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LEADERSHIP PANEL 2010: Al Baker Head Coach coach@admin.umass.edu ******* The Leadership Panel 2009:
Al Baker Head Coach coach@admin.umass.edu
Now hear this: Letter from Captain
- Dr. B! - November 24,2009 Dear players, fans, and alumni,
I would like to thank everyone for their involvement in a very successful fall season. As you all know we won the New England Championship and qualified for the National Championships in the spring. We finished the season with a very impressive eleven wins and two losses, our best fall record in a long time. We could not have accomplished this without the help of our growing coaching staff and the foremost commitment of head coach, Al Baker. The addition of Forwards Coach Tony last spring, helped us to an improved spring tournament record. We were fortunate to assemble additions to our coaching staff this season as well, which included Keith and Coach T. This large coaching staff helped to speed-up player development among our rookies and newer players and allowed Coach Baker more time to focus on fifteens play. Our successful preseason camp helped us get in shape quickly and showed promising new freshmen talent. Our preseason victory against a strong Division I Albany side gave us confidence going into the season. Strong victories against Amherst and Coastguard led to a battle of the undefeated in Rhode Island. We came out on top and after a delivering another vicious beating to Amherst on our home field it seemed we were destined for greatness. A setback, perhaps due to our overconfidence, resulted in a loss to Coast Guard the next week. This was a rude awakening for us and pitted us in a final duel against Rhode Island to determine the division champions. We beat them convincingly and moved into the playoffs with confidence. Our first playoff test was against Bentley in monsoon like conditions. We scored quickly with some good back movement, but unlucky plays as a result of Bentley kicking found us in a deficit in the second half. A forward charged comeback and the showing of absolute dominance in the scrum broke Bentley mentally. This allowed the Irish wrecking ball, prop, Brendan Daly to score two quick tries and resulted in a Umass victory. Our next challenge was against Boston University, similar bad conditions, mainly mud and wind made it an interesting game. B.U. led early with the wind on their side but the second half was all us, as our forwards showed their power in the loose. The wind made it impossible for B.U. to escape or recover territory. A 22-12 victory, pitted us in the game we wanted, against perennial powerhouse and number one ranked, Middlebury College. The battle for the New England Championship was played in perfect conditions on a regulation sized pitch. The weather would not play a factor. Middlebury's use of a pre-match Haka, only fired us up and we came out strong. What ensued was to all spectators, completely unexpected. With the championship on the line and the weather conditions perfect, the defending national champions, Middlebury were no match for us. We were bigger, stronger, and faster at every position and used our advantages perfectly. We dominated them in all aspects and bone crunching hits forced several injuries. The final score was 34-3 and we walked away New England Champions. We won our next match against SCSU, which pitted us against Vermont inthe final four of the Northeast Rugby Union championships. A tough match which seemed to be in our control with a 10-0 lead and only 20 minutes left, slipped away late. Vermont managed to capitalize on mistakes by kicking consistently into our territory and taking advantage of the muddy and wet conditions of the field. They scored quickly and squeaked away with a 15-10 victory. Our next match against StoneyBrook, was of utmost importance, as the winner would qualify for the National Championships in the spring. We battled early and managed to score 21 points in the first half. It would be all we needed as the second half was a defensive battle. The final was 21-0 and we qualified for nationals, a great end to a great season. We will need the continued support of our Alumni and growing player pool in order to finance our trips to nationals. The first rounds of 16 and 8 appear to be scheduled for Florida in April, while the final four is confirmed for California. The trips will be expensive and we will need continued alumni and school support. We are planning to undertake significant fundraising events and I urge everyone to keep watching their email and the website for updates on our plans. Anyone with fundraising ideas or donations is urged to contact our leadership or Coach Baker. Thanks for your support, Shawn Brennan Captain UMRFC
Boys of Umass, I could not be prouder to be Capitan of this team. Not only did we go 11-2 on the season and win New England’s, we also became the most tightly knitted team I have ever been a part of. We were strong because no one ever stopped playing. That’s how we came back on teams like Bentley and BU, we knew we were better and we would keep hitting and running until there was no doubt. The fact that we went so many games without subs was incredible; with our hard-hitting style of play one would expect more subs and injuries, but that was what the other teams experienced. None of you ever wanted to get off the pitch, as it should be. We fought to get the chance to go to nationals and we know we have a good shot at winning the whole thing. This leads me to my next point, the offseason. The reason why we won so many games was clearly evident in the second halves of our games. We were simply in better shape than the opposition. They would be bruised and tired while we pushed them back in scrums and crashed through their pack. Every team is going to be getting in shape, but we need to maintain being in such excellent physical condition. I know it is hard with school and everything, but do what you can to stay fit. In terms of strength, we have a brand new gym that provides an excellent opportunity to get our stronger before our next game. You should be lifting and running three days a week each, I suggest finding a teammate to lift with to keep you motivated. Just imagine what we could do if we were in better shape and stronger. That is what it will take to become national champions. On a personal note, you guys are great, sure we mess around and whatever, but we are brothers on and off the field. I’m sure that won’t die off in the offseason, if I know you guys at all we will still spend just about every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night together. Try not to do anything too dumb, we can’t afford to lose any of you for next season. Let’s prepare properly in the offseason and come out ready to go in the spring. Also, for the love of God can we learn a new song or two? It’s like the same five every time. In all seriousness, playing with you guys was an honor and being your Capitan was a privilege. Thank you for an incredible season and never forget who we are… Cheers, BK
As the President of UMass Rugby, it is my pleasure to invite you to the
first annual UMass Rugby Golf Tournament. On August first we are hosting a fundraising golf tournament at Indian Hill Country
Club in Newington, CT (link). A delicious lunch is scheduled to be served at 12:00 PM prior to the 2:00 PM shotgun tournament
on Indian Hill’s beautiful course. Along with guaranteed excellent food and golf play, the tournament promises to award
prizes for raffles, closest to the pin, and longest drive. New UMass Rugby T-Shirts will be provided for a small price and
we plan to distribute goody bags containing small gifts as a thank you from the club for participating in the tournament. THE WISDOM OF OUR CAPTAINS!
Boys of Umass,
I really hope you all have been hitting the gym like we needed to. That will make a key difference in our fall season. It should be pretty clear who has been putting the work in at the pig roast as well as at preseason camp. Speaking of both the pig roast and camp, you should all do your best to make it. The pig roast will be a great time and I am sure we will have some fun after. As for the season, we have a very important one ahead of us. With the change in our league, we get to stay fairly close to home and the chances that we will move on the play after the regular season is over are pretty good. Hard work in and out of practice will make the difference. We need to work hard. Crisp passes, good tackles, and ceaseless support will eliminate these problems and propel Umass Rugby to the next level. This way we can start celebrating a hard-fought win. Everyone should know that there are no set starting spots on the field. Our killer B’s always win because the A and B sides are so close in skill level. Work hard in the off-season and at practice and it can make the difference in starting and not starting. People really need to make the commitment to practice; I know there are class conflicts and so on but try to work around rugby as best you can. Sure, taking an early class sucks, but being at practice for the team is more important. We also have to make sure that when we are at practice we are on task, winning as many of the set plays as possible makes a big difference in our game. I would like to be focused enough so that we could practice difference line outs so we can keep the other teams guessing. So to sum it all up, I hope to see you all at the pig roast and at camp. I am quite sure we will have a great time. I am looking forward to hitting some people, they made me play center, wing, and fullback for Springfield. Seeing rucks and not going in them is quite hard. Anyways, hit the gym, come into camp fit, so we can run Albany over first and then everyone else. Remember, everything tastes better after a win! Cheers, BK
Gentlemen, I hope all has been well this summer and everyone is looking forward to an exciting season. It is important that we stay in shape by preparing both physically and mentally for the upcoming season. We are looking to improve even more than we did in the spring. Physically it is important that we train our bodies not just forstrength but for endurance as well. Rugby is an 80 minute game,we need people strong for the full time. Mentally it is important for us to be playing with local teams, as the best way to learn is to play. Everybody needs watch games and pay special attention to their position.
Now is the time you can make a difference and increase your playing ability. You have a month left to improve and I look forward to seeing who is going to step up. We are moving to a different conference this semester so we don't know what awaits us, all anyone can do is make sure they are ready when their name is called. I am confident in everyone that we will perform up to our potential which as we saw last semester is limitless when we are prepared. We are going to win those close games this year because it is only a matter of experience. With the loss of onlya few seniors we are just that, a young experienced team. I look forward to a great season with many accolades for the program. Captain Shawn Brennan  |
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