CHULA VISTA, CA – Following a comprehensive search, USA Rugby has formally appointed Chris Brown as Head Coach of the Women’s Eagles Sevens.
Brown assumed the position of Interim Head Coach in August having previously served as the Assistant Coach for the Men’s Eagles Sevens. Overall, he’s spent more than four years ingrained in the USA Rugby Sevens program with assistant coach, strength & conditioning and coach development roles. He’s also led as Head Coach for Falcons tours at the developmental level.
Through his time, Brown has been a consistent presence at the Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista supporting USA Rugby’s women’s and men’s resident athletes as a skills coach. After a thorough interview and vetting process of over 50 applicants, Brown’s unrivaled intensity brought to the program stood out above all.
Since his start in 2014, the Men’s Eagles Sevens have climbed from their 13th place finish in the 2013-14 World Rugby Sevens Series (then called IRB World Sevens Series) to their sixth-place finish in 2018. Brown was also part of the team’s coaching staff when the program won its first two World Series titles at the 2015 London Sevens and 2018 USA Sevens tournaments.
With a background in strength and conditioning, the new Head Coach has worked with the union to design and deliver high performance training programs which match those of the top performing nations in sevens. His focused approach on mastering core rugby skills and employing physicality have helped many national team players evolve into notable standouts on the World Rugby circuit.
Alongside his work with the national teams, Brown has invested time as a coach educator, providing workshops and seminars to both mentor and develop the nation’s budding domestic sevens coaches. In his new role with the Women’s Eagles Sevens, he’ll continue to work with USA Rugby’s division of high performance — as part of Project SOAR — to build depth in homegrown coaches across the nation.
General Manager of Women’s High Performance Emilie Bydwell said: “Chris has a proven track record of accelerating the development of talent. Throughout his time working with the women, including the last six weeks as Interim Head Coach, Chris has demonstrated the ability to increase skill execution and improve tactical decision making whilst creating an authentic learning environment that maintains competition and performance standards.
“We believe that Chris’s detail oriented coaching style, paired with his humble, aware and reflective leadership qualities, makes him the ideal candidate to support the women in their 2020 medal campaign.”
Head Coach Chris Brown said: “I’m excited to maximize the transfer of what I’ve been taught and exposed to over the past decade. Being mentored by one of the best in the business, Mike Friday, for a number of years, has only enhanced my belief that I can lead this program in a positive direction.
“I’m encouraged from working with Emilie Bydwell and the remainder of the Women’s Sevens staff, that we will be able to transfer a number of the qualities I’ve absorbed with this group very quickly. Specifically on pitch, I’m excited to see how I can enhance the progression of skill execution and situational understanding.”
USA Rugby CEO, Ross Young added, “The relationship Chris has with the Women’s Sevens team and staff in Chula Vista is instrumental in what we are looking to develop for the program. His drive to promote intensity and passion within the player pool is a quality we’re excited to endorse going into a qualification season.”
USA fans can watch as Brown makes his head coaching debut during the upcoming USA Women’s Sevens tournament in Glendale, Oct 20-21. Tickets are available at usawomens7sglendale.com with the competition streamed LIVE on FloRugby.