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UNITED STATES QUAD RUGBY ASSOCIATION Related Pages
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In early December, 40 of the top quad rugby athletes from across the
country traveled to West Palm Beach, Florida to participate in a three day tryout and
selection process for 12 spots on Team USA. Those selected would represent the United
States at world championship in June, 1998. Waiting for them upon their arrival was a lot
of rain and a lot of rugby. The competition started immediately as each player tested their skills against other players at the same point level. The session began with sprints and agility drills. Each point level was timed in three sets with the top finishers running an extra set against the slower athletes from the next highest level. When it came to speed, most classes were relatively close; however, Brad Updegrove dominated the 3.5 class and Eddie Crouch was clearly the dominant force in the .5 class. After a short break, the athletes were paired up to do "two-on-two" in the
key and "two-on-two" with an inbounder drills. Each pairing consisted of a
similar point total for fairness. This gave the coaches an opportunity to evaluate the
picking and decision making skills of the players. As anticipated, the offenses dominated
these drills. To end the afternoon session and to help build the athletes dinner appetite,
the coaches ran an eight-minute "pecking order" drill to evaluate endurance. After dinner, evenly matched teams were created to run the "meat grinder" drill. There were three teams on each court. One team was on offense and two teams were on defense. The offense first had to beat a pressing defense down three-quarters of the court and then had to beat the other defensive team in the "key" defense. The teams rotated between offense and defense so the coaches could evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each player. Unfamiliarity with the playing skills of new teammates created some problems at first, but it did not take long for teams to gel. The long 12 hour day ended for the players, coaches, referees, and staff with a Team USA cheer. Fortunatly, due to conflicting schedules, the gym was not available until 2:00 p.m. on Saturday so the athletes had an opportunity to sleep in. On Saturday morning students from Alpha Institute treated the athletes and staff to free massages at the hotel before reporting to the next session of tryouts. Saturday’s session focused on the playing skills of the athletes. Full court games were played as the coaches rotated players and teams throughout the day. Again, unfamiliarity reigned at first but turned to cohesion as the day progressed. The day however would end with the first cuts. One fourth of the athletes would not be returning for Sunday’s session. Disappointment for some and relief for others were evident as the athletes looked for their names on the list of invitees posted in the hotel lobby at the days end . For those who made the cut, Sunday would be an early day as the session began at 9:00 a.m. As on Saturday, the day was filled with pick-up games. With the switch to a one-court gym, the coaches had to accelerate the rotation process to evaluate a lot of talent in a short period of time. The competition was fierce and players were tense because they knew that each mistake could cost them a place on Team USA. As the weekend came to a close, the coaches huddled together to make the tough decisions. Forty came, but only twelve would make it. The players waited in anticipation as the coaches first thanked the athletes, referees, and staff before reading off the names of the twelve Team USA players and the alternates. After three days of intense competition, an outstanding team was selected to represent the United States at World Championships in Toronto. For those who did not make the team, it was an honor and enlightening experience to be able to play with the some of the best quad rugby athletes in the world. Thanks to Reggie, Wendy, and Ed for the opportunity and special thanks to John Bishop and his family for putting on a first class weekend.
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Head coach Reggie Richner and
assistant coaches Wendy Gumbert and Ed Suhr had scheduled an intense three-day workout
that started on Friday with non-stop drills and skills tests. 
The
"pecking order" drill involves catching the player in front of you while doing
laps around the outside of the court. As each player is passed, he moves into the inner
circle so that only the fastest players remain in the outside lane. 