Holuba Hall plays host to rugby clinic

To have a collection of so many authorities on the game of rugby, a person might have to be at a World Cup match in South Africa or Australia. But this weekend these authorities were in Holuba Hall.

"We consider ourselves very fortunate to have some coaches of this caliber here," said Penn State men's rugby coach Fraser Grigor, one of the main organizers of the clinic.

Grigor said some planning was done nearly a year in advance. The cast of coaches included George Betzler, assistant coach of the U.S. Eagles; Joe Kelly, forward coach for the U.S. women's Eagles; and former Eagles' flanker Rob Farley.

Both Penn State rugby clubs are always perennial favorites for national titles. Both Grigor and women's coach Pete Steinberg hoped the weekend will be a springboard to a higher quality of play.

"We're really looking at fine-tuning the skilled players we already have," Grigor said.

Steinberg said both his backs and forwards gained much knowledge through drills and demonstrations during the weekend. He said it was nice to have a coach other than a Lady Rugger coach try to explain concepts.

"One of the best things about these clinics," Steinberg said, "is that it shows there's more than one way to do something."

Penn State forward Ali Schloss agreed with her coach. She said some concepts Steinberg and other Lady Rugger coaches just couldn't explain as well.

"It's something we've tried to do before," Schloss said. "We just needed coaches who knew the techniques."

Both Grigor and Steinberg said the availability and quality of Holuba Hall was one of the keys to having the clinic. They said having a large, enclosed arena with artificial turf accessible to the rugby program is unheard of at many other schools.

"We have this fantastic facility," Grigor said. "So why keep it to ourselves?"

Betzler and Kelly were impressed with how the whole weekend was organized. Each said more clinics like this are needed in order for the sport to continue to prosper.

"I'm really impressed with the turnout," Kelly said. "The competency level of these players is pretty high, too."

Betzler said bringing as many rugby coaches together as the clinic did was positive for everyone involved, whether a novice or an expert of the sport.

"These players get a lot out of this. They can keep up with the latest technique and improve skill level," he said. "It's important to carry on the things they are learning here whether it's the players or the coaches."