Northeast Academy Names Ryszard Chadwick Executive Director

Northeast Academy Release

The Northeast Academy has announced its new Executive Director as Ryszard Chadwick. Chadwick will take over from John McGeachy who is stepping away to spend more time with his young family. McGeachy’s tenure with the Academy saw significant achievements including the evolution of the Women’s program into one of the country’s top representative sides, providing multiple athletes with opportunities to develop and challenge for national team honors. He was also instrumental in the creation of a HS age youth program in the Boston area, a regional collegiate sevens tournament, as well as regular education clinics for players, coaches and referees alike.

John describes his time with the academy as “an honor and a pleasure” adding, “to work with so many talented coaches and players over the years and to be part of the Academy’s evolution and see significant growth has been a privilege. Unfortunately, however, I can no longer commit the time necessary to continue this momentum and as such have decided to step aside and to spend more time with my family. I could not be more excited to be handing the reigns over to Rys. His energy, passion, and desire for the game and its development is unmatched and I am confident he will do great things. I would like to thank the staff, the NERFU and EMPIRE Unions for their support and I look forward to witnessing more success from the Academy in the years to come.”

John was the driving force behind hosting the first USA Rugby National Development Academy Tournament in 2017. Pictured here John & Rys coached the Wolf Pack to Number 1.

Northeast Academy Founder Steve Lewis, who remains actively involved with the program, commented, “I would like to thank John for his dedication and attention to detail in the last two years and appreciate the contributions he has made to rugby in the Northeast. Hopefully, his absence from the game will be a relatively short one as he has much to offer. The appointment of Rys, one of the country’s best young coaches, will see a third generation of leadership for the Academy, following Sean Horan and John. I wish him well”.

Chadwick, who has served as the Academy Director of High Performance (and coach) for the last two years has had a strong influence already in raising standards and brings a powerful combination of technical, theoretical and practical expertise. Graduating from the fabled Hartpury College program in the UK, he works with Play Rugby USA and has coaching experience at NYAC Men, New York Women, national age-grade programs as well as being a USA Rugby educator.

“I would like to thank John who has played a big part in developing Sean and Steve’s initial vision, his leadership inspired many people”, commented Chadwick, adding, “With the changing landscape of Rugby in the USA I am excited to look to the future and how we can continue to identify and develop rugby players, coaches and programs for tomorrow’s game today, as well as helping the national team and the wider rugby community in the Northeast.

The Northeast Academy is a premier high-performance rugby program and a National Development Academy, sanctioned by USA Rugby as the official designated pathway to the USA Eagles National Team selection for both Men and Women in the Northeast of America. With training locations in New York City, Boston, and Buffalo, the Academy trains selected players from clubs throughout the Northeast Region who are invested in their growth and eager to compete for the opportunity to be selected to our an elite 7s touring side in both domestic and international competition. Supported by our Local Area Unions, NERFU and EMPIRE, the goal of the Academy is development, in hopes to grow and retain the rugby talent locally, by creating opportunities for players, coaches and referees alike in the Northeast.