The Academy had a great time in Vegas and “the guys were great,” says Academy Director Rick Schmitz.

The Academy stepped onto the pitch with a combined total sevens experience of zero games and a total of two days of practice in the last two weeks outside because of the weather issues. Additionally, only nine healthy players, due to injuries, were able to make the tournament debut.

The first game was against British Columbia.  The Academy boys tackled well and ran the ball well but had a hard time connecting on defense and maintaining possession of the ball.  The game ended with British Columbia on top, but not without a valiant effort for the Academy and huge overall improvement.

The second game was against the US All Americans (who won the tournament with ease).  Another loss was suffered, but the raptors did score and defended better in this match.  “The guys were beginning to see the game,” states Scmitz.

The third game was against Canada (eventual runners up in the tournament) and the team starting making nice improvements in play.  “We stood toe to toe with them and could have won that game if we could have cut down on a few mistakes.  The guy’s spirits were high and they began to see the improvement themselves,” mention the head coach.

On Saturday, the team lost two more times but the overall play as well as the understanding of the players was night and day difference.

The goal of the Academy is twofold - to help players get better and to help players get noticed. The improvement was not under question and players, Josh Brake and Colton Strickler, were invited to the US selection camp this spring.

Note from the Director:

“We are just getting into the regular season and we need to still be out recruiting.  Wrestling and Basketball are getting over and the weather is getting warmer.  We need 9-10th graders to start setting our foundation for the future as well as more depth on our elite side.  It’s not too late, we are still looking for the best athletes and rugby players in the city - get your friends out.”

When the Raptor Rugby Academy team landed in Sacramento, they had no idea what to expect.  They were taking the first steps toward playing against some of the best teams in the nation as they entered their team in the Varsity International Division of the famous Sacramento Kick-Off Tournament. “All of these teams have had game experience this year, all of the teams EXCEPT us”, said Raptors head coach Jared Heath. The team had one goal – to be better when they landed back in Denver than we were when we took off and they are saying mission accomplished.

The games were tough! They faced CK McClatchy, an established club with a long tradition, and the Raptors played tough defense but with six starters who had never played a single rugby game before, they had a hard time establishing any offensive continuity and went down 28-0.  The Raptors faced Christian Brothers in their next game and were leading the game with under three minutes to play before giving up a breakaway try that put the Brothers up for good.  Their final game was against a team that had beaten both McClatchy and Christian Brothers – Liberty, from Washington.  (Interestingly, this club was started almost two decades ago by Mark Bullock who is the Director of Rugby in Glendale and an important part of the success of the Academy team.)  The Raptors scored first with a long scoring run by their #10 – Colton Strickler and they had Liberty back on their heels.  After some mistakes, penalties and turnovers, they once again found themselves behind.  Josh Brake scored a try in the second half to bring the Raptors closer, but Liberty ended up winning the 70 minute match 28-14.

The boys went 0-3 but came away a much better team than they were when they left.  “Everything that went wrong is fixable, I am so proud of these guys”, said coach Heath.

What’s next for this Academy team?  They have been asked to bring a 7’s team to Las Vegas to play against the US and Canada on February 11-12. They play DU on February 19th, East High School on February 23rd before heading off to Utah to play against the best teams from there including the defending US U19 champions, United.

The Raptor Rugby Academy is designed to be the primary pathway for Rugby players in Colorado to get into the USA U20 and U18 player pools as well as onto good collegiate sides and into elite men's programs.

For more information, to get involved as a player or supporter, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call Rick Schmitz, the Director of the Academy at 303.550.7199

What an amazing season the U19’s had this year! With an extremely hectic schedule, our young gents shined brightly. Between school, practice’s, and friendly and league games, they barely had a moment to themselves and showed true dedication and commitment.

To begin the season, the boys participated in a fundraiser to pay for their trip to New Mexico this last March. They played two games while they were there against local high school teams and won both games.

In April the team participated in the Rocky Mountain Classic Tournament hosted by Colorado Youth Rugby (Now, Rugby Colorado), and brought home the first place trophy.

As many of you know Rugby Colorado re-implemented a Two Tier Divisional structure, and the Glendale was placed in division 2 this year. Due to a lack of statistics because of the relatively short amount of time they have been in existence. Many players and supporters were a bit disappointed when they received the news. However, this will not be a problem next year because our Team finished the regular season undefeated!  Their hard work paid off when they won the Round 1 playoffs, which promoted them to Division 1 and secured a seed in the Division 1 Playoffs against division 1 team, East High School (last year’s state champions) in the round two-playoff game.

Glendale Raptor U19’s, their coaches and supporters would like to congratulate East High School on a game well played. The final score East – 38, Glendale – 34 illustrates what a close game it was and we look forward to meeting on the field again next year.

The last appointment for the team for the season is the yearly team banquet and we look forward to reminiscing about the 2010 Rugby season and the accomplishments the team and the coaches achieved this year.

Rugby isn’t done for many of the players on the team though. The freshmen players will continue playing this summer in the upcoming Try League. Many of the older players will likely continue playing as well, in the Eastern Rockies RFU U19 & U17 Select Teams.