The New York City chapter of the Eagle Impact Rugby Academy wrapped yup its first season this past week with a session at Iona College.

This is the first year for the NYC chapter of EIRA and it went well - top high school players in the region assembled for six three-hour sessions over the fall. The idea was not to work on trick plays or fancy new moves, but instead the focus was on the basics of rugby - catch, pass, track, tackle, scrum, kick, defensive setup, and positional play. 

The hope is to expose the players to new ideas and different approaches and to really improve their basic skills so that when they go back to their local clubs they bring a level of ability that others can follow. In addition, EIRA hopes to raise the level of ability of those players attending and provide a bridge between local high school play and higher level representative play. 

“The side effects of this approach are the bonds made between the players,” said Matt Persanis, who heads up NYC EIRA, “and exposure to colleges and college coaches, exposure to Men's club coaches and players, and hopefully a desire amongst the players to play at a higher level.”

Persanis has a deep pool of coaches from which to draw. He brought in backline and kicking coach Keith Killeen of Connacht and, more recently, Pelham HS, Joe Costelloe from Fordham Prep, longtime NYAC club captain Christian Mayo, Lara Vivola, RYE HS coach and former Eagle, Ski Bailey from PlayRugby, and Daniel Guzzino from Manahttan Rugby Club. In addition to these regular coaches, Persanis was also able to bring in guest coaches to every session, including Brendan Keane from the North Carolina EIRA program, HS All American Heat Coach Salty Thompson, longtime Eagle scrumhalf Mike Petri, NYAC Coach Dave Katz, former NYAC and current Iona Coach Bruce McLane, referee and Iona coach Tim Downeyt, and NYAC players Pat Fiffe and Nick Discala.

On the last day, several of the Iona players came to pitch in and provide opposition when needed. 

“It was a very diverse group of coaches who had coached with and against each other many times,” said Persanis. “It gave the coaches time and opportunity to compare notes, not only about how to play and teach the game but also allowed for many eyes to be on the players themselves, whether it was instructing individual players or recommending players for higher levels of play.” 

The coach-to-player ratio was always around 1:4, allowing for very personalized coaching and plenty of time for the players to speak and ask questions. 

In addition to working on the kids playing skills, the academy also gave kids the opportunity to meet and practice with college coaches and players and to see a college campus in a more casual way. This was thanks to McLane and Iona College, who invited EIRA to hold a session on their campus and use their facilities. 

The positive feedback from parents and players was evident on the last day, when the last session ended the coaches stayed for almost an hour after the session ended speaking to parents, answering questions, and reassuring them that there would be another season of EIRA next Fall. 

It was announced at the end of the last session that five NYAC EIRA participants had been selected to the HS All American winter camp. All five players agreed that attending EIRA not only helped them get selected to the HSAA camp but allowed them to work on their skill set even when their teams were not practicing. 

Persanis said he would now like to emulate the SoCal EIRA chapter and assemble a select team to play abroad, possibly in Canada. 

“EIRA play is an important mid-step for a high school player, bridging the gap between local play and representative play,” said Persanis. “It is exposing players to higher and higher levels of play.”