Mike Friday Steps Down After 10 Years as Men's Eagles 7s Coach
Mike Friday Steps Down After 10 Years as Men's Eagles 7s Coach
CHULA VISTA, Calif. (USA Rugby Release) – Following 10 years as the USA Men’s Sevens Head Coach, Mike Friday today announced he will step away from the program.
Paris marked the third qualified Olympic games under Friday, who first took over the men’s program in the summer of 2014, lifting the USA ranking on the HSBC SVNS Series to new heights through his tenure. Friday internally informed the players and staff at the start of the 2024 season that this year would be his last, with plans to depart after the Paris Olympics. Mike will look ahead to new ventures and time spent with family after leading the USA team and program for over a decade.
“All good things must come to an end. After 10 years, 85 World Series tournaments, 3 Olympic games and 2 Rugby World Cup Sevens, it's time to step away and be closer to my family and loved ones. A measured decision, and shared with the team six months ago. I arrived in the summer of 2014 to a program that was all but done and given less than 10% chance of Olympic qualification for Rio 2016 - my kind of odds! The journey has been a rollercoaster of ups and downs that I’m immensely proud to have been a part of.”
Mike Friday was appointed Men’s Sevens Head Coach in July 2014, a few months ahead of the start of the 2014-15 HSBC SVNS Series and two years ahead of rugby’s notable return to the Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro 2016. The USA Men’s Sevens finished 13th on the World Rugby SVNS Series the year prior to Friday taking over, jumping to the 6th position at the end of his inaugural year. The highest finish for the program would come in 2019, when the USA finished runner up after a tight contest in the final stop of the year. The memorable season saw a gold medal for the home stop in Las Vegas, a back-to-back win from 2018 which was the first ever gold medal for the USA men on home soil. The squad would earn early qualification for the Tokyo Olympics that year, while Friday took home Coach of the World Series honors.
USA Rugby CEO, Bill Goren added, “The impact Mike has had on the sport of rugby, both in the USA and beyond is indelible. He has been instrumental in the growth of rugby sevens through the new Olympic era. On behalf of the organization, I want to thank Mike for his dedication to the game, the players and community. We wish him the very best in his next chapter.”
Friday continued on his tenure with the players and program, “It's been a privilege to lead the program and I have loved every minute of the challenges on and off the pitch. The USA Sevens program now believes they belong and the world of rugby definitely no longer see the USA as just participants, but as credible contenders that are feared and respected worldwide. We conquered consistency in 2019 with the original Dawgs, ranked one of the best and most feared teams in the world. Unfortunately we fell short in Tokyo 2021 through the trials and tribulations of the COVID years.”
“Whilst the team didn’t achieve their dreams in 2024, the current Dawgs are very much developing on a journey and on track for peaking in LA 2028. With consistency of support, continual care and guidance in place, who knows what this current pack of Dawgs are capable of.”
Making an impact on and off the pitch, Friday helped cultivate the careers of some of the best players in the history of the game, including Folau Niua with over 70 appearances on the SVNS Series, USA points-leader Madison Hughes and two-time World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year winner, Perry Baker. 53 total USA Men’s Eagles Sevens were capped under Friday, all part of an extended pipeline of American rugby prospects and talent-transfer athletes to come through the Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista, CA. Leading from the front with the senior national team, Friday has an affinity for fostering young talent through the player pathway with development tours and the annual RugbyTown Sevens.
Friday’s message to the players and staff over the years, “To all the Dawgs I have had the pleasure of running with, it's been an absolute joy worrying day and night about you and your families; together watching you develop as rugby players and more importantly as men. I am proud to know you all and see how you have matured as humans, on and off the pitch. I have no doubt further success awaits all of you.”
“To the staff, thank you for all your energy, commitment and hard work. I realize I pushed everyone of you hard and your selflessness throughout is a fantastic trait, especially at those dark times. It was never taken for granted by me.”
“A special thanks goes out to the Golden Eagles, who have been the bedrock of the sevens programs this last decade. I hope the best for a continued relationship with USA Rugby as the organization, players and supporters look forward to success in LA 2028.”
Off pitch projects geared towards elevating the USA Sevens program were an additional focus for Friday, who
remained tightly involved in team philanthropy through the Golden Eagles organization and at the forefront of driving the C.A.R.E Program to ensure players were holistically developing as rounded individuals as well as rugby players, planning for life after rugby. Program exposure in the busy American sports market was also an attention as Mike helped to develop a series documentary with HSBC and NBC Sports called The Pioneers, narrating the life of a rugby sevens player in lead up to the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco and COVID effected Tokyo Olympics.
The recruiting process for the next Men’s Sevens Head Coach will begin this week, as USA Rugby High Performance look to fill the role ahead of next year’s HSBC SVNS Series and chart a course for the LA 2028 Olympics on home soil.
“I will always be watching and supporting from afar, I wish the new custodians of the program the very best as they get ready to buckle up! The strength of the pack is the dawg, and the strength of the dawg is the pack. Over and out, Mike.”
