Tuesday, December 31, 2013

A comment on the pursuit of excellence ...


The comments below from a team seeking to compete at the National Tournament jumped off the page as we read it this morning.  It pretty much sums up why this event is such a positive endeavor for so many teams.   Their coaches have the kind of perspective a student-athlete coach should have, in our opinion; in creating meaningful, positive experiences and memories for growing young athletes.  Best wishes to those who don't let being good get in the way of being great.

"These girls deserve the chance to compete at an even higher level so they can challenge themselves and have this incredible experience to add to their memories.  If we can make it to Nationals it will help with outreach in our high schools to make rugby more known in our community."
"We are hoping for the NIT to be a huge learning experience for the girls and help them refine their skills."

Monday, December 30, 2013

Girls National Championship Tournament --- Turn in Applications Soon

Applications for the 2014 Girls High School National Championship Tournament hosted by Berkshire United in Massachusetts, May 17th-18th are due next week.

Please complete the short online app at RugbyMag (click here)

Info and questions can be answered by contacting, either:

David Colli:  Tournament Host,  collirugby@gmail.com
or
John Klein:   NGCC Chair, chinnychinchin_2000@yahoo.com

The field of teams should continue to expand again this year, as several new applications and the return of some old powerhouse teams could make for an interesting challenge in all divisions.

Word on the street is that Morris, NJ, the New Jersey Champs have already thrown their hat into the ring, along with Colorado Finalists Ft Collins, a team that won the first-ever Nationals back in 2000.  Throw these and some other new teams into the mix along with many of the perennial powers and the competitiveness and diversity of the brackets should continue to grow.


Saturday, December 28, 2013

2013 Coach of the Year



The 2013 RUGBYmag Women's Coach of the Year was announced yesterday.  John Klein, the DSHA head coach since the Fall of 2000, was awarded with his second national coach of the year award.  The first being the USA Rugby Coach of the Year Award in 2008.

What struck our offices as memorable is that this award is for "women's coach of the year" not "high school coach of the year" or some other designation.  When early word of the award leaked out to WGR we knew we had to quick pay a short visit to "the office" and put up a sincere congratulations!  When we contacted Coach Klein for a comment, he was completely surprised.  He didn't yet know he was receiving the award.

It was quite a year for Coach Chin and the Dashers.  But it was clear the award was for more than their incredible on the field success.  While the Dasher's only loss in all of 2013 was a 22-20 National Semifinal nailbiter, the award was also for Klein's contributions to growing the girls game at the grassroots level beyond his own players.  His countless hours spent working to grow the National Tournament into an opportunity for girls teams anywhere to compete for a national title, in several different divisions, helped give more teams and young adults the opportunity to experience greater competition in a true team setting.   Klein chaired the NGCC, the National Girls Coaches Committee, and pulled together highly respected coaches from programs around the country.  With them, they worked together to grow the National Tournament into a 20-team magnum opus of girls rugby. 

One of many standout quotes from the Rugby Mag article:
"It was as professional as an event outside of a stadium can get, and important to the development of girls high school rugby as a whole. And it was all thanks to the efforts of the NGCC and the support they garnered."

The actual hosting of the event was also thanks to the effort of a tremendous group of committed parents from both Catholic Memorial High School and Divine Savior Holy Angels High School. Together they brought in volunteers from the Wisconsin Rugby Union, the RASA Racine Area-Soccer Association, and local women's teams as well.  It was a true team effort.  And Klein helped bring them together.
Of course, the culmination of 2013 for the Dashers was their convincing victory over Fallbrook at the USA Sevens High School Challenge. Dubbed an unoffiical national 7's championship, the field of east coast teams plus Fallbrook and Catholic Memorial was challenging.  And the Dashers squared off against Fallbrook in the PPL Park final, coming away with a 41-0 victory and the championship they'd been questing for

.

Friday, December 20, 2013

Merry Christmas from WGR

WGR is shutting down their offices for the holidays.  Its been a great year.  Thanks to all the coaches and board members who volunteer to give girls the opportunity to participate in a life changing team sport.  Thanks to all you parents for letting your daughters play.  We've been especially lucky in the last year to have several volunteers who are not involved in coaching teams step up to help run WGR.  That's one of many ways our rugby community can stay involved and grow the game, even if you don't have the time to coach a team. 

Have a blessed Christmas and we'll get back up and running after the New Year.

Before signing off, we've included a few vintage rugby Christmas Cards.



Wednesday, December 18, 2013

WGR Classic Matches, part ii


 WGR Classic Matches, part ii
     The first part of our series on memorable matches in WGR was one of our most read pieces in some time.  We also had some nominations from players and former players.  Thank you. 
 
    Part ii of our series, “The modern” era of WGR features a greater variety of matchups. WGR has become a league with twice as many teams, sometimes split in conferences geographically or by level of play (Division 1 or 2). We’ve seen national-level programs come and go based on waves of strong classes or coaching changes.  We’ve also seen rivalries come and go based on team and coaching make-up.  
   Part iii of our series will have to be written in 2020, which really isn’t that far off.  We at WGR predict that we’ll have to discuss the memorable 7’s matches, how the Olympics have affected the game, and how the Fox Valley area has developed and affected our conference structure. There have been murmurs of girls interested in playing around the Green Bay area for years.  Will that come to fruition?  Will Wisconsin and Illinois form a mega conference with larger numbers in D1 and D2 conferences or maybe a northern (Fox Valley), and southern conference?
  But, for now, onto the GREAT games:
Fall 2006  Vernon v DSHA     
     Vernon was the second-place dominant girls team for several years during this period and this was perhaps their high-water mark.  Brittany Houston, an eventual u-23 selectside MVP, who eventually moved out to Colorado to pursue her rugby career, was the face of a team filled with good athletes.   A hard-running #9/10, she also possessed incredible skill, with a great #9 pass off the deck.  She once famously nailed a drop goal in the national semifinal in 2006 to come close to upsetting perennial finalists Kent, Washington.  
     Problem was, DSHA was unbeatable in this era.  At the time, and perhaps maybe even to this day, DSHA’s #10 and #13 combo of “Coogan and Haas” were unparralled and a part of the their running off six straight national championships at one point.  By far the biggest, strongest running midfield in the State, teams were stymied by their defense and overrun by their combo of speed and power.  While this match wasn’t that close, it was two outstanding teams facing off in the heat of a big rivalry and in that sense the score was irrelevant.

Fall 2007 Vernon v DSHA
This was memorable for being the first state tournament championship game and it was held at Naga-Waukee Park.  A huge crowd assembled that day, thanks to Jeff Noe’s visionary plan to bring all the teams together for a final playoff atmosphere showcase set of matches.   It also marked the end of Vernon’s run as they were soundly defeated in the final.

Fall 2008  CMHS v DSHA  Oct 29th   5-0.
CMH made a remarkable debut in the league in ’07, making the finals the next year.  In the most competitive match the Dashers had seen since they last lost, the Crusaders, many would say, outplayed DSHA, but just couldn’t get over the tryline.  A try in the corner by eventual Nationals MVP and speedster Sarah Chimelewski proved to be the difference. 

Fall 2009 Brookfield v Vernon   State Semifinals
     In the biggest upset in state playoff history, Brookfield under Head Coach Dan Chanen knocked off Will Traber’s talented Vernon Park 19-14.   Making the game all the more dramatic was the fact that Brookfield had never defeated Vernon until that moment.  Brookfield had quickly amassed a talented core of players who were stabilized and unified under the tutelage of Coach Chanen.  Players like Bri Klein at #7, an eventual USA u19 regular, and Kaissee Weissmueller, who would go on to earn a Higgins Scholarship to continue rugby in college, were part of a team athletic 1-15.  Brookfield’s heart and soul, though, seemed to revolve around their tough scrumhalf Rachel Santulli.  Santulli’s game, a nice mix of passing and sniping around the fringes, could at times carry her team and could at other moments just help get the ball in the hands of their other athletes, as any good distributor should.
    Vernon had more experience in recent state finals and especially playing in Midwest regionals.  Both their props made the All-Tournament team, and their standout wing, Emily Zemplinski was a strong defender and athletic finisher.  But it was Brookfield's time.
     In the match, Brookfield got up early and were able to punch in two tries.  Vernon woke up and fought back.  The match, with an unconverted try separating the teams the last ten minutes, was tense and intense until the final whistle.  The victory gave Brookfield its first and only finals appearance and a trip to the top division of the Midwest Championships.  It also marked the end of Vernon’s appearances in the Midwest Championship Division.

 Fall 2010  CMH v DSHA 
     The last time DSHA lost a match in Wisconsin took place at Minooka Park and was eerily reminiscent of their loss there in 2004.  In a match marked by a great defensive effort on both sides of the ball, the tackling on both sides left teams with few opportunities.  Crusader junior Maggie Armstrong dominated the midfield defensively.  The Dasher’s leading scorer, the speedy #13 Ellie Miller, was always dangerous with ball in hand, and #8 Elizabeth Linnemenstans, who’d also been tried at center some, was a force on both sides of the ball.  DSHA was oh so close to taking the match as they had a play in the try-zone, only to have it held up in defense.  The game’s deciding moment was a poor kick by the Dashers fielded by Memorial fullback Sarah Dillett at pace.   She burst through a gap and raced 60 meters for the deciding score.  She converted her own try and then the Crusaders held out for the last 12 minutes to secure a famous 7-5 victory.

Fall 2012 Kettle Moraine vs Vernon
    A short summary of the match was provided by one of KM’s former players and it captures the emotion of the day:
  “KM and Vernon have always had a rivalry, but this is where it came to a head.  Vernon had beat KM by a considerable amount a few weeks before in a mentally frustrating match that even resulted in a KM yellow card” ( a rare thing in the WGR league).   
     “This was Head Coach Jeff Noe's last game with the Knightmares, and we wanted to make him proud.  Marching onto the field in our brand new jerseys, almost a going away gift I guess, we knew this was going to be a tough and physical game, but we would not let it affect our attitudes.  I can't even remember what the score was at half or who scored what tries but it doesn't really matter because both teams fought really hard.  Our flyhalf Drea Mertins definitely scored at least once.  With about 5 minutes left we found ourselves winning 10-5, but backed against our try line with Vernon attacking.  Run the ball in, try held up.  Try held up.  Try held up.  We held up the score 4 times.  On the last scrum our rookie hooker Julia Scheckel stole the ball and our senior flyhalf Drea Mertins kicked it out to end the game.”
     Then there was a mad rush to Coach Noe and a big team hug of celebration.  It was a great game by both sides.
     “This stands as my all-time favorite game because we left our attitudes at home that day and just came to play rugby and that for me is what this game is about.”

Fall 2013  CMHS v DSHA  State Final
     Both their matches this year were back and forth, but this championship began ominously.  On the opening kickoff Jenny Baylon, the Dasher #7, suffered a knee injury as Memorial’s captain Maggie Wesolowski gave her a juke and she planted to react, only to twist her knee up.   First sub in, one minute in.  The ability of both teams to ‘bounce back’ from this and other adversity is one reason it was a great game. 
     As play continued, DS scored a try right off the bat.  An errant pass from Memorial’s scrumhalf got caught in the wind, hit the grass, bounced up in the air and into the arms of an on-rushing Dasher.  Try.    It appeared it could be a long day for the Crusaders.
   But they too bounced right back.   The Crusaders put team red under pressure and spent much of the half camped out in the Dasher Half.  Eventually, Memorial converted pressure from a five meter scrum into points, and the conversion found both teams deadlocked at 7-7, and it remained that way going into halftime.
     The deadlock continued and continued.  Neither side gave much ground.  For twenty minutes into the second half it remained tied.  Eventually the Dashers got a penalty.  Their improved goal-kicking this year proved valuable, as they nailed the penalty conversion to take a tense 10-7 lead.  That seemed to “break the seal” so to speak and the game opened up a little more.  Eventually they dotted down two times in the last few minutes and emerged with a hard-earned perfect record.
    Memorial Captain Alexa Jaeger was one of the players of the match nominations.  Her tackle and poach in the first few minutes was a sign of things to come from her as she was a defensive force all match long.  Dasher #6, Kayla Pavela was remarkable as well, earning a player of the match award. She upped her game even more, in the absence of their regular #7 and made tackle after tackle.
     Both flyhalves got nods as P.of  M.  They both play great defense and made it hard on each other as, of course, they are each threats to run and distribute.  It was one of the best flyhalf matchups in WGR history and a testament to how playing better competition pushes the great players to play even better.

Monday, December 16, 2013

The 2013 Winter Youth Rugby Challenge



For more information please contact: Brandon Culpepper 414-698-6843 bculpepper@peppnation.com

PeppNation SLC Presents:


The 2013 Winter Rugby Challenge
WHEN: SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21ST Time: 9:00am – 1:00pm

WHERE: HEPHATHA LUTHERAN CHURCH GYM 1720 W. LOCUST ST

LUNCH WILL BE SERVED TO ALL PARTICIPANTS AND GUEST
Please preregister by Friday December 20th.

Several WGR players, coaches, and alumni have been involved with coaching for Peppnation and helping them spread youth rugby throughout the city of Milwaukee, in particular in the Milwaukee Public Schools. 


if interested in getting involved, or picking up some volunteer hours, please contact Brandon Culpepper.  Keep up the good work!

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

WGR Announces State 7's Championship

In a move to capture the growing interest in Olympic 7's rugby, WGR will hold their first-ever State 7's Championship May 31st, 2014. 

Teams will have an opportunity to gain experience in the Crusader Cup 7's tournament held May 3rd at Minooka Park, prior to the all-day finals at the end of the month.

Teams will be grouped in two pools of four sides for "pool play" followed by playoff rounds running into the afternoon.  A separate, "jv side" bracket will run concurrently to allow as many players as possible an opportunity to compete and gain experience.  WGR is particulary excited that the Fox Valley area will boast two programs this spring, as Fond Du Lac and Appleton will each field separate sides ... a move that should help each of them grow as they can practice in their own backyard.

Competing Teams include:
Appleton
Brookfield
CMHS
Fond Du lac
Kettle Moraine
Muskego
Oak Creek
Vernon

The draw for pool play will occur after the Crusader Cup results on May 3rd.

WGR Alumns win ACRA Women's Collegiate Championship

Congrats to WGR alumns Georgia Porter and Katie Dries. They formed the 9-10 combination for Winona St in the D2 ACRA Women’s Collegiate Championship , which they won Sunday 28-14 against Notre Dame College, after a big semifinal victory win Saturday over Kutztown, Pa.

 
Junior Georgia Porter, a scrumhalf and Vernon alumn,  scored two tries in the semis and one in the final.  Sophomore Katie Dries, a CMHS alumn, directed their backline at flyhalf and was noted for her "booming kicks".

A few quotes taken from a Rugby Mag interview:

“Georgia always impresses me,” said Winona flanker and eventual Championship MVP, Holly Vassar. “She never gets enough credit. She’s really good at looking up, seeing the field, knowing exactly where the ball needs to go and getting it there. She’s able to step in and poach – she’s basically a forward and a back, and we’ve never had a scrumhalf like that before.”

About the final game: “We had 10 minutes at halftime, and we said we had to secure the ball and do what we knew worked for us,” Porter said. “[In the first half] we tried to play their game and tried to offload it and pop it up, but that’s not how we play. We had to bring the ball down, ruck it and secure it.”
 
Other ACRA Championship Notes:
-Northern Iowa lost an entertaining D1 semifinal match to Norwich, the eventual D1 champions.
Of note in that match:
 
“Freshman Eileen Lieb, a flanker, is someone to watch,” Murra said of the CMHS graduate and the type of difference-maker he wants to attract. “I saw her at last year’s high school nationals, and she was the MVP of the game we watched. I met her parents on the sidelines, chatted with them and got her to come to us."

“She’s the last of 15 kids, so we already knew a couple of things before meeting her,” Murra added. “Her family is basically a rugby team. She knows about sacrifice, hard work, those sorts of things. … She’s a little kid with a lot of fire and had to fight her way onto the field. … I see her as a future leader.”

-Northern Iowa won the 3rd Place Match Sunday with a 32-15 victory over Navy

-In that match "The forwards did a good job of retaining their ball, and minute flanker Eileen Lieb was a hallmark of the Panthers’ rigidity in the breakdown. At one point, the tiny freshman blew off Navy center Katie Smith – who looks three times her size – as she tried to poach the ball on the sideline."

ACRA ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM:
D1:  Eileen Lieb (freshman)(Northern Iowa)
D2:  Georgia Porter (junior)(Winona St)

Friday, December 6, 2013

ACRA National Championships Live Broadcast Saturday

With several WGR alumni playing in both matches, it might be worth checking out the live webcasts of the ACRA D1 and D2 women's collegiate semifinals Saturday

Winona St plays Kutztown at 9am Saturday.   Check out Winona's #9 and #10 combo ... both WGR grads!

Northern Iowa plays Norwich in one of the D1 semifinals, at 1pm.  UNI has a bunch of WGR alumns as well, especially at 2,7, and perhaps in the centers depending on the lineup that day!  Norwich will have at least one WGR alumni playing for them on a full ride, but not until next year ...



Wednesday, December 4, 2013

WGR 2013 All-State Student Athletes


Congratulations to the 2013 Wisconsin Girls High School Rugby All-State Team. 

Backs
Kendyl Braun (jr) Divine Savior
Maggie Brennan (jr)  Divine Savior
Myra Dillett (jr) Catholic Memorial
Julie Else (sr) Catholic Memorial
Anisa Feto (sr) Oak Creek
Rebecca Haight (sr)  Catholic Memorial
Lindsay Hillmer (jr) Kettle Moraine
Fiona Holahan (sr) Divine Savior
Courtney Krouse (sr) Kettle Moraine
Molly Langhenry (sr)   Catholic Memorial
Aleah Loll (sr) Appleton
Katherine Macphearson (jr) Divine Savior
Terrah McCuen (jr) Muskego

Beth Pokorny (sr)  Divine Savior
Lexi Prushiek (jr) Vernon
Cassie Schultz (jr) Kettle Moraine
Catherine Trowbridge (sr) Divine Savior
Emily Winter (jr) Brookfield

Forwards
Jennifer Baylon (sr) Divine Savior
Liz Bellis (sr) Catholic Memorial
Taylor Bragg-Brock (jr) Divine Savior
Claire Guffy (jr) Divine Savior
Kathryn Harvey (sr) Vernon
Alexa Jaeger (sr) Catholic Memorial
Lizzy Jacobson (jr)  Catholic Memorial
Abby Larch (sr) Oak Creek
Kayla Pavela (sr) Divine Savior
Savannah Porter (sr) Brookfield
Mary Catherine Reusch (sr) Divine Savior
Maggie Wesolowski (sr) Catholic Memorial


Editor's note:  This is not a selectside or an actual team to compete in matches.  It is purely an honor of recognition for a student-athlete's contributions to their team and their sport over the course of a conference season.  The Wisconsin High School Girls Selectside program, coached by Jeff Noe, runs in the spring through camps and trials.  More info on that program will be available in 2014.

Monday, December 2, 2013

The Henry and Smith Coaching Presentation

Last weekend a van full of WGR coaches drove up to Minneapolis to take part in the Graham Henry and Wayne Smith coaching presentation hosted by Minnesota Youth Rugby and sponsored by The Rugby Site.

The Rugby Site is an amazing coaching website dedicated to bringing professional coaching and professional development to all corners of the universe, including the frozen tundra of the upper Midwest.

It was an inspiring experience and worth the extra effort to get there.  It was also good connecting with all our friends in the rugby coaching community.  We saw a lot of girls coaches there from our neighbors in Illinois, Indiana, and Minnesota, in addition to al the collegiate coaches out there.

For those unfamiliar with the former New Zealand national team coaches, Graham Henry was the head coach of the Kiwis for the 2011 and 2007 World Cups, winning the Webb Ellis World Cup trophy with an 8-7 victory over France in 2011.

In addition to being an All-Blacks asst. coach, Wayne Smith is currently an asst coach with the Waikato Chiefs, who just won the Super 15 Title.  That's equivalent to the Super Bowl in southern hemisphere professional rugby.

While there were many lessons learned that day, we'll share one golden nugget from each.

From Wayne Smith, came the idea of "SOGS".  Smithy focused on video analysis and the use of statistics to inform coaching. SOGS  stands for "Stays on the Ground" and tracks whether players stay on the ground after a tackle.  He said his Chiefs had the lowest SOGS score of any team in their competition.  It appears to be a measure of hustle and a measure of a player's ability to get back in the game quickly.

Henry began with his philosophy on coaching, and stressed that a great coach needs to focus on being the best person they can be ... staying in shape, living a healthy lifestyle, getting sleep, and bringing one's best to every practice, since our time with athletes is so precious and limited, especially for us coaches not in professional environments. He stressed how being a great coach includes putting the time in, "doing your homework" as he says, and watching film;  of your own matches and other matches.  That's how you learn the game and it's trends.