The season for the Eagle Impact Academy started this past weekend with the first of a series of weekend assemblies in Southern California.

 

Run by High School All American Head Coach Salty Thompson, and with a number of other top coaches involved, the Eagle Impact Rugby Academy is designed to help develop the skills and rugby understanding of young boys players so they can succeed at the next level.

 

The program has been working in Southern California, Indiana, Washington, Texas, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, the Carolinas, Virginia, and is expanding to New Mexico, New England, and other areas.

 

Many of the camps are invitation only, bringing in only the very serious players. Thompson uses the camps to also test and evaluate potential HSAA players who might have picked up an injury, or is coming back from time off. In addition, Thompson will invite players who looked good at various Regional All-Star Tournaments to work with them.

 

"We've got a really good core of coaches and we're looking to give them the skills that can help them improve their play at their own clubs and beyond," said Thompson. 

 

They look at lines of running, support play, ball presentation, passing off both hands, set piece, and a host of other skills.

 

"I saw the article where Mike Tolkin talked about the need for backs who can kick, and that's something we're really working on," said Thompson. "It's not a skill a lot of players practice, and so we work with players on kicking, how to handle kicks, and counter-attacking also."

The EIRA assemblies vary depending on where they are held. In Southern California they will go through the fall every other weekend, leading into the winter school rugby season.

"Despite being in the middle of football season we had 60 kids no problem," said Thompson. 

In Indiana, the sessions move around the state to give athletes a chance to get to at least one. In other areas the schedule varies because of football, or the needs of the region. In New Mexico, the EIRA may well be a quarterly effort.

"We are trying to get 30 hours in for these players, which isn't always easy, but we are seeing a lot of players showing a huge interest," said Thompson.

For more about the Eagle Impact Rugby Academy, email info@eirugby.com.