The USA Men’s Sevens program is ramping up this summer to again host development camps at the Elite Athlete Training Center, setting the stage for more assembly time with current players in the pathway, as well as introducing new faces to the USA Sevens program.
With key international competitions such as RugbyTown 7s and the PanAm Games set for USA squads in 2023, on-field experience against top opposition continues to be the program goal for player development into the future. Ben Pinkelman will again lead camps and competitions alongside Men’s High Performance Pathways Manager Brendan Keane, Head Coach Colton Cariaga and PanAmerican Games team leader, David Fee.
The early summer development camp, taking place June 26 through July 8, will feature new and familiar names, with a few working to come back in contention and target team selection this summer, alongside an invite to a second development camp, August 14-20. The training camps and upcoming summer competitions are ultimately opportunities for the best prospects in men’s rugby sevens to earn assembly time and train at the national team level under national team leadership. The assemblies will also help Pinkelman and Men’s Sevens Head Coach Mike Friday select a development squad for the 2023 PanAmerican Games in Santiago at the end of October, where they also have the opportunity, thanks to the generous support of one of the founder Golden Eagles,Tom Pirelli, to bring an extended development group in for the entire month of October to develop and provide the opportunity to create competition and player depth.
Looking ahead at the busy summer, Pinkelman said, “These camps are massive for our guys to learn the work ethic and brotherhood it takes day in and day out to compete on the world stage. It will be challenging physically and mentally, giving everyone an opportunity to grow and share their new knowledge with their home clubs/colleges.
For RugbyTown and the PanAms, we are looking for players that firstly have the physical tools that set them up for success. On the back of that, we want players that have a natural instinct for how to attack and defend space with the skill set to execute. Intangibly we need players that have a team first mindset, and are selfless, fearless, and resilient in pursuit of their goals.”
The USA Men’s U23 Sevens will again return to Glendale, CO, for the RugbyTown 7s, a long-standing tournament against some of the best in global rugby sevens. Finishing runner up in the 2022 tournament, the three-day event is a true testament to the next generation of American talent, with sights set on the LA 2028 Olympic games on home soil and potentially forcing their names into the Paris 2024 conversation.
Mike Friday added, “We are so fortunate and grateful for the continued committed support of Golden Eagle, Warren Spieker who has enabled the development pathway progress to continue as we look to recover the lost time and continuity from COVID. For Tom Pirelli to also generously assist further and enable the development of the player pool to create more opportunities and accelerate development time for young aspiring players will serve us well as we look to build for 2024 and 2028. We will also have the benefit of former Olympians, Zach Test and Garrett Bender assisting with coaching, mentoring, and developing these young men whilst they themselves continue on their own coaching journeys as part of the ongoing coach development program we have operating.”
Newly identified additions to the player pathway will extend this summer, with High Performance scouts keeping an eye on professional and community competitions across PR7s, RugbyTown and the USA Club Sevens National Championships. All slated for August, newly scouted talent will have the opportunity for an invite to the end of summer High Performance camp in Chula Vista (August 14-20) as well as the entire month of October when the full residency squad along with the development squad will be returning to compete and prepare for the upcoming World Rugby Sevens Series and PanAm Games.
Friday continued, “We have been watching and analyzing prospects from around the country these last nine months, be that college or club, to identify which players we will bring in. We wish we had more spaces but with limited resources, it has been tough to make those final decisions. Whilst we congratulate those that have been given the opportunity, I would urge those that have not but are committed to try and get an opportunity to persevere as we will be continuing to watch and scout at the PR7s, Club 7s Nationals and domestic 7s tournaments through the summer.
My message to aspiring players is make sure you are fit for purpose physically and able to play hard for 14 minutes, with high intensity repeated efforts. Ensure your core skills (pass, catch, tackle, ball presentation, cleaning) are consistently to a high standard.
We look for robust resilient players who can execute the core skills consistently and play the team game and look to do the right thing. We are not interested in IG moments without those other critical ingredients.”
