USA flanker Scott LaValla got a chance to give a nod back to the club that got it all started recently.

LaValla is from Olympia, Wash., and started playing rugby as a young high-schooler with the Budd Bay Barbarians. He led the team to the national championships and also ended his career there as captain of the USA U19s. LaValla and his family have been active with the team. Scott LaValla helped coach the Budd Bay Steelheads girls team during his senior year, helping run drills and giving the players pointers on how to succeed in rucks and lineouts. His brother, Patrick, also played for Budd Bay, and his parents, Rick and Cindy, do much for the club, including hosting the annual fundraiser dinner.

The event helps support all four Budd Bay teams - their men's and women's team, and their boys and girls teams.

At the most recent fundraiser, Rick LaValla and club president Dan Smith announced that the club had put a down-payment on a property that will one day be the 16-year-old club's home field. Rick LaValla was instrumental in raising the funds for that effort.

"I am really proud that Budd Bay is getting a field," said Scott LaValla when asked about it. "Playing overseas, I see all the advantages these clubs have in a rugby nation - access to their own fields, the clubhouses and locker rooms. It's so easy, and it's not easy in America. I am really pleased for the club and proud to be a part of it in some small way. The idea that the club will have a home is exciting."

LaValla played for Dublin University's Trinity Rugby Club for four years, becoming the first American captain of that team in his senior year. He then signed a contract with Stade Francais in Paris, where he is now the team's starting flanker, as he is on the USA National Team.