By Ryan Trost
The iconic Yale Bowl presented fitting accommodation for a compelling coaches clinic on Sunday featuring Super Rugby championship coach Scott Robertson.
Organized by Yale Director of Rugby and USA Rugby men’s Attack and Backs Coach, Greg McWilliams, the event set itself apart with the inclusion of keynote speaker and repeat Super Rugby-winning Crusaders coach Robertson.
Attendees from every level of USAR’s development tree received information on a myriad of topics, both tactical and cultural. Quinnipiac University women’s assistant coach Colleen Doherty, and Dartmouth College men’s coach, James Willocks summed their appreciation for the balance.
Willocks, Doherty and West Point men’s head coach, Matt Sherman, all agreed that while most teams can or already are working on similar patterns of play, the finer points provided by Robertson and McWilliams in this session will help any coach’s acumen.
For his part, Robertson’s goal at the event was simply to offer new options to think about and deliver. Still strong and built like the No. 8 he played during his career, Robertston remains keenly aware of everything around him and is a decisive leader.
With coaches like Lara Vivolo, Steve Lewis and Todd Thornley, one might think this clinic was specifically designed for high-performance coaches, but Robertson's message was relevant for youth and high school as well.
Said McWilliams, “In planning for the event Scott and I both wanted to be sure it was conducted in a way that both spectrums would get takeaways.”
In his free time, Robertson also coaches his son’s U14 squad in New Zealand and has some thoughts on how youth development plays into the growth of Tier 2 nations.
Continued McWilliams, “It is important in these events and we were quite cognizant of presenting information that would be valuable to all.
“We talked about filming the whole day and putting that online, but in the end we wanted to give those in attendance more than is available on the internet,” continued McWilliams. "The true art of coaching isn’t about the information you have, for me it is about understanding what suits the group you have and being articulate in how you deliver for them.”
These points were not lost on Penn State men’s head coach Justin Hundley, who also pointed to the amount of sharing done among attendees as well.
“The information pathway currently between coaches in the college ranks is better than it has ever been," said Hundley. "I think we all see the benefits not only for ourselves and improving as coaches, but the long-term benefit of improving the overall rugby experience in America. We all want to be successful, but in my opinion, we all want to see our players go off to play at the next level, and it is ultimately our goal as coaches to provide them with all the tools to do so.”