Northeast Academy New York City 7’s & Dom Wareing Win Elite City 7s
Doug Coil
Congratulations to the New York City 7s (Northeast Academy) which went undefeated in winning the USA Rugby Elite City 7s. Players were Nate Brakeley, Mike St Claire, Derek Lipscomb, Duran Vota, Justin Hundley, Ryan Matyas, Rick Kirkland, Luke Hume, Gavan D’amore Morrison, Conor Fay and Marcus Henderson. Head Coach Dom Wareing, Assistant Coach Steve Lewis and Manager Tom Clark headed this side.
In Pool play they went 3-0.
Match 1:New York 20-5 Atlanta (Life ODA) Tries: Marcus Henderson, Derek Lipscomb, Rick Kirkland, Ryan Matyas.
Match 2: NY12-7 Armed Forces. Try Ryan Matyas, Conversion Justin Hundley. Try Derek Lipscomb
Match 3: NY 24-7 Rugby Utah. Tries; Matyas (2), Kirland, Luke Hume. Conversions Justin Hundley (2).
Cup Semi-Final NY 31-7 Philadelphia (Atlantis) Tries: Michael St. Claire, Matyas, Hundley (2), Kirkland. Conversions Hundley (3).
Cup Final NY 36-7 Armed Forces. Tries: Kirkland (2), Matyas (2), Hundley, Hume. Conversions Hundley (2), Matyas
The Elite City 7s not only provided players a chance to compete against other high performance athletes, but also for new coaches to gain National exposure. Such was the case with Dom Wareing of the Northeast Academy – New York City 7s team. This was Dom’s first official head coaching experience.
The reason this article focuses on the New York City 7s is to profile Dom Wareing. Prior to the tournament the Northeast Academy issued a press release. This article is meant to highlight his impact on rugby and coaching.
Press Release, Northeast Academy by Ryan Trost, Director of Communications
“New York, NY; Aug. 28, 2015 – Another exciting weekend of Rugby 7s kicks off this Saturday in Philadelphia, PA. The Northeast Academy is bringing two men’s teams to participate in the Elite City 7s to close out its four-tournament month of August. Northeast is coming off a very exciting weekend in Limerick where they went 2-1 in a difficult pool, but unfortunately fell short to a very strong Connacht squad in the quarterfinals before recovering to win 7th place overall. This weekend has still more in store for rugby maniacs across the country though, as the Academy will be showcasing its stalwart Strength and Conditioning Coach, Dominic Wareing in his first official head coaching start. Stephen lewis, Director of Coaching at the Northeast Academy and Director of Rugby at Old Blue Rugby Football Club (OBNY) had this to say on Wareing’s moment, ‘Dom is a highly qualified teacher and coach and will have zero problem stepping up to this level. In my mind he will be one of the top coaches in the country in short order. He has the educational background, interpersonal skills and rugby nous to make all the right decisions.’
Wareing originally from Northampton, England has been heavily involved in rugby for his entire life. he came up through the Northampton, English Rugby Academy as a youth, where he eventually reached County Representative levels. he also spent time at the National 2 level Lions club in the early portion of his professional career. After taking a hiatus from playing, to pursue his Strength and Conditioning degree, Wareing returned to Saints and reached A League where he was lucky enough to be coached by current New Zealand All Blacks Assistant Coach, Wayne Smith, in 2004.
Wareing began his American rugby career with Old Blue RFC in 2007, where he starred in both the 15’s game and in the 7’s structure. He was introduced to OBNY at a 7’s tournament in Amsterdam, when he met a fellow UK national playing for Blue. Originally here on 18 month visa, WAreing met yet another fellow English national and Eagles 15’s standout mark Griffin, who had founded the Play Rugby USA non-profit in New York City. Wareing began helping out with the kids and discovered that teaching youth was even more rewarding than the professional structure of his playing days and made the decision to apply for a P1 permanent visa, to remain in the States and grow the game through the grassroots youth movement.
Wareing began captaining OBNY around 2010 and has seen the club through many National tournaments. his experience as captain of high caliber players such as Adam Siddall and in coaching children inspired the Dominator (as he is ‘affectionately’ referred to in some rugby circles) to consider pursuing a coaching career with high level men’s teams. His coaching philosophy is motivational and no-nosense at the same time. ‘I want to empower players to make decisions on the field… we want them to be able to build off of each other and support each other by thinking through their scenarios.’ Especially at the Academy level, the thresholds Wareing and his counterparts, like Lewis and John McGeachy look for are more performance based than they are Result Oriented. ‘At the Academy our role is to create players who reach their potential in a no-excuses environment,’ he said. ‘This way, when they get the call to the OTC or the National Team they aren’t shocked by what it takes… the discipline in their fitness and their decisions.’
Already a constant voice and standard bearer at the Academy, Wareing’s presence as Head Coach at Elite City 7’s almost seems ‘business as usual’. yes, there will be more decisions to make regarding substitutions and schemes, but Wareing feels prepared on the eve of his debut as Head Coach on the national stage. he hopes his players do too. Certainly his fellow coaches are confident in his abilities and his players’ preparedness. If the team performs to its capacity, it should result in a real push for hardware, in the end. Though Wareing reiterated, ‘Its is the performance we’re looking for.’
From Northampton to New York City, WAreing has been working hard to build his prestigious rugby background. His rugby intelligence has helped him create a coaching philosophy that helps players reach peak potential. This upcoming Saturday, Wareing will have his debut in Philadelphia, a tournament that could jump start the next phase of his coaching career. With USA Rugby selectors having reiterated this week that the Pathway system is equal parts coaching and player development, Wareing has a great opportunity to take the next step in his growth as a National Team coaching prospect. yet another good reason to tune into USARugbyTV.com starting Saturday.
Northeast Academy
The Northeast Academy, with training squads in New York City and Boston, is a National Development Academy that has been sanctioned by USA Rugby as the official Academy (Men & Women) in the Northeast of America and as a designated pathway to the USA Eagles National Team selection. The purpose of the Academy is to identify, develop and prepare Sevens rugby players with the intention of placing ambitious athletes onto the USA National teams and future USA Olympic teams. The Academy will provide athletes with top level coaching, physical preparation, and playing competition to accelerate their personal development as Sevens players in line with current USA Eagles High Performance criteria.”
