So USA Rugby’s National Team Olympic Recruitment Camp wrapped up with 57 athletes trying out in Chula Vista, Calif.

According to the NGB’s own report, two of those players will be invited to the upcoming selection camp for the next two men’s 7s World Series stops, Wellington and Las Vegas. That doesn’t mean the other 55 got booted out never to be seen again. It’s likely many will have chances to develop their game, if they want.

More from USA Rugby’s wrap-up:

“It was a productive first National Team Recruitment Camp,” said 7s HP Director Alex Magleby. “A handful of athletes who were not previously on the radar stood out, and there were a bunch who, given the right environment, could impact this Olympic cycle in a positive way with their athleticism. There were also some younger athletes who probably will be able to affect the 2020 cycle.”

USA 7s team assistant coach Chris Brown said he met with other visiting coaches (interestingly, these included former USA Head Coach Matt Hawkins) to see what could be done better the next time.This is a first step, he said, a starting point.

Nobody expected to get a whole new generation of players from the first round. Two players isn’t bad. Consider what one addition here and there has done for the team in the past. Where those players come from will be telling, though. Brown didn’t sound blown away by the crossover guys:

“I know they’ve been athletes in their time and I’m sure it wouldn’t take much to get them physically into pretty good shape,” Brown said. “Unless they’re a complete standout when they come here, then they need to get that combination of conditioning and technical understanding right with also the fundamental skills.”

That sounds an awful lot like “they’re not ready.”

But then again, we talk a lot about crossover athletes surprising the international community with their athleticism, and that can well be the case, but we have to recognize that rugby is a shock to non-rugby athletes, too. Sprinters are conditioned for one or two all-out runs in a day. Football payers might be able to run many explosive plays in a game, but long-running plays are another thing entirely. There’s an element of explosiveness and endurance in rugby that might be better replicated in hockey (ice, not field) than anywhere else.

So was this worth doing? Certainly. The program needs to keep injecting new athletic blood into it. That Magleby, Brown, and Mike Friday understand that they need more, and need to adjust the camps as they go forward, is comforting. One and done is just PR.

Note: Where are the women? This recruitment camp was supposed to have both, but it seemed like a) there were a lot more men interested, b) USA Rugby is just starting out on this and, as they say in Russia, the first pancake always had lumps, and c) USA women's 7s Coach Ric Suggitt has been doing OK recruiting athletes from outside rugby, so that's not so much a pressing issue. There will be women's recruitment camps in the future.