St. Charles' rugby tradition alive and well
By Paul LaTour
Before games, St. Charles rugby players form two lines in the try zone and walk toward the halfway line. A player in front holds a flag emblazoned with the club’s shield.
They take deliberate steps and march in unison, turning at the halfway line and heading toward the home bench area at Campton Hills Park.
The ritual connects the team, and bonds them together with the past. Tradition is important for the club, which has benefitted in recent weeks from the input of several alumni returning home from college.
Players from the past two IYRA state championship teams (2008, 2007) have been helping at St. Charles practices. The aid ranges from in-game strategy or tips to mental preparation. The coaches appreaciate the alumni input.
“It’s a nice change of pace for us,” assistant coach Andy McPeak said. “These are all kids who have gone through our program. It’s nice to have them here, because the kids see the success former St. Charles rugby players have had. I wish we could keep them around and not (have them) go back to college.”
Head coach Jay Crawford concurred.
“They bring back that whole thing we talk about," said Crawford. "How good it feels to win a state championship.”
St. Charles has won four state titles overall. The team is gunning for number five after defeating St. Ignatius 37-21 in the Tier 1 quarterfinals Friday.
Six former players returned from Arkansas State where they helped the Red Wolves to a USA Rugby Division I National Tournament semifinal appearance last month. Kevin Ryan, Colby Pasholk, Mike Black and Cody Crawford were among the Red Wolves in attendance to see St. Charles’ 37-21 victory over St. Ignatius.
“What we’re trying to do is just enhance their experience from what we’ve learned,” Ryan said. “We’ve learned a whole bunch of new tricks over the years. A high school kid who’s fresh to the rugby experience can see us and say they can still be playing rugby seven, eight years down the road.”
Black said many people take up rugby for a the social aspect, but he wants kids to know there are options for more serious players beyond high school. Rugby is not an NCAA-sanctioned sport, but it is played at schools across the country as a club sport.
The Red Wolves players estimated they spend 30 hours per week with the sport, on top of their full course load, a commitment not unlike scholarship athletes in other sports.
The return trip home has allowed the players to reconnect with their club. By doing so they help today’s players feel part of something bigger.
“We’re one of the oldest clubs at the high school levels,” Ryan said. “We can say we’ve been here since it started and we have continued our tradition. When the club first started they won state championships (1999, 2001) and now there’s been a rekindling of that again, which is very nice.”
Championship experience can be invaluable for teams. On Friday, plenty of that experience was available, not only in the alumni and current coaching staff, but in some of the kids on the field.
As freshmen, Sam Reese and Jake Faulk were members of St. Charles’ most recent state champions. Faulk said he learned what it takes to win, a trait he’s hoping to impart to his current teammates.
“It’s a whole different level of what you need to go into games,” Faulk said. “The will you get from that state-winning team where you don’t lose.”
If St. Charles passes its final two playoff tests, everyone will share the feeling.
