Your Scrumhalf Connection

from USA Rugby:

BOULDER, Colo. – Following last weekend’s National Collegiate Championships, USA Rugby has officially selected the 2010 Women’s Collegiate All-American Teams today.

This honor is bestowed upon the best women collegiate rugby players in the country and recognizes a high standard of performance throughout the year.

The 2010 selection panel included Women’s National Team Coach Kathy Flores, Women’s National Sevens Team Coach Ric Suggitt, Women’s National ‘A’ Team Coach Martha Daines, Women’s National Under-20 Coach Bryn Chivers, Women’s Collegiate All-American Touring Squad Coach Lisa Rosen and the Women’s High Performance Manager Alex Williams.

The goals of the nomination process were to ensure that all athletes in all divisions had an opportunity to be viewed, whether their teams made the playoffs or not, and to ensure that consistent information was submitted for each nominated athlete. The process was robust and inclusive and a large pool of athletes was nominated. The selection panel was very pleased with the participation in the process and hopes to expand participation even further next year.

The All-Americans were selected on the basis of match video submissions and/or performance at Collegiate Playoffs and Championships, all of which were viewed by members of the selection panel. Athletes from all collegiate divisions were considered for selection as First Team or Second Team Collegiate All-Americans.

“I would like to congratulate all of the Women’s Collegiate All-Americans named below,” said Williams. “It was a challenging task for the selection panel to narrow down this list. We are very happy to honor the selected athletes, their coaches and schools for their selection as a Women’s Collegiate All-American.”

Each athlete will receive a certificate commemorating the honor. The Athletic Director for each athlete’s school will also receive a certificate to recognize the significant honor achieved by a rugby student-athlete at that school.

Following this announcement, the Head Coach of the Women’s Collegiate All-American Touring Squad will announce selections for the squad that will compete at the Senior Women’s National All-Star Championship, to be held at the end of the month in Blaine, Minn.. The All-American Touring Squad will represent the eighth team at the event and will play against the senior women’s territorial sides, promoting the development of these young and talented athletes.

2010 Women’s Collegiate All-American – First Team
Sadie Anderson (Penn State University)
Kyle Armstrong (Penn State University)
Candace Barley (Lee University)
Star Bollinger (United States Naval Academy)
Danielle Cicuto (United States Naval Academy)
Lauren Daly (University of Colorado)
Chastity Dunnaville (United States Naval Academy)
Jozephine Gessner (Colorado State University)
Janae Grijalva (Stanford University)
Keelia Harker (Brigham Young University)
Lisa Henneman (Penn State University)
Nicole James (Texas A & M University)
Joanna Kitlinski (Grand Valley State University)
Adetayo Mafe (Michigan State University)
Kathryn McCormick (University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee)
Tyra McGrady (Indiana University)
Deven Owsiany (Penn State University)
Kaitlyn Rooney (American University)
Kasonni Scales (Stanford University)
Elizabeth Trujillo (United States Naval Academy)
Amelia Villines (Stanford University)
Jessica Watkins (Stanford University)
Frances Wehrwin (Stanford University)
Annie Zeigler (Penn State University)

2010 Women’s Collegiate All-American – Second Team
Sarah Blanchard (Texas A&M University)
Megan Bonny (Washington State University)
Anneke Brand (Texas Tech University)
Erica Cavenaugh (University of Virginia)
Delaney Chapman (UC Davis)
Jennifer Cooper Rider (Stanford University)
Kayla Elingson (Brigham Young University)
Sharron Gianessi (United States Military Academy)
Tanya Gouws (University of Maryland)
Alexandria Hartley (Brown University)
Alicia Hartley (Brown University)
Carrissa Hsieh (UCLA)
Kristi Jackson (Brigham Young University)
Shawne James (Rutgers University)
Katie Lorenz (University of North Carolina)
Kaelene Lundstrom (Gustavus Adolphus)
Izraelle McKinnon (Brown University)
Ashley Miller (United States Military Academy)
Laura Miller (St. Mary’s College of Maryland)
Maria Muscara (La Salle University)
Jackie Osborne (University of Northern Iowa)
Andria Payne (Brown University)
Christiane Pheil (Penn State University)
Jess Sexauer (United States Military Academy)
Wendy Sherman (Colorado State University)
Kirsten Siebach (Brigham Young University)
Moira Somerdyk (Temple University)
Ashley Sorensen (United States Military Academy)
Gina Steffano (Texas A & M University)

In coordination with the release of the Women’s Collegiate All-American selections, a fantastic new resource and fundraising effort – RugbyMapUSA.com – is also being launched today with proceeds for the month of May directly supporting the 2010 USA Rugby Women’s Collegiate All-American Touring squad.

RugbyMapUSA.com is a custom GoogleMap, designed specifically to connect the rugby community with businesses, teams, and professionals who are supportive of rugby or who are members of the community itself. By listing a business or rugby organization on this site, it will build its visibility in rugby’s tight knit and ever-expanding community.

In addition to RugbyMapUSA, an active outreach effort is underway to locate and leverage the power of the 15 years of prior Collegiate All-American Women. Prior All-Americans are encouraged to visit the Collegiate All-American program on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/USA-Rugby-Collegiate-All-American-Women/104505422926588 and donate to the program itself.

For more information on RugbyMapUSA, please visit www.rugbymapusa.com. To learn more about the Women’s Collegiate All-Americans please visit www.usarugby.org/goto/women_allamericans or contact Alex Williams at awilliams@usarugby.org.

Today we are doing things a little different! Instead of showing a video, I am encouraging everyone to get their submissions for Collegiate All American in to USA Rugby. The deadline for video submissions is Wednesday, April 14, 2010. For more information on the submission process, go here.

To view more YSC videos hover over the heading ‘Videos’ on the navigation bar up top and choose Rugby Video Monday.

Please continue sending in your videos and I will keep posting them! Send them to wendy@scrumhalfconnection.com.

Popularity: 11%

from USA Rugby:

BOULDER, Colo. - USA Rugby has appointed Lisa Rosen as the head coach for the 2010 Women’s Collegiate All-American touring side and has updated the athlete nomination process to be as inclusive and consistent as possible.

Rosen, a level III certified coach, comes to the team with prior experience as the head coach of the Philadelphia Women’s Club, the head coach of the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union (MARFU) Under-23 side and an assistant coach/staff member for the USA A, Under-23, Under-20 and Under-19 Women’s National Teams.

“I’m honored and very excited to work with the Collegiate All-American Women,” Rosen said. “College and high school rugby is improving steadily every season and that’s being reflected in both the quantity and quality of athletes involved in the game at all levels.”

For the second year in a row, the Women’s All-American touring side will compete as the eighth team in the Senior Women’s National All-Star Championships (NASC), held May 28 -30, 2010.

The touring side will be selected primarily from the athletes named as Collegiate All-Americans and will gather for a training camp in the days leading up to the All-Star Championship.

For many of the athletes, this will be their first experience in a High Performance environment and the NASC matches will be a great opportunity to showcase thier skills to National Team selectors.

“The Senior National All-Star Championships provides an ideal testing ground for the best of our collegiate players. We will work very hard to prepare each player to excel against the more experienced and physically dominant women,” Rosen added. ”As the senior women are preparing for the 2010 Women’s Rugby World Cup, I expect both the pace and contact area at the NASC’s to be very challenging. I’m excited to see them take it on with compete and will expect a lot from them.” In response to feedback received and in support of the stated intentions to be as inclusive and consistent as possible, the Women’s Collegiate All-American nomination process has also been updated and is being re-released.  The updates, which can be found at www.usarugby.org/goto/women_allamericans, primarily address the following points:

1.  Coaches may now submit full match videos, half match videos or 10 minute clips (either from a single match or multiple matches) in support of their nominated players.  Coaches nominating multiple athletes are requested to submit one (or at most two) full match videos covering all their nominated athletes, if not submitting a max 10 minute clip on each athlete.  Full or half match videos still need to be titled with School name and ideally athlete(s) name(s) as well, so selectors can match videos with nominated athletes.

2.  While following the Vimeo protocol below is strongly preferred, if coaches are unable to submit video using Vimeo, use of a free file transfer service such as yousendit.com is an acceptable alternative.  Please ensure any video files sent in that fashion are sent to Wendy Young (wendy@scrumhalfconnection.com) for transfer to the Selection Panel.  If a coach has no video of nominees to submit, please contact Alex Williams to discuss options (awilliams@usarugby.org).

3.  Confirm that the required online nomination form to be filled out by the athlete’s coach takes only 5 minutes to complete. (http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGRGTEpRSzZzcmZEdzB6RVJ3blEyU3c6MA).

4.  Clarify that the nominating coach needs to request a supporting recommendation from another collegiate or higher level coach but is not responsible for ensuring that the other coach ultimately follows through.

5.  Confirm that coaches should not hesitate to contact Alex Williams (awilliams@usarugby.orgor 415-336-7981) with questions about the nomination process or Wendy Young (wendy@scrumhalfconnection.com) with questions about video submission.

Collegiate coaches are requested to use the updated process below when nominating athletes for the Women’s Collegiate All-Americans.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nominations are now being accepted for the Women’s Collegiate All-Americans.  All coaches interested in submitting an athlete for consideration must follow the process outlined below to ensure that their athlete is considered for the All-American honor.

The process has been changed from prior years in an effort to consider a broader spectrum of athletes rather than restricting the selection to athletes playing for teams competing in the collegiate playoffs.

The 2010 Women’s Collegiate All-Americans will include a pool of First Team All-Americans and a pool of Second Team All-Americans, pulled from all three divisions.  Athletes who are named to this list will be recognized in a USA Rugby press release and by letters to the athlete and to their school. In addition, athletes who make the Collegiate All-American list will be considered for selection to the 2010 Women’s Collegiate All-American touring squad, to compete in the 2010 National All-Star Championships (NASC) event in late May.

Athlete Eligibility

1. Athlete must meet the collegiate eligibility rules found on www.usarugby.org

2. Athlete must be USA Rugby CIPP’d with a college team.

Athlete Nomination Process*(all specifics are below)

1. Coach to fill out the online Athlete Data Form to provide additional required information about the athlete by Wednesday, April 14, 2010.  [Note:  This takes 5 minutes.]

2. Submit a video of the athlete, either a 10-minute clip, a half match or a full match. Submit by Wednesday, April 14, 2010, using the Online Video Submission Process detailed below.

3. Ask an opposing collegiate coach (or select side coach) who has viewed the athlete in a match during the 2009-2010 school year to submit a Supporting Recommendation Form, to be completed by Wednesday, April 14, 2010.  Recommendations from up to five coaches will be accepted in support of the nomination.  [Note:  this form also takes 5 minutes to fill out.]

Note: In order to ensure that all athletes at all schools have an equal opportunity to be nominated, each of the steps above is required.  However, if submitting a video is a significant barrier to the nomination of your athlete, please contact Alex Williams at awilliams@usarugby.org to discuss alternative options.

All-American Selection Process

1. Videos will be viewed by the 2010 Women’s Collegiate All-American Selection Panel: Convener Alex Williams, WNT Head Coach Kathy Flores, WNT 7s Head Coach Ric Suggitt, USA-A Head Coach Martha Daines, Under-20 Head Coach Bryn Chivers and 2010 Women’s Collegiate All-American Head Coach Lisa Rosen.

2. Members of the selection panel will attend the Collegiate Playoffs and Championships to scout nominated athletes.

3. All Territorial Union Under-19 and Under-23 Head Coaches will be asked to submit a list of recommended athletes from their territory to the panel.

4. The Panel will review videos and recommendations and select the Women’s Collegiate All-Americans, which will be announced the week of May 3, 2010.

Note: Selections to the actual Women’s Collegiate All-American Touring side, which is set to compete at the NASC, will draw heavily from the All-American list, but will be made by the 2010 Women’s Collegiate All-American Head Coach.

DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS

Athlete Nomination Form Instructions

1. Must be filled out by the athlete’s collegiate coach.

2. The form takes 5 minutes to fill out – the list of requested information is below.

3. Go to the following link to access the online data form: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGRGTEpRSzZzcmZEdzB6RVJ3blEyU3c6MA

4. The data will be submitted to a form accessible only to the Selection Panel.

5. Athlete Data Form must be submitted by Wednesday, April 14, 2010!

Highlight Video Specifications

1. Submission may be a 10 minute clip, a half match or a full match video.

2. Preferably includes some offensive and defensive exposure.

3. Must be titled with Athlete’s Name, School and Position.  If one video submission covers multiple athletes being nominated, the video should be titled with the School name and Athlete Last Name(s), if at all possible.

4. If a 10 minute clip, the submission can be an edited mix of clips from one or more games, or an unedited clip from one game that features the nominated athlete.

5. To submit, follow the Online Video Submission Process below.

Online Video Submission Instructions

Sponsored by YourScrumhalfConnection

1. Go to the following link to access the Vimeo video submission site and explicit instructions:https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0BzodJlUf5BFuMTAzNzkwNmYtMThiMi00ZGNiLWEwOTYtMDE4ZjJmOWYzNzI5&hl=en

2. Please contact Wendy Young of YSC with any technical questions    (wendy@scrumhalfconnection.com)

3. Video must be submitted by Wednesday, April 14, 2010!

Supporting Recommendation Form Instructions

1. The nominating coach is responsible for requesting a Supporting Recommendation form to be filled out by another coach who has viewed the athlete in a match from the 2009-10 school year, but not for ensuring the request is ultimately fulfilled.  A best-efforts basis is acceptable.

2. Athletes may have up to five total recommendations submitted in support of their nomination; all must be from coaches at the collegiate level or higher.

3. Every data field must be filled out (list of data fields below), which takes 5 minutes.

4. Go to the following link to access the online data form: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dENILWJ6Z1VhbjAtMkJyaUZGdmlMdXc6MA

5. The data will be submitted to a form accessible only to the Selection Panel.

6. Athlete Recommendation Form must be submitted by Wednesday, April 14, 2010!

REQUIRED INFORMATION:

Please be sure to have this information available when filling out the two electronic forms.

Each form takes approximately 5 minutes to fill out.

Athlete Data Form

1. Athlete First Name

2. Athlete Last Name

3. Athlete School Name

4. Athlete DOB

5. Athlete CIPP number

6. Athlete Position

7. Athlete Year

8. Athlete Email

9. Coach Full Name

10. Coach Email

11. Coach Phone

12. Who Should Receive Athlete’s Certificate, if Awarded?

13. Mailing Address for Athlete’s Certificate, If awarded

14. School Athletic Director Name

15. School Athletic Director Phone

16. School Athletic Director Mailing Address (for Certificate)

17. Name/role of Coach Requested to Submit Supporting Nomination

18. Video Clip Title as Submitted

19. Video Clip:  Match(es) Date(s), Opponent(s), Score(s)

20. Why Does Athlete Deserve All-American Honors?

Supporting Recommendation Form

1. Athlete First Name

2. Athlete Last Name

3. Athlete School Name

4. Athlete Position

5. Recommending Coach Full Name

6. Recommending Coach School

7. Recommending Coach Email

8. Date Observed Athlete in a Match in 2010

9. Why Does Athlete Deserve All-American Honors?

Please direct any questions to Alex Williams at awilliams@usarugby.org or 415-336-7981.

To: All Division 1, 2 and 3 Women Collegiate Athletes and Coaches
From: Alex Williams, USA Rugby Women’s High Performance Manager
Re: 2010 Women’s Collegiate All American Nomination Process
Date: March 10, 2010

Nominations are being accepted for the Collegiate All American Women (CAAW) Honor Roll. All coaches interested in submitting an athlete for consideration must follow the process outlined below to ensure that their athlete is considered for the All American honor roll. The process has been changed from prior years in an effort to consider a broader spectrum of athletes rather than restricting the selection to athletes playing for teams competing in the collegiate playoffs.

The 2010 CAAW Honor Roll will name a pool of First Team All Americans and a pool of Second Team All Americans, pulled from all three divisions. Athletes who are named to the Honor Roll will be recognized in a USA Rugby press release and by letters to the athlete and to their school. In addition, athletes who make the CAAW Honor Roll will be considered for selection to the 2010 CAAW squad, to compete in the 2010 NASC event in late May.

Athlete Eligibility

1. Athlete must meet the Collegiate eligibility rules found on usarugby.org
2. Athlete must be CIPP’d with USA Rugby.

Athlete Nomination Process

1. Create a highlight video of the athlete (specs below).
2. Coach to submit the video with all required specs via the Online Video Submission Process (directions below) by Wednesday, April 14, 2010.
3. Coach to fill out the online Athlete Data Form to provide additional required information about the athlete (details below) by Wednesday, April 14, 2010.
4. Ensure that a coach from an opposing and/or select side team who has viewed the athlete in a match in 2010 fills out the Athlete Recommendation Form (details below) by Wednesday, April 14, 2010. Recommendations from up to five coaches will be accepted.

Note: Each of the steps above is mandatory. No athlete will be considered unless all required information has been submitted by Wednesday, April 14, 2010.

Honor Roll Selection Process

1. Videos will be viewed by the 2010 women’s CAA Selection Panel: Convener Alex Williams, WNT Head Coach Kathy Flores, WNT 7s Head Coach Ric Suggitt, USA-A Head Coach Martha Daines, U20 Head Coach Bryn Chivers and 2010 CAA Head Coach Lisa Rosen.
2. Members of the selection panel will attend the Collegiate Playoffs and Championships.
3. All TU U19 and U23 Head Coaches will be asked to submit a list of recommended athletes from their territory to the panel.
4. The Panel will review videos & recommendations and select the women’s CAA Honor Roll.
5. The 2010 CAAW Honor Roll will be announced the week of May 3, 2010.

Note: As above, selections to the actual CAAW squad to compete at the NASC will draw heavily from the Honor Roll but will be made solely by the 2010 women’s CAA Head Coach.

HIGHLIGHT VIDEO SPECIFICATIONS

1. Maximum length is 10 minutes.
2. Preferably includes some offensive and defensive exposure.
3. Must be titled with Athlete’s Name, School and Position.
4. Can be a mix of clips from several games or all from a single game.
5. Must meet the requirements for the Online Video Submission Process below.

ONLINE VIDEO SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS – Sponsored by YourScrumhalfConnection

1. Go to the following link to access the Vimeo video submission site and explicit instructions: https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0BzodJlUf5BFuMTAzNzkwNmYtMThiMi00ZGNiLWEwOTYtMDE4ZjJmOWYzNzI5&hl=en
2. Please contact Wendy Young of YSC with any technical questions (wendy@scrumhalfconnection.com)
3. Video must be submitted by Wednesday, April 14, 2010!

ATHLETE NOMINATION FORM INSTRUCTIONS

1. Must be filled out by the athlete’s collegiate coach.
2. Every data field must be filled out (list of data fields below).
3. Go to the following link to access the online data form: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGRGTEpRSzZzcmZEdzB6RVJ3blEyU3c6MA
4. The data will be submitted to a form accessible only to the Selection Panel.
5. Athlete Data Form must be submitted by Wednesday, April 14, 2010!

SUPPORTING RECOMMENDATION FORM INSTRUCTIONS

1. Each nominated athlete must have at least one recommendation filled out by an opposing coach who has viewed the athlete in a match in 2010.
2. Athletes may have up to five total recommendations submitted in support of their nomination; all must be from coaches at the collegiate level or higher.
3. Every data field must be filled out (list of data fields below).
4. Go to the following link to access the online data form: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dENILWJ6Z1VhbjAtMkJyaUZGdmlMdXc6MA
5. The data will be submitted to a form accessible only to the Selection Panel.
6. Athlete Recommendation Form must be submitted by Wednesday, April 14, 2010!

Please direct any questions to Alex Williams at awilliams@usarugby.org or 415-336-7981.