• 2012 First youth 4-6^th grade team and a 2^nd combined High Schoolboys team. 4 teams, 78 players.
• 2013 First 7/8^th Boys team and another 4-6^th. High School boys divided into Prairie Wolf Pack & Battle Ground Bulls school teams.
• 2014 Added another 7/8^th boys team. 7 teams, 105 players.
• 2015 Introduced 7/8^th Girls and 4-6^th became 3/4^th and 5/6^th grade. 8 teams, 138 players.
• 2016 First official year for 7/8^th Girls and now 2 of each 3/4^th and 5/6^th. 10 teams, 168 players.
• 2017 Split High School and had 1^st JV team. 11 teams.
• 2018 More 3/4^th and 5/6^th with 3 of each. 13 teams, 189 players.
• 2019 First club in OR and SW WA to have 4 x 5/6^th teams. 14 teams 200 players.

 

LLR- When is the first game for 2022 season?

LH- Pres-season tournament was March 12^th and first round of the league March 19^th. Season runs until the finals on May 21^st.

 

LLR- Are there any key players that everyone should keep an eye out for in the coming season?

LH- That is a tough question. With so many missing out the last 2 years and all the Freshman missed their Middle School tackle. We are proud to say we got 5 players into college scholarships this current school year and are looking to do better than that after this season. Aiden Kerr is one of those and he is really making his mark with the WWU team and he could very well go all the way to a national side. We have 2 seniors, Israel Duncan and Brett Ebert that have already been accepted into WWU rugby team so watch out for them this season. On the High School Girls side there are some Freshman like Mae Otoupal, Clara Kapelka, Dillynn Ledbetter who were outstanding as 8^th graders in last year’s touch season and represented us in the high performance teams, so with 4 years in tackle ahead of them they are looking good to go far in the sport.

 

LLR- How can people follow along on what's happening ?

LH- We try our best to keep the community up to date with practice and game schedules. We have put a lot of work into our website to do this so all you need do is go to: https://www.chinookrugby.com/2022-spring-schedule

 

LLR- Many youth programs have various ways of recruiting new players, what's the one or two ways that Chinook has found to be the most effective way of getting new people to join?

LH- Yes, we put a lot of our fundraising dollars into flyers into schools, social media and the like, but word of mouth is what we have found to be most effective. To achieve that we stand by our clubs one and only priority goal for the youth of “Have Fun At Practice And On Game Day”. Even with the season about to start I still have kids coming to me and saying this is so much fun, can I bring a friend along. A long time servant of the game, fellow Kiwi who got me into the club in 2013, and past Head Coach of Prairie High School team who took them to 2 State titles in 2014 and 2019, once said to me. “If you can start the pre-season with 10 of 12 players you will have a full squad of 23 before the season starts. Just be a good coach make it enjoyable and they will all bring a mate along”. And yes when he won State in 2019 that is exactly what he did.

 

LLR- Seattle has the Seawolves, many of our hopes is that eventually another MLR team joins the PNW. Is a Portland team the final piece needed for rugby growth in Oregon?

LH- That is a great question. I love going to Seawolves games and a best mate and fellow coach Bradford Batten has season tickets. The growth of the sport will eventually need another team and Portland is and ideal spot for that. I see from Super Rugby and Northern hemisphere they sometimes struggle maintaining a high standard when they have too many teams vying for the same pool of players. Then again isn’t it great to see teams like Moana Pasifika and Fiji now in the Super Rugby.

The Rugby Oregon Red Hawks, our high performance teams, have built a relationship with The Loggers, the USA pathways academy in our region. They in turn are supported by the Seawolves with coach and player education. It is great for a coach like me down in SW WA to be involved in meetings with the Seawolves coaches and players.

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  I wish all those in the Chinook Rugby programs the best this season, and I look forward to following them not just this year but in the many years to come. 

*if you have a program, youth, College or senior level that you wanted featured here please reach out at llrugby@yahoo.com or on any social media accounts. 

Shark Attack

Every now and then I come across a youth rugby club that sticks out to me and I'd like to know more of. But I also like to share information and in turn hope to help them grow even just a little bit. One day whole scrolling through Instagram i got a notification of a small youth club called CC sharks. Started to fallow and became intrigued with them. Central Coast Sharks sit south of San Luis Obispo  and north of Santa Barbara and participate under the Southern California Youth Rugby Union. 

LLR- Can you please introduce yourself and you position with cc sharks ?

FR- My name is Fernando Rojo and I am the head coach of the Central Coast Sharks Youth Rugby team.

LLR- A brief history of the creating and history of the sharks?

FR- The Sharks were created in 2011 by a former teammate, James Gentry. We both played for Arroyo Grande Rugby Club.

LLR- Can you please share where exactly the cc sharks are located in California?

FR- The Sharks are located in Santa Maria, CA.

LLR- What programs do you offer for those in the area who are interested in joining?

FR- We offer Rugby for several age groups. From u10s through u18. We have started to do Rugby clinics with the local rec and parks department to teach Rugby to new players.

LLR- How is recruitment done for the sharks in your area to help bring in new players?

FR- We do most of our recruitment through social media, emails and posting at local schools.

LLR- How many players are currently registered with the club?

FR- We currently have around 50 + registered players.

LLR- Are you or another member helping to introduce rugby into the local schools?

FR- In the past we offered rugby at local school in PE classes but it has been difficult recently because of the pandemic.

LLR- Thoughts on USA Rugby bid to host the women's and men's world cups, will they win the rights to both or one and how could this help impact youth participation numbers?

FR- I think it would be great if the US could host Rugby World Cups. It will be able to introduce rugby to new players and highlight a great sport. 

If you will like more information and fallow along the Sharks journey as the club grows over the years please fallow on Facebook and Instagram. 

FB: Central Coast Sharks Youth Rugby

IG: @ccsharksyouthrugby

I Thank Fernando very much for agreeing to this Q&A and I wish him and all those involved with the Sharks the best, hopefully soon in the future we will see a past Shark putting on a MLR jersey or getting their first test cap for USA!

*if you have a club you'd like to see a Q&A done with also please email or leave a comment and I will reach out to them as quickly as I can. 

Seawolves GameDay experience

On 2/26 my wife and I attended our first Seattle Seawolves match at starfire in Tukwila, Washington. We absolutely enjoyed ourselves and plan to make it to one or two matches every year, we live in Corvallis,  Oregon so it's a bit of a drive. Below is some pros and cons from our prospective and what I hope to see in the future as this team grows on and off the field. Please let it be known this is purely constructive criticism and in no way a bash to the amazing folks working hard every game and every season to make it special. Also I understand due to covid the last few years things I'm sure are not what everyone wants but hopefully as we move out of covid and into regular life once again we will see what things could be at 100%. If there is something you'd like to know about please leave a comment here or on social media and I'd gladly let you know. 

Food: the food at the concession stadium wasn't pricey at all. Very reasonable and good amount for what you pay for, there was a food truck though I am told normally there is between two or three trucks at games. This one game only had one food truck. The nachos looked nice and cheesy and big amounts,  the pretzel was fairly decent size and the meat pie was bigger then I thought. 

Tickets: price for tickets is reasonable and if you are a family of 4 or 5 could easily budget for 2 to 3 games a season to attend depending on your personal finances.

Merchandise: again not overly pricey,  pretty standard prices for what's being sold. Okay size selection for items to choose from

Views from seating: this time we sat on the east side bleachers under cover. I attend the usa vs Uruguay match a few years back and then me and my father sat more central on chair back seating.  Sights where great, no obstruction and can fallow pretty easy. 

In game experience: wasn't to bad. Tony Ridnell does a fantastic job when doing in stadium announcements. There was a first time attendy like me sitting behind us who said more then once they enjoyed the announcer along with others I've over heard also. Music was pretty good options also, but could use a bit longer playing periods. Rucky is fun and the kids around me where excited to see him. After game the ability to walk by professional players is awesome and to get a photo or autograph is just amazing and is very powerful in inspiring young athletes. 

Cons

Merchandise: as much as I enjoyed the merchandise table I wish they had more then just one location. Be ready to stand in line for a bit. What would be great is if they had a smaller table inside the stadium with say two to three shirt designs and a sweater and ball options. That would at least help shorten the lines. 

Food: only thing I would say with food is that it would be great if they can have at least one or two people walking around selling drinks and hot dog or pretzels.  Again would help shorten the lines at the food trucks and concession window. And fans won't have to worry about missing the action from the field.

In game experience: Broccoli Guy is a great entertainer and I would like to see him utilize a bit more. Maybe have him help with a Sea-Wolves chant here and there or a Scrum! Call. Halftime entertainment needs to be a bit better and explained what's happening during the halftime entertainment also. There was a kicking competition that happened at the match I attended but it wasn't explained well. For the most part all was said was X person was going to try three conversation kicks from various locations and that was it. The contesten themselves seemed a bit loss where they where kicking these from also.  I hope in the future starfire and the seawolves can invest in getting a better jumbotron.  That would be extremely helpful in engaging with the fans during the game and in between plays. 

Seating: I think starfire needs a bit of a face lift.  I'd like to see the roof expanded out towards the field more and to the sides. That's great there is VIP seating but it's not much a vip seating if your getting rained on or left out to the other elements.  Those sitting on the sides of the main stands also are left out to fend for themselves.  Along with the roofing the chair back seats are not the most comfortable. If your tall and got a bit of a gut be ready to sit straight up and legs spread apart the entire game. I'd like to see those fixed some how. Lastly and I know this will take some heavy investment but I'd like to see the south side become more permanent seating with it also expanded and a covering on that side also with some suites.

Entering and exiting : There has to be another entrance and exit put somewhere. The bottleneck of fans with only one way in and out is frustrating. Hopefully on the south side a gate can be put in even if it's just one door it'll be better then nothing. 

Now with all this said / written I want to make it clear. These are just my personal opinions and in no way shape or form will keep me from coming back to more seawolves matches or usa test matches held at starfire. For the success of the club not only does the team need to win but also accomplishing baby steps for the fan experience is key and I do believe there is great honest people in the front office doing what they can within what the team can finance to make it as enjoyable for everyone. In a perfect world these issues would all have been addressed already and everyone would walk away happy every game. I look forward to attending more matches and what the organization has going on behind the scenes for us fans as the years go by, as we pass year 5 and year 10 and year 20 weather it's at starfire or at seawolves on home stadium, The Tank? The pacific? The Sound ? Starfire I do believe is the perfect size for professional rugby give or take a few thousand seats added here and there but the overall sights and sounds is something special and there is no need to move to something big and overwhelming like the Seahawks home. If any move is to be done its to seawolves very own home field. 

* this review also extends back to a few years ago when USA played Uruguay. 

Scores 3/1

Men's college:

Fresno st. 52-12 UC Santa Cruz

Santa Clara U. 50-29 UC Santa Barbara 

Men's senior:

San Luis Obispo 41-24 Kern

Women's senior:

San José Seahawks 52-12 Reno BBB