EIU

So a few bloggers have weighed in on this website:

The website is disgusting. It is full of false truths and pretty much says that all “club athletes” are not really athletes. The basic premise of this site in my opinion is a recruiting front for Frank Graziano and his Eastern Illinois Rugby Team.

This is a team that does not participate in USA Rugby or Local Area Union (LAU) events. The coaching staff and players are not allowed to play on USA teams, or Select Side teams. The players are prohibited from socializing with the teams they play and are also prohibited from socializing with local men’s teams. I have talked with a few players who are frustrated that they cannot participate in these events. They are constantly told that USA Rugby is wrong, that they don’t know anything about rugby etc. I wonder what these girls do when the leave EIU? Could they handle Club rugby? We haven’t heard many success stories from EIU lately…

My anger for this team stems from a few different places. They boast that there is no high school rugby in the US and that all club teams are not worthy of their of EIU’s status. They claim to be the “only program in the nation designed for the development of future college-rugby student-athletes.”

They also claim that they are the creators of the “first women’s college rugby team,” what the hell did I do for 5 years at the University of Oklahoma? Was I just running around playing a club sport? WRONG. I played for my college, I represented my college at West events, on select side teams, and at many tournaments around the nation. I trained as HARD or HARDER than my “college-athlete students” at my University. My college rugby team experience was amazing and I would never trade it for anything.

They also claim that there is “NO GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL RUGBY IN THE UNITED STATES.” What? There are over 500 girls high school rugby teams in the US according to USA Rugby. Furthermore this website claims that Universities will not support college rugby teams without a grassroots movement from girls high schools. While this is a great idea, we would all loved to have found rugby in high school…it is not true. I hear of new teams all over the nation, and world that start without having a high school team. Also there has been a grass roots movement for Youth Rugby in the US…in fact USA Rugby has people dedicated to this sole idea.

The blasphemy on this site is mind blowing. All the links point directly to NCAA or inter-link within themselves. Basically its all a BIG circle of links trying to convince the visitors of this site to the lies on the pages.

My favorite part is the logo on top that features an Eastern Illinois Rugby Players…sure this isn’t a flagrant recruiting tactic of EIU. Right.

One of the saddest things with this whole EIU drama is that these girls are NOT experiencing what rugby is really about. They aren’t learning about the songs, the friendships of socializing with the other team, the pride of YOUR number…and so much more. They don’t know that if I up and move to San Diego I would have a couch to sleep on. I would have a job in a matter of weeks…because rugby is a family, a community.

They don’t get to experience what Sweet 16s, ITTs or a U19 game feels like. They have no idea of the pride of wearing their unions jersey and marching out onto that field. They surely have pride for their own school, but is that enough? I doubt it…