News
9/30/08:
It is extremely important to get your CIPP numbers from the USA Rugby website. It is an important for insurance and you will not be able to play without it. Also, please go to the calendar section of nchsra.org for a mandatory high school rugby camp at the Charlotte Rugby Club on October 11th. This is extremely important so that you can get your player ID picture taken (another requirement to play this year). Please contact Thomas with any questions.
9/28/08:
There is still practice this upcoming Tuesday (9/30) despite there being no school. We are not allowed on the campus during the day, so practice will be moved to 3:30PM!
9/16/08:
There is a Parent's meeting scheduled for 9/22/08 at the Myers Park Cafeteria. The meeting will run roughly from 7-8PM and attendance is strongly encouraged by parents and players. An introduction to the team and coaches will be the main priority, but it will also be a time for questions to be answered.
8/13/08:
There is a cookout planned for this for Saturday (16th) at Coach Thomas' house. His address is 75 Riverside Dr., Cramerton, NC 28032, for those who wish to map it on the internet. If not, follow these directions: Take I-85 S to Exit 26 and go right off the ramp. Drive to the second light and turn right. Drive to the next light and take a left. Take a left at the stop sign (going underneath a rail bridge), and then take your first left (Riverside). His house is located opposing the park area. We encourage all current, past, and future players to come. This includes all prospective players and upcoming freshmen. Parents are strongly encouraged to attend, as well. Please call Thomas (704-953-1394) with any questions.
8/03/08:
We have received a group rate for the upcoming weekend (8/9/08) in Charleston for the Eagles game. Call the Hampton Inn Charleston-Airport/Coliseum and mention that you are with the Myers Park Rugby Club to receive the discounted room rate. It is suggested to call ASAP to assure getting a room. The phone number for the hotel is 1-843-554-7154. Call Coach Thomas with any further questions.
6/03/08:
Congratulations are in order for our State All-Star Selections. Jimmy Dever, Teddy Hawke, Brandon Hedrick, Thomas Jackson, Luis Loaiza, and Zach Willard were all selected. There is a rumor of another tryout for the players who were not this upcoming weekend. As soon as the information is found, it will be posted here. If there is a seperate tryout, please make every effort to go because we know that we have the talent to put more Myers Park players on the squads.
5/28/08:
The end of year party for the team will be held at Brandon Hedrick's house (3414 Foxcroft Road, Charlotte, NC 28211) on Saturday, June 7th. Please start showing up at 6:30 for food and the awards presentation. Please direct questions to Coach Thomas.
Also, The All-Star Managers sent an email to all nominees today. If you did not get it, the important information is below.
On behalf of Coach Worrall and the entire NC All Star coaching staff we would like to congratulate you gentlemen. You all have been nominated by your team coach to participate in the selection process of the 2008 NC U17 and U19 Select side. Try outs will be held this next Sunday, June 1st at The Charlotte Rugby Club (see http://www.charlotterugby.com/directions.php for directions to the club).
Sunday Schedule as follow:
10:00 AM - 10:25 AM CHECK-IN, 10:30 AM - 10:59 AM WARM-UP, 11:00 AM - 04-00 PM TRY-OUTS - RUGBY PRACTICE
You are expected to be on time, bring your own bottle of water, bring your rugby gear (shorts, cleats, socks, jersey) and mouth guard, and most important: You are expected to be the whole session. Lunch will be provided (subs, chips, water, bananas and oranges); however, you are welcome to bring your own extra food (fruit or energy bars) if you want or need to. Should you have any questions regarding this weekend, please contact us: Chic Cariaga and/or Ramon Villacura; 2008 All Star team managers (but don't worry, Mrs. Lavasseur has agreed once again to be our team mom this year so you all will have a nice face and great rugby supporter to help you too).
5/24/08:
The coaching staff would like to congratulate our nominations for the U-17 & U-19 All-Star teams. There will be a tryout on June 1st at the Charlotte Rugby Club for the All-Star teams that will represent North Carolina at a regional tournament here in Charlotte, and another tournament in Pittsburgh. Both of these events will have representatives from USA rugby for the Eagles teams, so bring your best for a chance to represent the United States. Keep in touch with Coach Thomas for the exact schedule.
U-17s:
| Brenden Bleavins |
| CJ Christianson |
| Teddy Hawke |
| Chandler Headen |
| Jon Horton |
| Clark Howell |
| Griffin Phillips |
| Sam Stone |
| Julian Tigler |
| Zach Williard |
U-19s:
| Travis Connor |
| Charlie Cutajar |
| Jimmy Dever |
| Daniel Dixon |
| Joseph Frohock |
| Brandon Hedrick |
| Thomas Jackson |
| Scott Leavitt |
| Luis Loaiza |
| Will McWhorter |
5/4/08:
Myers Park played their first playoff game this past Saturday against a very physical North Meck team. After a rash of injuries from the previous game, the Myers Park squad played without many of starters and had to look to some first year players to fill the gaps. Special recognition goes out to Andrew Synder, Chandler Headen, and Jacob Virgil for making their first starts, and more impressively, they are all first year players that earned this opportunity through hard work.
Both Myers Park and North Meck started the game off strongly, looking to advance in the hunt for a state championship. North Meck used strong rucking and strong wing play to break out to a 5-0 lead early into the game. Myers Park kept within calm and used strong forward play to come back to take a 14-5 lead going into halftime. Despite some imposing forwards on the North Meck squad, Myers Park dominated the lineouts and scrums, and would continue this throughout the remainder of the game. The second half began as the first half had ended, with Myers Park dictating pace of play. Each team played hard, knowing that the loser's season was over, and each team's determined play resulted in points. In the end, Myers Park defeated North Meck by a score of 26-10, and will move on to play Union County Lions in the semi-finals of the state playoffs next weekend. The Myers Park backs started to show signs of better play in this game by displaying good ball support, better rucking, and some excellent offload passing. This improved play in the backs will be needed to advance in the playoffs.
The Myers Park team would like to send our best wishes to the North Meck player injured at the end of the game. Here's hoping that he makes a quick recovery.
4/25/08:
This last week has seen more media coverage about high school rugby in Charlotte than in the last year or more. Myers Park has been a large beneficiary of the coverage, and we would like to extend a huge thanks to Dan Tierney of The Charlotte Observer and Erik Saxon of WSOC-TV. Listed below are the article links, and please take note of the video clip in the WSOC article. Please take the time to click on the authors' names and write them an email of thanks.
4/13/08:
On Saturday, a mixed Myers Park side of A and B players accepted an invitation to have a rematch with UNC-CH's "Killer B's" at Carolina's rugby field. The game kicked off at noon, and UNC looked like a team determined to rectify a 0-0 draw from earlier in the season. UNC played a very technical game in the backs with an assortment of switches, dummies, and skip passes; many times, overloading the strong side with loose forwards. Myers Park responded with a "bend, but don't break" defense that saw a handful of UNC players make promising breaks, but were tackled before scoring. The constant defensive pressure applied by UNC resulted in shaky decision-making by the Myers Park, and this resulted in a 15-0 deficit going into halftime for Myers Park.
The second half saw a Myers Park team that turned up the concentration and intensity, determined to erase the deficit and get a victory. Just as in the first half, play was in the middle 50% of the field and the intensity was high. The Myers Park forwards started to take charge and used the maul to eat up large chunks of field. The play by the forwards began to open up the field for the backs, and this resulted in promising breaks downfield. The determined play by Myers Park began to wear down UNC, and began resulting in points. With play beginning to stay in UNC's side of the field, Myers Park eventually took a 17-15 lead in the game with a penalty kick. The strong play continued from there, but with time running out and Myers Park in the lead 22-15, UNC began a promising last push to finish the game with a draw. In the last play of the game, strong defensive pressure from Myers Park resulted in a 3/4 field run from CJ Christianson for game clinching try. UNC was kind enough to name Myers Park's Travis Connor as the man of the game. We appreciate their hospitality and hope to continue this relationship into future seasons.
3/17/08:
Carolina Youth Rugby Tournament scores:
A-side matches:
| Myers Park | v. | Sen. O'Connor | 11-3 (W) |
| Myers Park | v. | Union County | 37-7 (W) |
| Myers Park | v. | Alpharetta | 14-20 (L) |
B-side matches:
| Myers Park | v. | Morris Roberts B | 22-0 (W) |
| Myers Park | v. | Charlotte Catholic B | 17-7 (W) |
| Myers Park | v. | Hoggs/N. Meck | 14-49 (L) |
3/15/08:
The A-side played a league match this morning against West Meck and came away with a 34-10 victory. Myers Park came out of the gate and had control of the match with two early scores. Mental lapses and silly penalties prevented the team from putting the game out of reach, and West Meck used its size and speed to grind their way back into the game with a 12-10 score going into halftime. Clinging to an uncomfortable lead after one half of play, the team made a strong effort to regain their focus and retake control of the game. The team focus did not come immediately after the second half kickoff, allowing West Meck to continue with the style of play that got them back into the game. However, after a few minutes of nervous play, Myers Park slowed down the pace of play and imposed its style of play on West Meck. The change of pace resulted in a flurry of Myers Park tries, and a comfortable margin of victory.
3/01/08:
The A-side pulled out a decisive 39-0 victory over Berry Academy's A-side. The first half of play was controlled primarily by Myers Park and most of the action took place on Berry's side of the field. Play was active but sloppy on both sides at the beginning of the first half. Eventually the pace slowed and Myers Park began to dictate play. The Myers Park pack had a rough day and were pushed by Berry's big boys, but as soon as the ball came out to the backs the game changed. The backs were able to run through and around the Berry defenders for most of the match; with almost all of the tries scored by the backs. Early in the second half, Berry maintained possession deep in Myers Park territory, but our pack put it together when they needed it most to keep the opposition out of the try zone. This defensive stand propelled the team to retake the game and end it with a flurry of scoring. Despite this being a victory, Myers Park came out of the game with a list of deficiencies that must be corrected for play against division opponents.
The B-side had all that they could handle from Cabarrus' A-side this afternoon in a 20-12 loss. Cabarrus came out as the more physical and skilled team, but the missed conversions allowed Myers Park to stay within striking distance. The Myers Park side looked to be shaky from the opening kick, but soon allowed themselves to calm down and begin playing their game. A couple of injuries resulted in some support from the A-side players that had just come off of their game, and stabilization of play could be seen. The B-side players came away with some higher level experience and a laundry list of items to be worked on this week in practice before next weekend's Carolina Youth Rugby Tournament.
The CYR Tournament has developed into one of the more popular high school rugby tournaments in the Southeast. This year, Myers Park will have opportunities to play matches with high schools from up and down the East Coast and even up into Canada. All Myers Park supporters are encouraged to come out to watch our teams play. The format will have the A-side and B-side playing 2 games each on Saturday, and another game each on Sunday. The games are to be played at the Renaissance Park soccer fields off of Tyvola Road. Please contact us through the "Contact Coaches" link with any questions that you may have.
2/23/08:
Coach Connor is having people at his house for a lunch cookout and to watch the tape of the games against Catholic. If you have any questions, call him on his cell phone.
2/22/08:
Mecklenburg Parks and Rec have closed the field for all of tomorrow's games. We were not able to find another field, so our A-side and B-side games with East Chapel Hill will be rescheduled. Please check back with our website calendar for the date and location of these make-up games.
2/15/08:
Myers Park Rugby came away with two excellent victories at Charlotte Catholic! The A-side won 10-5, and the B-side won 22-3. Check back with us, as we will have written recaps for both games.