U18 Boys Settling in on South American Tour
U18 Boys Settling in on South American Tour
The USA U18 boys team is safely in Argentina and preparing for their three-match tour of South America.
The tour is run by Varsity Travel run by Agustin Oulton, who had kindly sent us some photos. See more about Varsity Travel here>>
The USA team has been training for Sunday's match with Rosario Academy. The city of Rosario is in central Argentina and is the nexus of age-grade rugby in the region. And remember, Argentina is big, it's about the size of the contiguous USA west of Denver (or slightly more than the contiguous USA east of the Mississippi). So the academies are hugely important in developing players.
"The boys are gelling well," said Head Coach Dom Wareing. "We've had lots of information covered but everyone is on task and picking it up quickly."
There is a bit of a steep learning curve for players as for most this is their first experience in an international assembly. They have to learn new nomenclature, they have to stay switched on through two-a-days and also meetings and other aspects of preparation, and they have to learn about each other.
"It's just new," said Wareing, but all of that is expected, he added.
USA U18 Boys Roster for Argentina Tour
Kaidan Grant, Belmont Shore, CA; Briggs Love, Cavemen, Utah; Beppe Boglione, Gonzaga, DC; Ean Glover, San Diego Mustangs, CA; Gavin Lowe St. Augustine HS / Try Time, CA; Alfie Booth, Newcastle, UK / Gosforth; Preston Leomiti, Belmont Shore, CA; Ethan DaSilva, SOC Raptors, CA; Eddie Robertson, RCG North Wales Acad, UK; Jem Mavroleon, St. Edward's Sch./Ealing Acad. UK; Kelly Pierce, KCS Wimbledon, UK; Mateo Bresenden, San Diego Mustangs, CA; Marcello Woodberry, St Ignatius, OH; Flynn O'Connell, SFGG, CA; Macrae Parker, Herriman, UT; Charlie Banszak, St. Ignatius, OH; Neel Menon, Woodlands TX; Rhys James, U. Mary Washington, VA; Tristan Mocke, Cavemen, Utah; Dylan Trower, San Diego Mustangs CA; Luke Zehmke, Charlotte Cardinals, NC; Louis Sdao, NYAC, NY; Caden Hartley, SOC Raptors, CA; Trace Snellman, Woodlands TX; Max Wyckoff, Xavier, NY; Reese Reiter, San Diego Mustangs CA; Jasiah Lolesio-Pua, Belmont Shore, CA; Ethan Heim, Gonzaga, DC
