Men’s Eagles Coach Mike Tolkin has called on 32 players to gather in Atlanta for the first camp of the team’s spring and summer season. The weekend marks the first time the team has assembled since their fall tour of United Kingdom and Romania in November, in which they came away with a 2-1 record.
With one camp ahead and a little under a month until the first Pacific Nations Cup match against Canada, Tolkin’s focus is two-fold.
“Our goals here are to identify talent which will add to the depth of players who were on fall tour. We also want to continue our upward momentum in terms of our skills and tactics,” says Tolkin.
Players have been trickling in to prepare for the camp, with some arriving early Sunday morning after finishing round of 32 DI Club matches. The camp will run from April 27-30.
Coming off the success of the recent tour and heading into a very full schedule of matches this summer, Tolkin is looking forward to taking a look at new players-- about one-third of whom are new to the Eagle’s 15s pool.
“We have to have more players ready. This coming season we have more games and less recovery time so we are going to have to use a deeper player pool—that’s why this and the May camp are really important.,” said Tolkin.
The Eagles will meet again on May 17 in Denver to prepare for the May 25 Pacific Nations Cup match versus Canada. Tolkin will use the coming weekend as a chance to find players “ready for the next level” and invite them to participate in Denver and possibly beyond.
“Its been five months since we last met, so its time to ramp it up,” said Tolkin.
Notable players absent from camp due to other commitments or injury are Peter Dahl, Paul Emerick, Seamus Kelly, Mike Petri and Will Haydock.
USA MEN’S EAGLES | ATLANTA CAMP Chris Biller STAFF EAGLES SPRING AND SUMMER SCHEDULE
Jordan Bouey
Miles Craigwell
John Cullen
Shaun Davies
Cornelius Dirksen
Cameron Dolan
Brian Doyle
Zach Fenoglio
Dean Gericke
Troy Hall
Graham Harriman
Trevor Cassidy
Kris Headlee
Will Holder
Tom Katzfey
Titi Lamositele
Toby L’Estrange
Chad London
Mike MacDonald
Liam Murphy
Zach Pangelinan
James Paterson
Zach Pauga
Shawn Pittman
Chris Saint
Adam Siddall
Andrew Suniula
Phil Thiel
Zach Walker
Nick Wallace
Mike Tolkin – Head Coach
Tony Smeeth – Asst. Coach
Dan Payne – Asst. Coach
Dave Williams – Asst. Coach
Derek Dowling – Asst. Coach
Chris O’Brien – Kicking Coach
Kristen Douhan – Physio
Zach Vyhananek – Physio
Sarah Sall – Massage Therapist
Mark Sakr – Doctor
Tristan Lewis - Manager
vs. Canada (PNC) – May 25, Ellerslie Rugby Park - Edmonton, AB
vs. Ireland (test) – June 8, BBVA Compass Stadium – Houston, TX
vs. Tonga (PNC) – June 14, Home Depot Center - Los Angelese, California
vs. Fiji (PNC) – June 19, Nagoya Municipal Mizuho Park Rugby Ground - Nagoya, Japan
vs. Japan (PNC) – June 23, Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium - Tokyo, Japan
vs. Canada (RWC Qualifier) - August 17, Blackbaud Stadium - Charleston, South Carolina
vs. Canada (RWC Qualifier) - August 24, BMO Field - Toronto, Canada
Source : http://www.rugbyrugby.com/news/by_country/u_s/7010666/tolkin__ramping_it_up__with_first_camp_of_the_season