Little Time With The USA U20s, Bracken May Still Leave His Mark
Little Time With The USA U20s, Bracken May Still Leave His Mark
Scott Bracken's tenure as USA Men's U20 coach is over but we may not see the last of him.
Bracken had put together a comprehensive scouting and assembly plan that, if COVID-19 had allowed, could have set up the USA U20s for some success this year.
New Plan For USA U20 Men As U20 ARC Looms
Bracken had set up a training and warmup situation in Colombia to prepare the USA for the U20 ARC, and his hard work revitalizing contacts between the program and coaches expanded the pool of applicants.
While the games didn't happen, Bracken did establish a recruiting and assembly system that, if USA Rugby's High Performance department is smart, will stick around.
"I understand U20 is a coaching development position and I was told at the outset that I would only be here a couple of years," Bracken told Goff Rugby Report. "It took a cycle, but I think we successfully figured a lot of things out this year as evidenced by the team we selected."
Fundraising and other logistical stuff were also part of Bracken's legacy.
"No hard feelings on my part," added Bracken. "I just wish our athletes could have had the opportunity to compete, and nobody had control over that."
Bracken may be working with the U23s next, and if he is, he'll once again be in a good position to develop relationships with college coaches (and coaches from clubs, overseas colleges, and pro teams) at that level. (USA Rugby changed the collegiate All Americans to a USA U23s. There will still be an All American team named, but the team that competes will be a USA U23 age-grade team that also brings in players who are not in college.
"I want to do anything I can to help USA Rugby," said Bracken. "Should USA Rugby see fit to keep me involved, I look forward to my next coaching assignment."
The USA U20 program especially has been plagued by these frequent coach changes, not to mention changes in funding and changes in competition.
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