This story was published in the Daily Universe at BYU on Thursday January 13, 2011.
The BYU men's rugby team took a break from the cold last weekend with a trip to St. George and a twofold mission: to defrost, and be mentors to rugby youth.
Assistant BYU rugby coach and Propel Rugby Academy founder Kimball Kjar explained the priorities of the team while in St. George.
“The first priority was to help the youth down there, and the second priority was to get the rugby team out of the snow,” Kjar said.
More than 100 youthful participants received guidance from the BYU rugby team in the Propel Rugby Academy “Winter Warm-Up” clinic in St. George held on the campus of Dixie State College.
Jay Day, the father of three participating sons and a local high school rugby coach, he saw how the event greatly impacted his children.
“They’re such good examples to my boys, and my boys, they just try to mimic everything they do,” Day said, referring to the BYU rugby team.
Day has hosted the BYU players in his home for years when they came to town to participate in local tournaments. But this year was different, because the players were able to give back to the rugby community in southern Utah through the youth clinic.
“BYU is so generous, because they shared everything. Complete transparency, they didn’t hold anything back,” Day said.
The trip also provided valuable time for the team to get to know each other and the 10 new recruits they are welcoming for the 2011 rugby season.
“It was good for the guys to just get on the road together, and there’s some good team bonding that goes on there,” Kjar said. “To be able to get a full field, to be able to have the guys spread out, to train, and to work on our overall systems as a team, it helps us to work on team cohesion.”
The team boasts a strong recruiting class for the 2011 season and will start its season with a road trip to Southern California. They look to reclaim the championship from rival Cal, whom they lost to in the 2010 championship game.
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