Varsity Shift Tough, But Good for TP
Varsity Shift Tough, But Good for TP
After starting the regular season 1-0 with a win over the highly-regarded St. Augustine, Torrey Pines Head Coach Matty Sandoval knows it’s not going to be a cakewalk through the Southern California Varsity Red Conference.
The seven-team varsity HS league, with all of the teams being in the San Diego area, includes two teams that were in the Varsity White. Torrey Pines and La Costa Canyon were the top two teams in the White in 2013-14. But they made the move to completely single-school, and joined the effort to make rugby an official school sport in the San Diego region.
All of the teams involved are overseen by school administrators and are operating as varsity programs.
“We’ve seen a huge change,” said Sandoval. “Now that kids can get a varsity letter in rugby, we’re getting more players coming out to play. We’ve got an influx of strong athletes who are new to the game. It’s exciting but also brings its own challenges.”
The shift from mostly single-school (Varsity White) to 100% one school (Varsity Red) clearly hasn’t hurt their numbers any, and Sandoval said the level of competition is strong, too.
“Every week is a challenge for us,” he said. “The single-school competition is stronger in San Diego. Every team is a good program, so we know this season will be a fun.”
Torrey Pines, Cathedral Catholic, and La Costa Canyon all won in the opening week, while Del Norte was idle. The teams now get two weekends off before resuming league play January 9.
