Butterflies fly together!

     When we still lived in San Jose me and my wife would try and set aside a weekend every year where we took a mini vacation from the kiddos and just get away the two of us. even though there is plenty of options living in the south bay on where anyone can go for a weekend get away in ether direction you point your vehicle to we enjoyed going to Monterey as our go to place year after year. I also have some type of connection to the area as when my grandfather was in the navy and stationed in Monterey area my mother was born at Fort Ord, which is now slowly being turned in CSU Monterey Bay. Just like how about every university in this country has a rugby club so to does just about every town or city or "area" has one. So it was a shocker to me when I recently found out that there is no women's rugby team in Monterey with the closest being in San Jose. I am happy to say that Spencer from the monarchs is happy enough to answer some questions about this newly formed team and how they are growing.

   LLR-  Can you please introduce yourself, and your history to Rugby Union?

SHP- I’m Spencer Henry-Phillips! I’ve been playing rugby for the better part of 10 years. I started off playing for UC Santa Barbara in college where I played hooker and prop. Since then, I’ve played for The Portland Pigs, LifeWest Gladiatrix, and San Francisco Golden Gate. I am now the head coach for CSU Monterey Bay Women’s Rugby team. As you can see, I love this game! 

    LLR- What brought about the creation of the Monterey monarchs?

SHP- As the head coach for CSUMB, I noticed a lot of players didn’t really have anymore to go or play for during the summer or after they graduated if they stayed in the area. The closest team is San Jose and that’s still over an hour away. I saw the need and decided who better than me to get it going.

 

  LLR-  Why the monarchs as a name?

SHP- The monarchs of Pacific Grove are legendary and I love a good alliteration. I also feel like the Monarch Butterfly represents everything I want for this team: strength, beauty, and a chance to transform the next generation of ruggers.  

   

 LLR- Where are practices currently held and times, and where will home field be?

SHP- Practices are currently on Thursdays, 6-8pm, at Lincoln Park in East Garrison. We’re still working on the home field but have no fear, we will get that solidified!

 

  LLR-  In what division will the monarchs play in?

SHP- Ideally, we will play in the NCRFU Women’s Division 2! I know we have a lot of support from the conference and they’ve been incredible in navigating this new adventure. 

 

 LLR- What are some goals you wish to see the team meet this first year and by year 5?

SHP- I really want to see us make a name for ourselves in the community our first year. I want the people of Monterey County to know who we are. Five year goal is to have a sustainable and successful club that is regarded a real challenger in our division. 

  

  LLR- Do you think the world cups in both 2031 and 2033 have an effect on rugby as a whole in the Monterey County area?

SHP- I sure hope so! I know that the west coast is a big contender to host, whether that be in San Diego, LA, the Bay Area, or even Colorado, and I know that it can only boost the game. 

  

 LLR-  How and where can people interested in fallowing along get in touch with you and the team?

SHP- You can like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/MontereyMonarchsRugby

Follow us on Instagram: @MontereyMonarchsRugby 

Check out our website: montereymonarchsrugby.com 

  LLR-  Last word you’d like to get out?

SHP- We just launched our first fundraising campaign! Get you Monarch Tank here: 

https://www.customink.com/fundraising/monterey-monarchs-tank-fundraiser

And support your local rugby team! 

NARL... thoughts and opinions (Update 5/20)

Well where to begin. I'm just going to dive right in with my thoughts and opinions on the NARL and what's transpired so far and my current thoughts. 

 Do I wish and hope that the league does get going does succeed yes absolutely. Do I also think that there is a place for a professional rugby league league here, yes. 

 But has the NARL done anything to make me believe that they are the ones to do it, no. From the very beginning the announcement was rushed and very bullish.. To start a new league in the middle of a pandemic let alone with teams stretched across this country was slim to none to mske anyone think it was believable.  The announcement came out of know where, there was no combine,  no out reach to the local communities in each of the markets and also there is barely even a League player pool to choose from. I can say for a fact that being in Oregon and at the time trying to start our own rugby league competition here , I did reach out to the so called Portland team. I got a response to an email welcoming me and agreeing to a phone call so we could try and build a relationship.  The day of the phone call was supposed to happen I realized I never got a phone number to actually call. When I asked again what number should I dial I was met with nothing. To this day I never ever have received anything. Now side note I did have to step away from getting Oregon Rugby League happening due to my family growing and work taking up time. Also I would like to toss out there is anyone wants to try and get League going in Oregon it is doable and there are Union players who want to play. There was enough who showed up in Salem to start a team and potential enough players out there to start 3 or 4 of them. 

As of right now,  5/2/2022 there is no website. No way of purchasing tickets or information on home stadiums. Inactive on social media's. A few individual clubs have shown activity but other then a recent combine by a few nothing concrete. The NARL or its clubs have given me much to want to support the league or throw much support behind them. 

I would like to see the NARL and its members just admit that 2022 will not happen and to regroup and focus on 2023. Give every team a chance to hold combines, nail down home venues  and vendors. Establish a legitimate front office staff. Go to rugby union clubs and offer the players a chance to come out, hit up the MLR player pool and those who aren't selected in the player draft let them know they too have a chance on making one of their teams. Union and League can work together here in North America,  there are great examples of such relationships right now. Those who say no and it's one way or the other are those who want a closed system and of closed minded. That statement goes for both union and league people. 

Games need to be made available and easy to watch. As great as a tool that Facebook live is, it also comes off as tacky and not professional. YouTube is a good step but maybe strive for something more. ESPN + although maybe behind a pay wall is the most legitimate cheap way of getting your product out and seen. But I will say why not approach the folks at The Rugby Network? Yes I know it's all union but they also are in need of more content for the app and if the NARL can show that they can provide more subscribers and potential paying customers then I'm sure TRN will be willing to listen. I would like to see at least the "game of the week" broadcasted there. 

But this all means nothing if the NARL falls flat yet again. Still no form for American based fans to buy tickets, no news of a 6th team, no true broadcaster. The leaks of people saying be patient news is coming means nothing to the majority of potential fans the league is losing out on with every day that goes by. The teams may get those 10 or so hard-core fans to show up but the league will fail with a cheap looking game put together.  

Update- we are here at the start of the competition yet, there is no tickets available to buy. DC team is the only one who played a preseason match. they told us all that the match will be live streamed but day of the match there was nothing. even now there still isnt any footage, the game was against a rugby union team. still no 6th team. i and everyone else would just love to see the whole group come out and just say this year is not happening. they fell behind the 8 ball and this is just not going to happen. i would like to see the NARL do all teams a favor and put together a test season by having the teams play against other league teams from California competition and BC league along with the remaining Northern division from the USARL. get these players a chance to play and newer players a chance to still learn the code, but oh well who am i?

2nd update of today 5/20. Now the NARL is stating that there will be a preseason match on June 4th between Atlanta and DC. 24hrs before the first game of the season and the league has now decided to change the start. But up till now it has been radio silence for weeks! 

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.

—

  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.