Camp attendee Ava Procter, seen here with the 2019 USA U18s / Photo: Alex Ho The USA High Performance Pathway (HPP) brought 27 high schoolers and collegians to Glendale, Colo., for a week-long assembly. Led by Martha Daines, manager for women’s HPP and the USA U18 head coach, the 7s camp was also an opportunity for coaches to reconnect with players and ready for upcoming roles.
RELATED: Read Daines’ Review of Camp
Joel Bonnaud has been Daines’ assistant coach with the USA U18s for approximately three years, and was named new USA U20 head coach in June. Daines led the beginning of the camp, and then Bonnaud, who specializes in 15s, shared coaching duties with Kelly Griffin and Josie Ziluca.
@usarjnt Instagram photo “The overall goal was to get to know a good chunk of the players,” Bonnaud said of camp. “Some we saw for the first time at [Talent ID, TID, days] and scouting in the spring, so we brought them out to see them in a camp environment. Then there were others we haven’t seen in a while – especially in a 7s environment – and so we wanted to connect with them. Where are they physically, technically and tactically?
“The tactical part was space management,” Bonnaud continued on camp goals. “It’s not only looking at space and analyzing what you see, but how do we connect together and what do we do with that space on attack and defense?”
Attendees ranged from current high schoolers at their first USA camp, to collegians who are involved with Hawk 7s and the Women’s National Team Daily Training Environments. So there was a wide range in experience and game understanding.
“Collectively, it was very interesting,” Bonnaud said. “The challenge we had was different levels of experience depending on the age grade, but they were all open-minded whether they had been to camps before or it was their first time. They meshed very quickly, and that allowed us to work into details a bit faster than we thought we’d be able to. It was a positive environment and players didn’t have a problem taking initiative – which is what we wanted them to do – so that was great.”
The coaches kept changing the small player groups so everyone was interacting and forming new connects with each other. Bonnaud applauded all the players’ adaptability but did call out PK Vincze for being a vocal problem-solver, and Liz Tafuna for driving positive play through her actions. On the other end of the spectrum, Bonnaud was pleased to see young players like Ella Slaby, who was nominate through the community and then scouted, for blending seamlessly into the group.
“Since it was just one week, they weren’t able to execute everything they saw, but they started to see that space and communicate what to do with that,” Bonnaud said. “In the short term and going forward, I think we planted the seeds in their brains, so they’ll be able to think about space and bring that back to their clubs.”
Traditionally there aren’t any big assemblies in the fall for the age grades, but the winter break is a time to regroup. There is hope that international competition will resume in summer 2022.
“That’s the hope,” Bonnaud said of next summer’s potential fixtures. “We definitely need to resume competition because the players need that. Camps are good but not enough for the learning curve. You need other teams from other countries to grow.”
When the age grades do reassemble in December, Bonnaud will be leading the U20 15s program, and estimated that he’d see two-thirds of the Glendale campers then or at some point in their career.
“The first thing is to think about and lay out the foundation of what I want to address,” Bonnaud said of goal-planning for the U20s. “Usually you work on the themes of the camps and principles of play we want to address and pinpoint. For example, with the U18s, we work on ‘going forward’ as a principle of play, and players seeing what’s happening in front of them. We address applying pressure, and if you look up, what do you see and what do you do to help you go forward?
“For U20s, you start to work on the continuity of that work,” the coach continued. “You’re still working on going forward with that age group, but the other principle we want to work on is the support. So you look at the small picture in front of you on attack and defense, you communicate with your teammates, and then how can you work together in a smaller group to execute what you want to do?”
As the age grades work on their upcoming schedules and coaching staffs, the scouting work continues. The player pool is resetting after Covid-19 anyhow, and Bonnaud wants to extends the program’s reach to every corner of the country. TIDs for girls and women’s age grades are actively being planned for the fall and heading to locations that were missed in the spring.
“The thing about this program, it’s all about the players’ development first and foremost,” Bonnaud closed. “I have them at most two years and then they graduate to the U23s or the senior squad directly. My number one goal or wish once they graduate from U20 is that they fully have that support [understanding] and see that bigger picture, so when they go up, they have that set. Results, that’s secondary. Of course you have to be competitive because you’re in a national environment, but my top priority is player development. If I see them grow, then I’ll be happy.”
Not that competition results don’t matter. As the player’s age increases, team performance does become more important, and game results are one indicator of how effective the talent I.D. and development work is going.
For more information on the High Performance Pathway, visit http://pathways.usa.rugby.
GLENDALE CAMP ATTENDEES
PLAYER – Current team (Former or future team)
• Demi Allen – Lindenwood Univ. (ARPTC, AR)
• Ubaida Ahmed – Raleigh, NC (Ft. Hunt, VA)
• Simone Bautista – Los Alamitos HS, CA
• Jess Burt – Lander Univ. (South Burlington, VT)
• Nyah Cordero – Dartmouth (Rocky Mountain, ID)
• Aly Cunningham – Catholic Memorial, WI (Sacred Heart Univ commit)
• Bianca Curtis – Belmont Shore, CA (Grand Canyon Univ commit)
• Amaya De La Cruz – Grand Canyon Univ (Land Park Harlequins, CA)
• Samantha Els – Stanford Univ (South Africa)
• Irie Farley – Kahuku Raiders (Lindenwood)
• Hattie Greenwood – Fort Collins Hammers, CO
• Jayla Hampton – Lindenwood Univ. (Freedom Prep, TN)
• Tessa Hann – Central Washington Univ (Arapahoe, CO)
• Kamia Kruse – Broken Arrow, OK (Queens Univ of Charlotte commit)
• Autumn LoCicero – Life Univ. (Kenmore, NY)
• Abigail Nichols – Central Washington Univ (Centennial, ID)
• Kayla Pemasa – Life University (Kahului, HI)
• Ava Procter – Dartmouth (Lake Oswego, OR)
• Sadie Schier – Kent Crusaders (Dartmouth commit)
• Puni Skipps – Lindenwood Univ. (South Bay Spartans, CA)
• Ella Slaby – Minneapolis, MN / Shanghai (Bowdoin College commit)
• Juliet Stone – Raleigh Cobras (Queens Univ. commit)
• Kat Storey – Quinnipiac Univ (Downingtown, PA)
• Liz Tafuna – ARPTC (United)
• Lilly Thomas – United (Central Washington Univ commit)
• Kerena Tinoisamoa – Tri-City Thunder (Central Washington Univ commit)
• Lome Unga – Kahuku Raiders, HI
• PK Vincze – Harvard Univ (Summit Tigers, CO)
