Big Step For EIRA As Ireland Tour Begins
Big Step For EIRA As Ireland Tour Begins
The Eagle Impact Rugby Academy select team is on its way to Ireland after a couple of days training at the U.S. Military Academy's Anderson Rugby Complex in West Point, New York.
The Eagle Impact Rugby Academy select team is on its way to Ireland after a couple of days training at the U.S. Military Academy's Anderson Rugby Complex in West Point, New York.
The EIRA team is preparing to face Ulster Academy U17s on Saturday, July 22, in Belfast; Leinster Academy U17s on Tuesday, July 25, in Dublin; and Ulster Academy once more on Friday, July 28, back in Belfast.
The Ireland trip is a homecoming for EIRA head coach Salty Thompson, who grew up in Belfast, and a new chapter for the EIRA program, which has previously only toured to Canada. An EIRA team already went to British Columbia last week, and another squad will make a trip to Ontario later this month.
There isn't much overlap among the five EIRA teams, and at one point the coaches sincerely doubted whether they could find enough players to compete. So far, the returns have been good in West Point.
[facebook url="https://www.facebook.com/darrel.knowlton/videos/10155461598927482/"]
This week, Thompson worked on attack with the EIRA players while Scott Bracken handled scrums and lineouts and kick reception. John Banarhall (who is an assistant coach at Army) instructed the visitors on defense, and EIRA had Culver Military Academy head coach Darrell Knowlton, a clinical psychologist in his day job, working on team building. The players got to learn a little about West Point history from Black Knights men's head coach Matt Sherman as well.
While the players went through a number of tactical and game-plan issues, they also focused on the basics. EIRA was founded on the idea that working the core skills will make better rugby players and rugby teams.
"All the systems in the world won't help if you don't have the skills," Thompson said. "That's still a big part of what we do."
The players had a full day on Monday and a half-day on Tuesday before flying out to Ireland. This EIRA group includes standouts from all over the country and a large number of players who impressed in the Boys High School Rugby National Championships or in the FloRugby Hot Lists. They worked within EIRA chapters around the country and are familiar with the Eagle Impact approach, if not each other.
It's going to be a new and challenging experience for this squad, but there are also some question marks for the teams EIRA will face in Ireland. Both Leinster and Ulster are preparing for later provincial competition, and their coaches are using the EIRA games to try out some combinations and see where they stand. And that's what it's all about for all of these kids.
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The EIRA team is preparing to face Ulster Academy U17s on Saturday, July 22, in Belfast; Leinster Academy U17s on Tuesday, July 25, in Dublin; and Ulster Academy once more on Friday, July 28, back in Belfast.
The Ireland trip is a homecoming for EIRA head coach Salty Thompson, who grew up in Belfast, and a new chapter for the EIRA program, which has previously only toured to Canada. An EIRA team already went to British Columbia last week, and another squad will make a trip to Ontario later this month.
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There isn't much overlap among the five EIRA teams, and at one point the coaches sincerely doubted whether they could find enough players to compete. So far, the returns have been good in West Point.
[facebook url="https://www.facebook.com/darrel.knowlton/videos/10155461598927482/"]
This week, Thompson worked on attack with the EIRA players while Scott Bracken handled scrums and lineouts and kick reception. John Banarhall (who is an assistant coach at Army) instructed the visitors on defense, and EIRA had Culver Military Academy head coach Darrell Knowlton, a clinical psychologist in his day job, working on team building. The players got to learn a little about West Point history from Black Knights men's head coach Matt Sherman as well.
While the players went through a number of tactical and game-plan issues, they also focused on the basics. EIRA was founded on the idea that working the core skills will make better rugby players and rugby teams.
"All the systems in the world won't help if you don't have the skills," Thompson said. "That's still a big part of what we do."
The players had a full day on Monday and a half-day on Tuesday before flying out to Ireland. This EIRA group includes standouts from all over the country and a large number of players who impressed in the Boys High School Rugby National Championships or in the FloRugby Hot Lists. They worked within EIRA chapters around the country and are familiar with the Eagle Impact approach, if not each other.
It's going to be a new and challenging experience for this squad, but there are also some question marks for the teams EIRA will face in Ireland. Both Leinster and Ulster are preparing for later provincial competition, and their coaches are using the EIRA games to try out some combinations and see where they stand. And that's what it's all about for all of these kids.
| First Name | Last Name | School Year | Ht | Wt | Position | Rugby Club | City | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyren | Aljiboori | Jr | 6'1" | 187 | Wing | Union High | Tulsa | OK |
| Austin | Arnett | Jr | 6'2" | 185 | Flanker | Tribe Rugby | Athens | TN |
| Ayden | Augspurg | So | 6'0" | 225 | Prop | Parkhill UTD | Kansas City | MO |
| Alexander | Cleary | Jr | 6'0" | 185 | Lock | Chuckanut | Ferndale | WA |
| Nolan | Filteau | Jr | 6'2" | 245 | Prop | Amoskeag | Bow | NH |
| Matthew | Freeman | So | 5'9" | 185 | Hooker | Gonzaga | Silver Spring | MD |
| Mateo | Gadsden | Jr | 6'4" | 198 | Wing | Back Bay | Costa Mesa | CA |
| Jasper | Green | Jr | 6'4" | 185 | Fullback | St Paul's, London | San Francisco | CA |
| Kaipono | Kayoshi | Jr | 6'0" | 187 | Lock | Granite Bay | Granite bay | CA |
| Isaia | Kruse | Jr | 5'8" | 155 | Wing | Bullard | Fresno | CA |
| Russell | Lemaster | So | 6'1" | 210 | No. 8 | Royal Irish | Indianapolis | IN |
| Niklas | Lundqvist | Jr | 6'0" | 205 | Flanker | Coastal Dragons | Encinitas | CA |
| Michael | Maafu | Jr | 6'1" | 220 | No. 8 | Tempe | Phoenix | AZ |
| John | McCrossin | Jr | 6'1" | 185 | Flanker | Fort Hunt | Alexandria | VA |
| Christiaan | Mosconi | Jr | 5'6" | 150 | Scrumhalf | Back Bay | Aliso Viejo | CA |
| Zachary | Neff | Jr | 6'0" | 187 | Lock | C.K. McClatchy | Sacramento | CA |
| Sean | Nolan | So | 6'2" | 175 | Flyhalf | Back Bay | Laguna Beach | CA |
| Gavin | Prentice | So | 6'0" | 240 | Prop | Eastside Lions | Seattle | WA |
| James | Reid | Fr | 5'11" | 175 | Center | Loudoun | Purcellville | VA |
| Cole | Semu | Jr | 5'10" | 190 | Center | Chuckanut | Ferndale | WA |
| Quinn | Sheppard | Jr | 6'3" | 200 | Lock | C.K. McClatchy | Carmichael | CA |
| Sidney | Shoop | Jr | 5'6" | 135 | Scrumhalf | South Greenvill | Fletcher | NC |
| Adam | Tounkara | Jr | 6'2" | 270 | Prop | Maryland Exiles | Rockville | MD |
| Alex | Vaca | Jr | 5'8" | 180 | Center | Santa Monica | Santa Monica | CA |
| Jordan | Wander | Jr | 6'3" | 220 | Flanker | Harlequin Colts | Richardson | TX |
| Inoke | Waqavesi | Jr | 5'8" | 180 | Center | C.K. McClatchy | Sacramento | CA |
| Michael | Weir | Jr | 5'10" | 149 | Flyhalf | Doylestown | Schwenksville | PA |
| Larry | Williams | Jr | 5'11" | 215 | Hooker | Clayton | Clayton | NC |
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