Rainier Plateau Junior Rugby

6/18/08

To All

We have decided to take a break from rugby practices for the next few weeks and will depending on interest resume July 9th. Their isn't currently sufficient interest or availability to make it viable to continue scheduling practice. This isn't a problem or a concern to me as I was never originally considering continuing any rugby activity during the summer or fall.

Their is a Tacoma 7's tourny in July which perhaps we can enter a side but again their is no real pressure to do so.

If anyone is intersted in having a weekly run and some sevens George will be travelling up to the Ryan field most Thursday evenings where a combination of Liberty, Joeys and Valley Men play sevens. If you are interested in going George can usually provide a ride. We will update the website with information about this and how to contact George.

Enjoy your summer break but dont forget to continue to recruit players for the start of our new season. It seems a long way off but now is the time to start "planting the seed". Currently our first planned activity is in mid November when we will start a weekly indoor session.

Be safe and have fun.

Andy

6/7/08

To All Parents and Players

Hope everyone is coping with this unseasonably cool weather and that it is all gone before many of the boys don the graduation gown and cap!

Summer Sevens
I was not originally planning to participate in the summer sevens season but seeing the opportunity to introduce the boys to another aspect of rugby combined with the possibility to recruit some new players George and I are committed for the foreseable future. This will include weekly practices at 6.30 on Wednesday's at our usual practice area. We had hoped to get some combined practices with Tacoma and Gig Harbor but at the moment I dont have a committment from those clubs. Providing we see sufficient interest in these practices and to particpate in the tournaments we will continue through to the end of July. The three tournaments which are planning to have a U19 bracket are listed below. We highly encourage everyone to consider playing sevens as a way to enhance ball handling, tackling, evasion and fitness. We are fully aware of the many other committments during the summer and simply ask that you let us know what your level of committment will be.

June 14th Evergreen State College Lacey

July 13th Can Am Sevens Ferndale

July 26 Tacoma Rugby Club 7's

Please note this week's practice will be switched to Tuesday 6/10 to avoid Wednesday graduation committments

Outstanding Dues
I am trying to close out our season's financial committments and badly need any remaining membership fees to assist in fulfiling these payments. We still have approximately ten players with outstanding balances. Please do the right thing and settle that balance. If you are unsure if you are in compliance please let me know and I will let you know.

2008 Loggers
Congratulations to Colin Pearson for his selection to the U17 Loggers squad. Dylan Waltman missed out narrowly on making the squad and along with Colin admirably represented the club at last week's tryouts. Colin will be training with the loggers during June in preparation for games in July versus Oregon and possibly Northern California in Oregon.

Congratulations to all our graduating seniors and we hope you all enjoy the ceremonies, parties and gifts being bestowed upon you.

Andy



5/12/08

To All Parents and Players

I hope everyone enjoyed a little break from rugby this past weekend and was able to enjoy the decent weather we had. I was able to spend some much needed time in the garden but admit I missed the company of the team and was able to reflect on how much these players have come to mean to me. Anyway we will be back together this week for practice and then on Saturday.

This coming Saturday will be the last opportunity for our team to play as a group for 2008 so I am hoping everyone will make every effort to go to the end of season Wildcat Classic Tournament being hosted by CWU rugby club. It appears they have put a lot of work into this two day event which will have all the WA teams except Seattle the OR champions Eastside and two all star teams from Montana present.

I committed to playing two games on Saturday and none on Sunday. I havent been able to fully ascertain who is going to travel over but will travel with who ever is interested and we can pick up players to fill out our team or loan out Rainier players to other teams. We will be returning Saturday evening.

The two matches are both against teams that we deserve a second crack at Liberty 2nds and Harbor 2nds. The first game isn't until 1pm and the second at 3pm. We are seeking volunteers to drive so we can minimize the number of vehicles and keep the gas costs to a minimum. If you are willing to drive please let me know how many seats you can offer. We will meet in a designated place and car pool over. I need to figure out how long this trip will take as I havent driven to Ellensburg in some time. Suggestions on the likely journey time welcome. My goal would be to arrive no later than 11:45.

An added incentive for players interested in the Logger program to attend is that the selectors are seeking nominations prior to Friday of interested players so they can take a look at any players present this weekend. Not attending does not eliminate you from selection later in the month.

I will be finalizing on Wednesday who is and who isnt going but as I said earlier this will be a very good event well worth attending and we will travel with who ever is interested and let them play some final 15's for a while.

If you are recieving this and havent already made me aware of your availability please reply and let me know.

Thanks

Andy



5/5/08

To All

Thanks very much for all the sideline support and player commitment on Saturday. The result wasn't what we were hoping for but against the odds the team battled back in the second half and earned the respect they deserve. I will repeat here what I told the players at the conclusion of the match that no matter what the outcome was on Saturday the fact that we are all their together as a team competing for a state final is reason to celebrate and create momentum for even greater things going forward. We have a very strong core of players that will be returning next season and with their help we will recruit to attract suitable replacements for the players moving on.

The season is not over yet with training continuing once a week Wednesdays 6.30-8 at our usual area at the HS. We have a couple more opportunities for team play and then the WA Rep side try outs at the end of the month. Going forward into the summer we hope to introduce many of the boys to seven a side rugby which is much more flowing game with fewer tight exchanges and set pieces to contend with. This is also a great opportunity to bring new players out and introduce them to a less complicated version of rugby. Our recruiting wont ever stop so please keep spreading the word and bringing new faces out to practice.

Below are details pertaining to several upcoming events which I need to know player availability. These events titles are highligted in red. Please reply indicating if you are or are not available for these events.

Scrimmage Game with Tacoma
During the regular season were unable to play our match with Tacoma (weather cancellation) and to provide an opportunity for Tacoma to squeeze one more game we are considering a match during the week of May 12th. This will likely be an evening game in the Bonney Lake area. If we dont have sufficient players available we can borrow some Tacoma players to fill in.

Ellensburg Tourny May 17th
During the weekend of May 17 & 18 their is a fairly large end of season tournament featuring teams from Montana, OR and WA. We were not originally eligible to attend but due to cancellations we should be able to compete. I have only committed to playing one day Saturday. If we cant raise enough interest I am planning on taking the players who do wish to go and finding places on other teams for them to play on. This event will be held at the CWU campus and appears to be an extremely well organized event.

Loggers Program
Full details pertaining to the Loggers program is available at our web-site however a brief summary is that the loggers are the WA state rep teams. Their is a U17 and 19 squad which is selected after try-out sessions on May 31st. The loggers is a tremendous experience for any young player and is the first step towards being recognized by the USA National Selectors. These selectors will be present at the July matches in OR. Out of last seasons Loggers squad 6 players were selected for the USA U17 and U19 teams. I will be assisting with the try-out day and would be very disappointed if many of our players dont give this a go.

End of Year Banquet & Awards Ceremony (Buckley Hall 7pm)
Please plan on attending our special event on May 30th. This event is open to all family, friends and supporters of the club. We will be hosting a full dinner and among other things will be presenting player jerseys and recognition awards. Please keep and eye on the web-site for further volunteer opportunities to assist with the coordination and organization of this event.

Track Meet Volunteers Needed
In order to express our thanks to the support received from the Sumner School District Athletic Department I offered to assist them in any way we could. The request is that they need assistance with a large Elementary school athletic jamboree being held at Sunset Stadium. The jamboree is at 4pm on Wednesday May 28th. I am looking for both player and parent volunteers to step up to help at this event. This is a great opportunity to further our relationship with the school district.

Yours in rugby

Andy Ramsay

3/30/08

To All

It was disappointing that we were unable to play our match on Friday but considering the awful weather conditions it was probably a favorable situation. We will make every attempt to reschedule this match and will most likely try to make this a midweek fixture sometime in April. This week reflects a break from the normal practice routine. Their is no outdoor practice on Monday and an indoor rugby viewing session at the Bonney Lake Public Libary 6.30-8pm. I highly encourage all players and any interested parents to attend as you will find you learn a lot about the game watching high level rugby such as the DVD's I intend showing. We also hope to show some footage from some of our games.

Saturday 4/5
I was contacted by Seattle Rugby Club U19's coaches trying to recruit some U17 players to help complete a roster for a game they have on Saturday versus a English School team that is on tour. They have been slow to respond with their needs but I am hopeful that they we request at least one or two of our younger players to participate. Should that happen I would be very grateful if as many players not involved in the game and parents make an effort to go cheer on the locals. The game will be played at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila at 2.30pm.

Saturday 4/12
Although our schedule reflects a home game for 4/12 its very likely we will end up playing at the Ryan Field in SeaTac. We are scheduled to play Bellevue who are like us a first year team.They have not been so successful in recruiting players and may struggle to field a full side. To ensure we can get a decent game I have a contingency to play Liberty JV or a combination of Bellevue and Liberty. The other attraction to go to this venue on 4/12 is that Liberty will be hosting and playing a touring side from New Zealand. No doubt this would be a very entertaining match to watch and our boys can support Liberty in this International Match. I will keep you all posted on developments and a possible switch to playing away from home.

End Of Season Tour
Although we still have a lot of rugby to play its never to early to plan ahead and I am in the process of making contacts in Oregon that may be opponents and hosts. I am also gathering information on players availability so we can select the weekend when the majority are available.

Membership Dues
As announced earlier we will need to request a further payment from each player in order to fulfill our financial obligations which are going to arise during the season. In earlier correspondance I failed to recognize that we had earlier said that if a player was involved in a car wash effort he wouldnt have to pay the full membership costs. For this reason I will be asking for an additional payment of $50 from car wash participants and $80 from those that choose not to particpate. Checks can be made out to Rainier Plateau Junior Rugby and if desired mailed to me. Asking for more money is not something which I want to do but considering the costs of particpating in other sports a fee of less than $200 is still a pretty good deal.

WEBSITE
Recent updates include photos from the Budd Bay games and information regarding the methods of purchasing sideline team gear.

Coach Sean
Sean's work committments including a second trip to India have restricted his availability to be more heavily involved but he is keeping a close eye on our progress and looks forward to returning in mid April to help out.

Have a great week and I hope to see many of you on Wednesday evening.

Andy



3/22/08

To All

First and foremost I want to thank our players and parents for their enthusiasm and support during last Friday's victory over Budd Bay. The game was a real test of character for the team succumbing to early injures and a strong onslaught from the Barbarians in the second half. Unfortunately we have picked up one season ending injury. My son Calum took a nasty blow to the mouth during a tackle attempt which resulted in two of his teeth being displaced. Fortunately the dentist was able to remove his metal brace reposition the teeth and apply a new brace wire. Had be not been wearing his mouth guard and had the brace he would probably have lost those teeth. Due to the fragile nature of these teeth he has been told to avoid contact to the face for two months. He is dispointed but knows he will have several more years of high school rugby and at least can don the football helmet and pads later in the year.Calum will continue to be involv ed and participate in practices where possible. I can attest that during all my years of playing rugby I have seen very few dental injuries so parents shouldn't neccesarily panic however ANY OF THE PLAYERS READING THIS THATS WHY YOU NEED TO WEAR YOUR MOUTHGUARD DURING PRACTICE & GAMES!

Other injuries to Blake (shoulder) and Jordan (hamstring) are still under assessment and hopefully will be less serious. The game itself provided opportunities to see if the hard work earlier in the week paid off or not. Improved tackling, communication and on field discipline and teamwork were much improved. Like any coach its never enough to be satisfied with a win and several opportunities for improvement have been noted. Nevertheless it was a fine performance particularly in the first half before injuries disrupted the continuity we had established.

Special thanks to the Pearson's who helped coordinate the wonderful post match food and Coach George for his field clean up effort. We will be educating the players on the neccesity to participate in this post match duty.

Next Fridays match will be in Tacoma versus the Tacoma U19's 2nd side. The Valley Joeys will be playing Tacoma 1st side prior to our match. I will be finalizing the kickoff time early next week so keep and eye on the web-site for details. Hope you can all make it to this match.

SCHEDULE
The web-site calander has been updated to the best of my ability. We still have a few ? marks over times and locations. Their is no game on April 5th but our club is one of three that has been invited to provide players to play in a U17 match. This match is being coordinated by Seattle Vikings RFC will be hosting the touring Kings Grammar School from Lincolnshire (England) during the weekend of April 5-6th, and will play their U-17 side at Starfire on Saturday April 5th at 2:30pm. http://www.kings.lincs.sch.uk/ Seattle will be fielding all their U17 players but need some players from other clubs to fill out their roster. I have forwarded the coach a list of all U17 players and their respective positions. They will get back to me on who they may be interested in selecting. Despite the fact whether you are playing our not I will be trying to take as many of our players as possible to watch and cheer on the local team. Hopefully within those ranks will be some Rainier Players.

I am currently trying to establish if we have sufficient interest and player availability in an end of season tour sometime in May. If you know of any specific weekend in May (Friday PM, Saturday & Sunday) that you have other commitments please let me know.

Unless a better location becomes available we will continue to practice at Sumner High School grass field for the forseable future.

VOLUNTEERS
A huge thanks for the willingness of the parent group to get involved and support the team in any way they can. Simple gestures such as filling water bottles picking up gear and helping to breakdown the game field do not go unnoticed. I apologize if I overlook acknowledging these efforts but they are appreciated. Also that laundering of the jerseys has been a huge success with all opportunities already signed up for. One upcoming opportunity is likely to be providing food at our April home games. Typically burgers and hot dogs are the traditional fare but I am open to suggestions. We will have a set budget for these events but am welcome to suggestions and volunteers to coordinate and actually provide on-site assistance. Once we establish a point person for these efforts perhaps we will create a sign up location for on-site assistants on the web-site.

CLUB ANNUAL DUES
I need to inform everyone that despite my best efforts to keep our expenditures to a minimum and keep membership dues to a minimum it is apparent that if we are going to be able to pay all our costs for the season that I need to request a further $70 from each player. Despite my best efforts to forecast costs we have and will continue to incur some higher expenses than I had anticipated. As the program grows we will have a great product to market for sponsorship helping to reduce individual membership costs but that looks like it may be more likely next year. If you do know of any business that may be a potential sponsor please let me know as I already have a sponsorship packet available for an owner or manager review.

I request that all players fulfill this financial responsibility and contribute any balance they may have to reach the yearly memebership fee's of $180 ASAP with checks payable to Rainier Plateau Junior Rugby.

WEBSITE
We have a huge collection of spectaculer photos in our gallery. In years to come the players will enjoy looking back at these. Just look on my book shelfs and you will find albums from around the world of my earlier playing days!

Other scapbook opportunities to look for are an article about the team's win over Liberty in last Tuesdays Courier Herald newspaper which many of you probably recieve and in this weeks Sumner Reporter. We will try and get copies of these articles onto the site.

Players please take a minute to complete your BIO's and join your teamates on the "honor roll"

TEAM NAME
If you hadnt already figured out we have adopted the name " The Highlanders" as our team name. This name was selected primaily due to the fact their was an abscence of other suitable or practical suggestions but I believe it will be become well known in the local rugby and general community.

TEAM SPIRIT WEAR
Their has been considerable interest in obtaining team sideline gear. We have established with "Sports Connection" in Bonney Lake products which we would like to make available. These purchases can be made directly with Sports Connection. Vicky and I will be working this week to get photos of these products and pricing information on the website. In the meantime the items which are available are listed below.

I also have navy beanies and some hooded sweatshirts (only upto large) available for purchase.

Available from Andy Navy Beanie with Logo = $10
Navy Hooded Sweatshirts with screen print logo = $15 (only in sizes sml, medium & large)

Sports Connection
9925 214th Ave East
Bonney lake (next to Les Schab) 253 891-1677
sportsconnection@aol.com

Navy & white Hooded sweatshirt (all sizes including larger sizes) with screen print logo = $24
Navy & White Polo shirts with embroidered club logo = $29.50
Navy & White zip fleece with embrodered club logo = $31
Ball Cap with Rainer Rugby = $9.50
Hooded Nylon Warmup Jacket with embrodered club logo = $37.00
Nylon matching pants = $25.50


Garments larger than XL will incur an additional fee of 2XL= $2 3XL = $4 and 4XL = $6


All prices include tax and players names and numbers can be added for an additional fee

Think I covered everything but any questions I am always available via phone or e mail. Hope to see you all in the coming week.

Andy



3-16-08

To All

Just a reminder that commencing Monday our practice location will switch to the grass area just north of Sunset Stadium in Sumner. This field is adjacent to the stadium parallel with the road between Fred Myers and the school. I am presume parking is on the road on the north side of this field but am going to drive down today to take a look. I am told by the athletic director this field is equipped with lights but until I am sure we will commence at 6pm. If we can get lights we will push the starting time to 6.30pm.

Practice fields are a hot commodity and securing a decent regular location has been tough. I apologize for all the bouncing around but hopefully we can remain at this location for the remainder of the season.

The game on Saturday was challenging with a very expierienced opponent that exploited our inexpierience level. Despite the lopsided score their were many positives we saw particualrly in the set piece play. This week we will work on the weakness's we recognized and get ready for our game this Friday.

I have spoken with Spencer who was the player that got injured late in the game yesterday and other than a few bruises he appears to have fully recovered.

See you all Monday.

Andy



3/9/08

To All

Wonderful day yesterday both on and off the pitch. I was thrilled for the boys achieving not only the win but for playing so well and sticking together as a team. I will be completing a more detailed game summary which will be posted on the website in the next day or so.

This weeks practices will be at Lakeridge Middle School in Bonney Lake. We will start at 6pm ending at 7.30. If their is sufficient day light to go to 8pm we may change future practices to start at 6.30.

Next Saturday's match will be at the same location as yesterday with a later kickoff of around 2.30. I will confirm the actual kickoff time in the next day or so.

Thanks to all the parents who made the trip to enjoy this historic win. Hopefully you were not to confused by this new game your son is playing. At our next Parent/Player meeting on March 18th we will run through some of the basics for the parents.

Enjoy your weekend
Andy




3/4/08

This coming weekend cant come soon enough as far as I am concerned. We have come a long way in a short time and it will be very exciting and rewarding for all involved to see our team compete in its first official match. Barring any unforeseenn circumstances we should have our new team jerseys in time. Raising the money to pay for these was lengthy so we are down to the wire on this. I hope you can all come out on Saturday to be part of this historic event.

Kickoff time is 1230 at the Pat Ryan Field in SeaTac( wont find this on Map qwest) go to ourweb sitee for directions. PLAYERS NEED TO REPORT BY 1130.

Jersey Laundry Please go to our web site and sign up to launder the team jerseys after one of our matches. Thanks to Josh Atencio's mon Jeanne for being first to volunteer.

Go to Our Team tab and select Volunteer and you can select which weekend you would like to be on laundry duty.

Player Bio's Players are encouraged to go to the web site and complete their own personal bio. Our team tab-Players and then the edit bios tab. These bios are not only fun but a good recruiting and marketing tool. Let me know if you need the login/password

Carwash Last Sundays car wash at the Mt Rainier Bank in Buckley was a great success. Through the efforts of the players we raised $300. Special thanks to Shelie O'Conner for the use of the facility and Doug Pearsonforr his assistance during the car wash. If you look at my car you may wonder what the heck I know about washing cars.Thanks Doug

Coaching One of our coaches Sean will be out of the country on businesss for about three weeks so a friend of mine George will be helping me out during practice and when his schedule permits at our games. We wish Sean a safe and rewarding trip to India

Game Schedule Please review the schedule posted on the web site as their has been a couple of changes since the original version posted a couple of weeks ago.

Practice Schedule As daylight savings approaches we will have some more flexibility with scheduling or practices and not be so reliant on using the lighted fields. I am communicating with the school district to secure a suitable practice field and should have that confirmed by the weekend. My goal is to continue practicing Mondays and Wednesdays 6.30-8.00 but I will be polling the players to ensure we maximize the best opportunities for full attendance.

Mouth Guards All players need to bring a mouth-guard at practice and all matches. Owning and wearing one of these is a lot cheaper than a visit to the dentist or worse orthodontist!

Sponsership A huge thanks to Blake Valske's family ownedbusinesss Auburn Mechanical for their very generous donation which will help purchase much needed field equipment. If you think you may know some potentialsponsorss we have a very comprehensivesponsorshipp package which can bedown-loaded from the web site. Any donation would be very much appreciated as start up costs have been fairly extensive.

Have a great week and look forward to seeing you all on Saturday.

Andy