Notre Dame College Elevates van Vuuren to Men's 15s Head Coach
Notre Dame College Elevates van Vuuren to Men's 15s Head Coach
Notre Dame College has elevated Johannes "Hanno" van Vuuren to the Men’s Rugby 15s Head Coach position, with previous Head Coach/Director of Rugby Jason Fox remaining as Director of Rugby and 7s Coach DOR.
Van Vuuren, who holds a MSc in Sports Science from Stellenbosch in South Africa joined NDC as a graduate assistant, and has been active in the rugby scene throughout NDC’s home area of Cleveland. The Cape Town native also coached with St. Ignatius HS and with Rhino Rugby’s Youth 7s program.
He brings experience in on-field rugby coaching, along with his extensive background in strength and conditioning as well as performance analysis," said Fox. "We were blessed and very lucky to have Hanno come in as a graduate assistant last year and do a great job with the players and recruitment!. We are even more excited to see his progression to Head 15s coach."
"I’m incredibly excited to be granted the opportunity to help Notre Dame College Men’s Rugby achieve its full potential this season," added van Vuuren. "The group of players we have are remarkable; they understand what is means to be a student-athlete and we plan to play appealing rugby this season. Let’s Falcon Go.”
In addition to his analytical skills, Fox said, van Vuuren "brings a lot of energy, passion, and knowledge of the sport to the program. I think we have two of the best new young coaches around, with Hanno and Falcons women's Head Coach Jack Nece. Both programs hope to do well this season!"
Notre Dame College will be playing in the Rugby East Conference and has a nine-game regular 15s season scheduled for this fall, which includes a non-conference clash with Wheeling University. The Falcons and van Vuuren won’t get an easy start to the season. Their first game will be against 2021 NCR playoff winner St. Bonaventure, and their home opener is September 24 against defending National Champions West Point, who won the D1A final over Saint Mary’s this past May.
