This week’s club sports highlight is the Owls men’s rugby squad.
The Owls men’s rugby club was founded in 2005 right in Kennesaw, Georgia. Randy Joseph, who founded the team, played internationally and overseas. Joseph started several clubs during his time in Kennesaw.
“It was a small team,” team captain Xavier Anderson said. “Guys were coming out to play a sport that they were learning to love. We went from a small social club to winning the national championship back in 2018.”
The club has its sights set on the competing in the Collegiate Rugby Championship at the end of April in Maryland.
The club has played some big-time schools this season, including the Georgia, Louisiana State, Kentucky, Auburn and Georgia Tech. Having played these big-name schools gives the owls team a confidence boost for their players to stay motivated throughout the season.
“It does a lot for the guys,” Anderson said. “It says hey you know we can get on a bus and go and perform and play the game that we came here to play.”
Anderson said one of the things he values most playing for the club is the network it provides.
“It’s a tremendous network that you can get when you do something like that,” Anderson said. “To be able to meet people and share your experience and bring them in and help coach them is valuable.”
Mission statements can really help build a team’s bond and chemistry throughout the season. Working together as one team can help create a strong connection for everyone succeed.
“We come here and play as brothers and do everything as a family,” Anderson said. “We focus on several concepts throughout the season. We focus on control the controllables. We focus on something simple as just get better. We are here to get better. We’re putting everything and knocking on the door it means a lot to the guys. We are continuing to compete and playing for each other.”
Recruitment and recruiting players are a vital part in any team’s succession. Every sport and every team are different on how they go about recruitment.
“There is a handful of guys like me and another handful of guys who have played on team since we were in high school,” Anderson said. “Some have been playing since they were close to being in diapers. With the commuter friendly environment at Kennesaw, a lot of guys this is there first time playing. We recruit guys straight on campus.”
The United States men’s and women’s Olympic rugby teams this past summer in Paris, France brought a lot of attention to the sport of rugby. Anderson said it has resulted in a significant boost in interest.
“It is huge, Anderson said. “To be able to have such a wide exposure of the Olympics and especially here in America we don’t play as much rugby, but everyone watches the Olympics. Everyone is going to see the USA on a big stage performance. For the women’s rugby team to bring home bronze the first USA medal has ever gotten is amazing and that shouldn’t be undercut at all. To be able to see something like that as an American player that is something I can do and want to be a apart of. So, it does a lot to people to be inspired and to be a part of.”
Gaining experience for any team and their players is valuable for the current season and as well as looking ahead to the next season.
“We are in a growth era right now,” Anderson said. “This is the first longest season that we have played as a Kennesaw fifteens team in years. We started in September and going all the way into February. What we want is for the guys to gain a lot of experience and we want everyone to be able to win and have a good experience.”
