As we look ahead to the NAI 7s and look back at the National Sevens Youth Championships, here's a nice story from a team that won in the latter and will be playing in the former.
The LA Tribe boys won the U14 bracket at the Youth 7s in Cleveland, playing a nice brand of 7s and benefiting from a distinct size advantage at times. But that wasn't the whole story ...
We heard about this from someone at the event. He was walking near the main field at the National Sevens Youth Championships when he saw a man working in the concessions. The man didn't seem to be anyone the fan knew, and he struck up a conversation. Ah, said the man, I'm just helping out. The lady here at the concessions seems a little overwhelmed.
Oh, that's nice, thought the fan. Not very long afterward the U14 final was kicking off, and there on the sideline was the guy who'd been helping out ... it was LA Tribe Head Coach Steve Faupusa.
"My wife and I were relaxing under the tent an hour before our final match enjoying the shade when I noticed there was only one lady running the snack bar and she had quite a line forming," Faupusa told GRR when we pressed for the story. "She was flipping burgers and dogs and then running back-and-forth taking orders and being cashier. I was amazed at how she handled it because she didn't complain or look frustrated. She continued to run back-and-forth from the grill to the register. She is the one that should be recognized for that because I'm pretty sure she did it by herself the entire tournament that day!
