Casey Rock answered an advertisement in 2006 about a new club forming, the Glendale Raptors. He was 19 at the time and he has endured with the club through injuries, his career as a teacher, and with some time spent in New Zealand and in Australia.
In 2017 Casey was honored by the club as the “Last Man Standing” since the inaugural season. Casey is now 31-years-old, 6’9″, 260 lbs, and plays lock.
Casey is a Colorado native and attended Denver East High School. He played soccer and began playing rugby in 2005. He then attended Metropolitan State University on a soccer scholarship and majored in English.
He was lured back to rugby in 2006 when he joined the Glendale Raptors and has continued to be part of the organization since then. In 2008 he chose to develop his rugby talents by playing for Marist Rugby Club in Whakatane, New Zealand. While in Whakatane, he was selected to the Eastern Bay of Plenty representative side and played for the BOP Steamers Development side.
In 2009 Casey was named to the Collegiate All-Americans and in 2011 helped the Raptors win the USA Rugby Club Division 1 National 15s Championship.
In 2012 it was more traveling for Casey. This time to Brisbane, Australia with the intention of playing with the University of Queensland. He switched clubs during the preseason and played with Brothers Rugby Club.
Casey played both rugby 15s and 7s, however after a severe knee and leg injury during the 2014 Rugbytown 7s, he retired from playing. Rugby was still prominent in his mind, so for the 2015 Pacific Rugby Premiership, he helped to coach the forwards.
By 2016, he returned as a player for the 2016 PRP season and also played for the Denver Stampede and that Fall for the Classic Eagles. Then it was back to the Raptors in 2017 and the Glendale Merlins when a division was made between amateur and professional rugby in Glendale. Casey also played for the Raptors against the Ontario Arrows (Ontario Blues) in 2017.
Casey played for the Raptors in the inaugural Major League Rugby season and will return for 2019. Like many Raptors and other MLR players, he balances rugby with a career that is not part of the sport.
Other Articles
DJCoil Rugby articles by Doug Coil are also available on Facebook. Other Social Media sites to follow or subscribe include Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube for interviews.
