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First off, the RSL is a wonderful organization run by volunteers who give up vast amounts of time and energy to make it work.
What started as a difficult venture has really been able to thrive, it is not perfect by any means, but it is pretty darn good.
I will start with facilities, the NYAC built its rugby team a brand new $2 million all weather field at their pool, tennis, and crew facility, of which I and my club mates are very proud and rightfully so, a lot of work went into it and it will be used for the first time this weekend in a quarterfinal match against SFGG.
Old Blue spent close to $1 million to have access to an all weather facility at Columbia University and have it permanently lined for rugby, it will be the venue of the USA Developmental XV against England Counties. Chicago Lions play at Northeastern Illinois University, a venue with stands, locker rooms and an immaculate surface.
OMBAC plays at the San Diego Chargers’ former practice facility, which is immaculate and complete with stands and vending areas, they have also played in the main stadium.
San Francisco Golden Gate has a complete rugby facility dedicated to their use on Treasure Island under the Bay Bridge. Charlotte spent countless hours developing a rugby complex and clubhouse that they are in the process of upgrading and making even more impressive.
Boston Irish play at the Irish Cultural Center, a multi-field facility complete with stands, locker rooms, and a clubhouse, it will be the site of the USA v Munster match this summer.
Dallas maintains a relationship with the city of Dallas to play at Glencoe Park, which is complete with full stands for fans. Denver has upgraded to a Soccer Stadium in Denver. Belmont Shore plays on a great field at Long Beach State.
These teams have worked hard with very little outside financial support to make these things happen. There are great tracks that I haven’t mentioned, there are also some substandard facilities, but I can assure you that each team is endeavoring to make this right, it is not easy and it is not cheap.
RSL teams take a lot of financial resources and time to run their clubs, OMBAC in particular has most likely foregone opportunities to capture RSL titles in the past two seasons due to their support of players who were in the Eagle program that were lost at critical times due to national team commitments. OMBAC was generous enough to provide living, training and financial support to several Eagle players, while perhaps costing themselves titles in the process.
The RSL clubs have also given back big time to the game. NYAC’s Alex Magleby coaches Dartmouth, Blake Burdette coaches Utah, Justin Hundley coaches at Army. OMBAC’s Dan Payne coaches San Diego State. Belmont’s Chris Osentowski and SFGG’s Bill LeClerc are doing a fine job with the scrums throughout the USA.
PAC’s Peter Baggetta is the USA rugby defensive coordinator. Santa Monica’s Stu Krohn and Chicago’s Marty Wiggins are coaching the NA4 sides. Krohn is being assisted by OMBAC’s Mike Saunders. NYAC’s Mike Tolkin and St Louis coach Ron Laszewski are coaching the USA Development XV, and there are many others who I have skipped.
Philly’s George Betzler is still involved with US coach development and has been for more than three decades. Rob Holder, who coached Air Force to the 2003 national title, is a former Super League player. Denver’s Dave Hodges coaches the West and coached the Eagles. Boston’s Eugene Mountjoy coached the NRU. Dallas’ Michael Engelbrecht coaches USA U-20. Belmont’s Jonnie Cox coaches SoCal. This is by no means a complete list.
Former RSL members Aspen heavily subsidized a camp for the Eagles last summer. Former members Olympic Club have Ray Lehner coaching the NA4 with Krohn. Olympic Club merged with Old Blues, who were an RSL founding member, and their Tim O’Brien and John Everett coach St Mary’s. Jack Clark and Tom Billups of Old Blues coach Cal. The graduates of Life University have provided countless free chiropractic adjustments to rugby men over the years.
The founding members of the Super League were chosen because of their success over many years, others have been invited in due to merit as decided by the RSL member clubs, and we know the process is not perfect, we make no claims that it is. Some teams have their ups and downs; others have continued success.
Some have chosen to leave us because their clubs can be stronger teams in other competitions such as O-Club, Life, and the KC Blues. O-Club and Life have proven that they could compete well with most RSL clubs, Aspen and KC have also had success getting their clubs back to where they want to be.
Our players in the RSL have been a major source of Eagle players, we have given opportunities to players to play overseas, we have also given the opportunity for several players from overseas to thrive in the USA. We have many former Super 14 players, international players, Heineken Cup players, and NPC players that have served us all to make our competition better.
Rugby is not culturally huge in America, we have all planted the seeds of action to make it culturally accepted in America. We work hard at this. Everyone at every level works hard at this. Most RSL teams spend about $100k per year and this comes from all club members. Some spend much, much more. We are trying to make it matter. It matters to us, it matters to me, that is why we do it.
I certainly want to use the media to promote the league and promote interest in the league. For that I am unapologetic. Movie stars and sports teams do it all the time. I am thankful for all of the RSL members for allowing NYAC to participate, it is the best rugby experience that most of us have ever had. We are trying to make it a great experience for our supporters.
It is not a commercially viable as a for-profit venture and we know that. We do it for love of the game and love of the sport. We work hard to garner sponsors, we want to have good game attendance and that happens in nice weather and competitive games, same as any amateur club sport.
So in closing, I am proud of our league, I am proud of our volunteer administrators, I will do what I can to promote the hell out of the league through the generous rugby websites that cover us. We, as members, appreciate the coverage. We are working to make this better; it is getting better.
To the negative members of our community, please do what you can to make rugby better, the whole anonymous potshot routine is cowardly. If you love it, make it matter, do the work and you will thrive. We are trying our best with very limited resources.
