American International College is making a fairly significant change in its coaching staff.
T. Fletcher, who was Head Coach of both the men's team and the women's team, left earlier this month, and the institution has been looking at a new approach. Yesterday former assistant coach at AIC, Jameson Bonti, started his tenure as Director of Rugby. The chief recruiter for AIC Rugby, Bonti will direct coaching philosophy and approach for a to-be-hired Men's Head Coach and a to-be-hired Women's Head Coach.
Bonti had promising meetings with new Athletic Director Rob Kearney, whose hiring was announced in June. Kearney competed in the World's Strongest Man competition, and is serious about AIC Rugby being a high-performance program.
"We are thrilled to promote Jameson to Director of Rugby after serving as an Assistant Coach for the Men's program over the last three seasons," said Kearney. "Since arriving at AIC, Jameson has proved himself as a caring, compassionate and competitive coach who wants to excel in every aspect of the sport. With this hire, we are confident Jameson will not only continue the legacy of success for AIC Rugby but will be persistent in his pursuit of competitive excellence."
"The goal here is to build out a high-end, professional-caliber staff," said Bonti. "A staff and a program which we can feed and grow and give back to the students. We're committed to bringing in a staff that can provide that. We want a clear path for our players to compete professionally and age-grade national teams. From AIC up to USA Rugby, we need to have positive relationships. Rob Kearney is very excited about our vision; he understands what it takes to be a high-performance athlete."
It's easy to say "high-performance" but it takes planning and hard work. It appears that AIC is looking now for coaches who share the vision.
