USA Rugby has announced the players to attend it Men’s Eagles High Performance Sevens camp at the Olympic Training Center July 18-20.

The 7s national team coaching staff will evaluate the players currently in residence at the OTC, as well as 29 other players as the national team pool is put together.

National Development Director for the Eagles Sevens Alex Magleby has included a diverse collection of athletes in the key specialist areas, with a wide spectrum of experience. Welcomed back to Chula Vista are Eagles veterans Colin Hawley, Tai Enosa, Rocco Mauer, and Pila Taufa.

“It’s encouraging to see these OTC vets available once again and playing their way back into contention for international honors. Colin, as an example, proved he was one of the best aerialists in the world in 2013,” Magleby said. “His ability and experience will be a welcome addition to camp.”

Other athletes who could do well in the aerial component of the game include Tyler Coffman, Tom Hickey, Chris Frazier, Matt Hughston, Derek Lipscomb, Adam Sandstrom, and Taufa.

Tyler Barberi, Logan Collins, John Cullen, Paul Eteaki, Mike Garrity, Marcus Henderson, Dominic Mauer, Sean Rafferty, and Jack Tracy all have the makings to be quality workers off the floor with the added physical abilities to go vertical.

“Henderson, a Division I wrestler at Stanford, has continued to develop with the Northeast Rugby Olympic Development Academy after picking up the sport in college. He gets over the ball quickly and has some pace like many of the others in this category,” Magleby said.

“Barberi used to wrestle in the heavyweight class and, at six-foot-four, could prove to be a handful if he continues to develop.

“Eteaki, once he lit the fire, was quite a physical runner at the Elite City Sevens, and started to play and close space like the collegiate linebacker he is. The list goes on. All of these athletes have the makings to be international players.”

A skillful mixture of halfbacks are included with the return of the talented Enosa, along with the varied styles of playmakers Ryan Cochran, Maximo DeAchaval, Chris Mattina, Don Pati, and Ben Roach.

The camp is rounded out by speed with the return of Rocco Mauer and other exciting finishers including Perry Baker, David Hightower, Richard Kirkland, Trevor Tanifum, and Ke’von Williams.

“The game has started to click for Kirkland under the tutelage of Pete Pereira and John Broker in New Haven. Rich is a former corner who has been able to transfer a CB's hipswivel, speed, and spatial closing from football to rugby over the last year,” Magleby said. “Hightower has impressed with his speed as a hurdler; he can move, jump, but also with that background has the ability to open up his hips and play on the floor. This camp may be a bit pre-mature for his current rugby level, but we look forward to seeing if we can help accelerate that.”

Multiple players impressed national team staff at the inaugural Elite City Sevens in June, including All-Tournament Team selections Barberi, Collins, Cullen, de Achaval, Henderson, Mattina, Mauer, and Williams. In total, 16 of the attendees featured at Elite City Sevens.

Others highlight the growing quality of the nascent Olympic Development Academies across the country with 14 of the 29 selected coming out of one of three current ODAs: Northeast, Tiger, and Serevi.

Due to prior commitments, a few players on the Eagles coaching staff’s radar were not available for the weekend camp.

“A handful of athletes were better off playing club sevens this weekend, building towards the National Championship. I imagine a few will play their way into the next HP camp in early autumn based on performance in club sevens, the Serevi Glendale 7s, and/or the World Club 7s,” said Magleby.

The camp is important for both players and staff, as the new systems implemented this year will require competition from inside and outside of the OTC.

Men's Eagles High Performance Sevens camp