Xavier High School Football and Rugby
"I guess you have heard from everyone here that we feel Rugby enhances rather than hurts our football program. We’re sold on that concept and it continues to work for us
One other thing that I can mention about benefits we have seen. A high percentage of our kids have never played organized football before coming to us……so there tends to be an experience/learning curve for every aspect of the game; mental, contact etc…….which they often don’t level off from until junior year.
I think the guys who have Rugby experience in the spring come back as much more mature “game” players the following fall. The confusion, speed, strategy and contact of games seem to slow down for them and they show more of a presence in sophomore year………they quickly catch up to peers who have been playing youth football all their lives."
-Rod Walker, Athletic Director, Xavier High School New York, NY
"Our school has had a tradition of great cooperation between the rugby and football programs and we can give great testimony to how the two teams support each other.
Our rugby team was created in 1976 as an attempt to improve our football program by improving tackling and conditioning in the off-season. This cooperation continues as the majority if players on our rugby team plays football in the fall and vice-versa.
Our players follow the football coaches lifting program throughout the rugby season and the football team gets tougher, more fit players from our rugby program. So I know how much these two supports can support each other. In fact, the only thing I would take issue with is the idea that the real football “studs” won’t ever play rugby.
This past fall the inside center, outside center, and fullback from our rugby team ran for a combined 3,063 yards this year for our football team at tailback and wingback (the inside center made the USA U17s and was named second team all-state).
Every year the starting rosters of both our teams are almost identical. And I don’t think we are alone in this experience.
I know that Haloti Ngata was a star at Highland Rugby and Highland HS football and is now the starting DT for the Baltimore Ravens (his player profile can be found at http://www.nfl.com/players/profile?id=00-0024227 ) and many of their stars have been some of the top football players in Utah."
-Joe Sweeney, Xavier HS RFC, New York, NY
Rugby was started at Xavier by our Head JV Football Coach Tom O'Hara in 1976 at the request of our then Athletic Director and Head Varsity Football Coach Jack Galbraith in order to provide off-season training and motivation for our football players.
St. Francis Prep, a powerhouse in the league at that time had a strong rugby program that seemed to bring them great benefits and Xavier hoped to enjoy the same situation. I am a product of that philosophy and believe that it made me a better football player.
When I was at Xavier 1979-83, our Head Varsity Football Coach Jack Capper had been the JV Football Coach at St. Francis Prep. for 25 years and he really pushed us to get involved with Rugby (like I push my boys now - 2/3rds of our football players play Rugby). Although I did not start playing Rugby until my Junior Year (Wing Forward then Prop), I felt that in my Senior year football season, I had much more stamina, dexterity and quickness. I was a noseguard and I found that in my Senior year, I was much better at coming down the line of scrimmage and making plays from sideline to sideline.
This is my fourth year as the Head Football Coach at Xavier and in each year we have improved...3 wins first year but worst defense in the league, 5 wins second year and 5th best defense in the league, 5 wins third year, 4th best defense in the league winning our first playoff game in six years and defeating our Thanksgiving rival for the first time in six years (we were 28 point underdogs)
In Football this year we went 10-1, scored 410 points during the season, averaged 37.3 points per game, averaged 334 rushing yards per game and were the leading rushing team in the tri-state area (NY, NJ, CT) and the most productive offense in the entire 22 team League. Although we were only the 8th best defense (we were young), we gave up a score or less in the second half of 8 of 11 games and came from behind in 7 of 11 games.
We were Division Champs, Playoff Champs, and we defeated our Thanksgiving rival for a second season in a row. Realize that our Thanksgiving rival was 8-3 & 9-2 the past two seasons and the champs of the Division above us both years. At our dinner and in our yearbook, I described our team with the following words...
"Rugby swagger and fitness, bone crunching offense wearing down the opposition, great communication and halftime adjustments, a young defense that grew up with the scheme during the course of every game and an iron will to win allowing the Varsity Knights to deal with high pressure situations and to take control of most games in the second half were hallmarks of the 2007 championship team."
The swagger comes from being "B" Division National Rugby Champions last year and going undefeated in our local Rugby Union play, stomping most of the competition. We are fit and confident and because of this we win football games with goalline stands and crush teams in the second half.
We have our players lift three days a week at 7:00am so that they can also get out and practice Rugby in the afternoon. This allows us to get 60 Varsity Football players lifted and out the weight room so that our lower levels and other athletes can use the weight room in the afternoon. We are streamlined and efficient in the weight room, we do not have 300 pound power lifters hanging around the gym talking shop for 2 hours.
I am an anaerobic lift guy (chest, triceps and ass), Mike Tolkin and his Rugby staff are core and fit guys, therefore we both do what we are best at with the kids. They get a much better aerobic, dexterity and quickness workout with them then I could ever get myself interested in!
We are not allowed to coach Spring Football like some states or colleges, therefore Spring Rugby is almost like cheating for us! Our kids get fit, tackle and ball handle the whole Spring and because we have great Rugby coaches they win big and they develop a habit of not liking to lose.
-Chris Stevens, Varsity Football Head Coach, Xavier High School , NYC, NY