United States of America: State of Rugby

[Caledfwlch]

Not a very long way. Just halfway. They're still running on a semi-pro league, aren't they?



If the Yanks had stuck to rugby, the North American championship would be called the World Series/Championship And they'd turn it into a MASSIVE MASSIVE marketing vehicle. Like in 1984 when thy launched the first Apple, with that annoying 'empowering' advert that had a woman smashing the 'Big Brother'

 

[TyphoonsRugby]

Are there any pro clubs in the US? I'd enjoy moving there to play for a season or two.

 

[Prestwick]

Are there any pro clubs in the US? I'd enjoy moving there to play for a season or two. [/b]

As explained earlier in this thread, there is an experimental four team league called North America 4. This is going to be expanded to 8 teams before being franchised out to make the league fully professional.

 

[Caledfwlch]

Hmm. In that case they should have trialled a professional league with the existing semi pro league instead. Isn't it better to build on some foundation rather than none?

 

[HKING]

Objective is the development of school boy and girl rugby here in the states. As we begin to try to get rugby recognised buy our sporting organizations. That is our sates individual Athletic Associations governing what sports are played at high school and middle school levels then the change could be massive.

Right now we have an obundance of potenial rugby athletes that have been disenfranchised over our popular sports thinking their going to become the next LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavs. The sad fact that the numbers just do not add up. We produce from colleges and other institutions numbers of athlete with nothing elese to do except become bleacher bums or arm chair quarter backs. Instead we should look at rugby as something for all individuals to at least give it a go.

Major problem rugby according to most parents that I have delt with O MY GOSH MY SON IS GOING TO DIE!!!

The sad fact is once the parents see how much fun and not so dangerous rugby is they LOVE IT!

Anyway I have coached at the college level Div I in the USA at Central Michigan and then took a step back for 2 years and now got a program going for the youth in our community. Again funding being the hardest issue. I can not use any of the schools busses where I work, NOT a School sponsored activity. So our high school boy's budget is 5,000 dollars this year and all my game are over 2 hours of drive time plus renting vans to transport because this is the most selfish generation of parents I have ever met JUST my opinnion.

Well I will end by saying this country is on the verge of breaking out and when it dose World look out.
You know what Yamamoto said in WWII all we did was awaken a sleeping giant !

Coach King

 

[Prestwick]

Hmm. In that case they should have trialled a professional league with the existing semi pro league instead. Isn't it better to build on some foundation rather than none? [/b]

Very true but this league is meant to eventually be made up of teams from across North America. Canada run their own league so it was felt that with iRB money an attempt should be made to see how a cross-border league would work.

My view? They should advance towards a full 14 team franchised competition with all haste as long as they can get businessmen with the staying power and acumen to make it work.

 

[HKING]

Prestwick I agree it needs to be more then just 8 and it should be put into place as fast as possible so that the next 4 years we might advance rugby here even more.



King

 

[Prestwick]

The good thing is that both the Yanks and the Canadians know how best to promote and build a sports franchise. The thing is though I'm thinking is the view of USA Rugby and Nigel Melville going along the lines of maximum autonomy for the clubs/franchises if and when they appear post NA4 or are they wanting more control al la the SRU and SANZAR?

My gut feeling that, as befits the culture of North America, that USA Rugby would rather let these guys run free and grow themselves and then happily skim off the players that are developed through a more professional system.

 

[shtove]

Objective is the development of school boy and girl rugby here in the states. As we begin to try to get rugby recognised buy our sporting organizations. That is our sates individual Athletic Associations governing what sports are played at high school and middle school levels then the change could be massive.

Right now we have an obundance of potenial rugby athletes that have been disenfranchised over our popular sports thinking their going to become the next LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavs. The sad fact that the numbers just do not add up. We produce from colleges and other institutions numbers of athlete with nothing elese to do except become bleacher bums or arm chair quarter backs. Instead we should look at rugby as something for all individuals to at least give it a go. [/b]

Abundance of athletes - I think that's what Melville focused on when he took up the job. But you'll still get hammered by Ireland :bleh!:

Schools rugby in Ireland has a bigish following - Leinster schools cup finals (U-18) regularly get crowds of 25,000 in Dublin. If you hook people at that stage, they'll be lifelong supporters - rugby has that quality.

Crowd chants and songs were big for us, but I guess college football in the US has the same culture. Mind you, our cheerleaders were ugly guys with megaphones who used to threaten us with a beating if we didn't sing ourselves hoarse!

 

[DC]

<div class='quotemain'> Are there any pro clubs in the US? I'd enjoy moving there to play for a season or two. [/b]

As explained earlier in this thread, there is an experimental four team league called North America 4. This is going to be expanded to 8 teams before being franchised out to make the league fully professional.

[/b][/quote]

and even then the NA4 squads are not neccessarily clubs but rather provincial/divisional squads made of the best players in each half of canada and the usa.

 

[Prestwick]

True but thats the embryonic stage of a professional league. Next they'll be wanting to find permenant places to base the teams on and expand the number of teams to six and then finally eight find people to franchise them to.

In the case of Canada, having provincial teams might be better than simply basing them out of cities so this is pretty good practice to what should develop into a North American League.

 

[Caledfwlch]

So what happens to the teams in the AmberBock Super League? The old names like Belmont Shore, OMBAC etc. Are they going to be phased out, ya think?



Man this is rich, but not smooth.

 

[HKING]

I think that the AmerBock Super League needs to be expanded and they need to find a partner to help sponsor the development.

Objective is not not reduce, but to expand the game of rugby. The one major issue is knowledge and understanding of the game here in the USA most people have a distorted picture of the game.

The second major issue is the pure size of this country. USA Rugby had a youth conference on the game in Tenn. last year which I participated in and could afford that trip. Then this year they had another one in San Diego, Ca. No way in heck I would be able to make that trip to give my input as a youth coach.

The State Based Organizations that control sports played at schools dictates the spread or non-spread of rugby here. In the state that I live in we need to push at the NCHAA http://www.nchsaa.org/index.pl . Here is where rugby needs to be and then NFHS http://www.nfhs.org/ these two organization gorvern the spread of rugby in states and in my state in particular. USA Rugby has gone to the conference for NFHS, I think they should approach each state high school association, this I think would have a better effect on the spread of the game at the national level. Each state should develop a team of coordinators to develop a line on attack and GO FOR IT :cheers: .

Being a PE teacher at the middle school level in NC, I see their are more students not involved in sport today then could be. Also the inactivity of our kids at all levels needs to change, one reason why I started a rugby team in my neck of the woods. The past 2 years has been a war with trying to educate people about the game an grow our club.

I think as a Nation we could be doing much better, but some times I feel that the captains at the helm are not pushing hard enough.

Just MHO.

Coach King
Hurricanes Youth RFC, Raeford, North Carolina

 

[Canadian_Rugby_Guy]

Wrong Canada is in a retarded situation. Nigel Melville proverbially rapes Graham Brown (canada ceo) up the ass in terms of putting a face on their respective country's rugby programs internationally. The USA is starting to show more initiative, and even though Canada's thrashed the US in the last few encounters, has more professionals and Canada East and West are showing overall better in the NA4, it could all change very rapidly due to the fact that the gentlemen who head Rugby Canada are hair-brained idiots with no clear procedure for selecting a new coach and are bickering old women who can't see past the tips of their noses when it comes to developing the sport. Our dominance won't last until this board either picks up the pace or gets the f*** out and lets someone else take charge.

 

[cmbnd10]

When will we find out what teams are added to NA4?

 

[Canadian_Rugger]

Canada has plenty of quality rugby players... and the skill of players here is generally higher then that of the players in the states... this is due too high school rugby being immensely popular in Canada and most clubs now having an established junior program... The problem in Canada lies in the way the game is administered. In rugby many people still view rugby as more of a social activity then an actual sport.... people especially the old guard do not want to let go of the amateur past and this has hindered our development...



I played in a tournament against a few american teams and American rugby is very forward oriented... they do not play with a lot of flair... mostly a lot of pick and gos, mauls, and crash ball... the avg canadian's has better basics then the avg american rugby player.. and whoever said the American team has had the better of Canada the past few years ehm u might wanna check that out. Our juniors regularly thrash the American juniors... and our senior men have put over 50 points on the Americans the past few times we have played them.

 

[O'Rothlain]

Canada has plenty of quality rugby players... and the skill of players here is generally higher then that of the players in the states... this is due too high school rugby being immensely popular in Canada and most clubs now having an established junior program... The problem in Canada lies in the way the game is administered. In rugby many people still view rugby as more of a social activity then an actual sport.... people especially the old guard do not want to let go of the amateur past and this has hindered our development...



I played in a tournament against a few american teams and American rugby is very forward oriented... they do not play with a lot of flair... mostly a lot of pick and gos, mauls, and crash ball... the avg canadian's has better basics then the avg american rugby player.. and whoever said the American team has had the better of Canada the past few years ehm u might wanna check that out. Our juniors regularly thrash the American juniors... and our senior men have put over 50 points on the Americans the past few times we have played them.

[/b]

I agree with you...American Rugby is Forward Oriented. I try to coach differently, but when on the field, even I always gravitate back to a forwards game. We ran banger after banger off of the ruck. I felt a bit sorry for the backs who I noticed were just standing waiting while the forwards were beating the **** out of eachother.

 

[thegoods14]

I think a big problem with rugby in the U.S. is how little media attention it gets. During the world cup, on Sportscenter they showed like a 25 second clip of the France v. New Zealand game. If they televise it more between March and August it will give all the rednecks a full contact sport to watch during American football's off season.

 

[melon]

I think a big problem with rugby in the U.S. is how little media attention it gets. During the world cup, on Sportscenter they showed like a 25 second clip of the France v. New Zealand game. If they televise it more between March and August it will give all the rednecks a full contact sport to watch during American football's off season. [/b]

Well there we go. That's the problem. You say if they televise it, it will give the rednecks a full contact sport to watch during the off season. That attitutude will get this great game of ours nowhere in the USA.

Sure, we need to start off small to gain the initial exposure which would then attract more people and as a result a new target audience, but having the attitude that it will only appeal to rednecks in the off season of American Football will get rugby no where.

I can see where you're coming from and what you do say is unfortunately true. Thats where it will probably have to start to gain a larger audience.

But then again, there is college/university over in the USA. I seriously think thats where the key is for the growth of Rugby.

 

[redunderthebed]

. Americans need to buy an atlas and see that there's a world outside thier 'world'.
[/b]

That is the problem with any sport coming into America and trying to get a foothold in the market.You watch ESPN sportscenter there is whole world of sports going on but you wouldnt know about it its all about Baseball,Gridiron,Ice Hockey and Basketball only on a few occasions is sports events outside america are mentioned.