USA RUGBY – Nearly 80 high schoolers featured at the USA Rugby High Performance Pathways camps in July. They were sourced from a series of nationwide Talent ID Camps, regional tournament scouting and coach recommendations.

The East camp brought 40 players from 17 states to Mount St. Mary’s Univ. in Emmitsburg, Md. The West camp welcomed another 39 athletes from 10 states to Utah State Univ. in Logan, Utah. USA Women’s High Performance Pathway Manager Martha Daines focused the assemblies on taking initiative, i.e., controlling the opposition on both attack and defense, and dictating the pace of play. Small-sided games, technical skill sessions and classroom sessions aided this objective.

Photo: @patmoroney

“We hope the U18s camps gave players new perspectives on how the game could be played, broader understanding of possible roles they might take on the field depending on their strengths, reinforcement or development of skills specific to the point of contact, and attacking in a marked up situation,” Daines told USA Rugby. “There’s been considerable growth and development of players over the last year as we’ve had another year of rugby post-COVID. We’re seeing more athletic players who are more resilient and more skilled, which bodes well for future national teams.”

 

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Stay tuned for more information on the next round of Talent ID camps, and ideally, plans for some kind of competition, which has eluded the U18s for years.

U18 West Camp

U18 East Camp