USA sevens coach Mike Friday helps UCS school team at national tournament
USA head coach Mike Friday issues instructions to the UCS school team at the Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens competition - Credit: Archant
UCS school in Hampstead were coached by the USA sevens boss, Mike Friday, as they took part in the largest school tournament in the world – the Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens.
UCS’s head of rugby Ian Thomas entered a competition organised by NextGen7S and won the prize – Friday’s expertise at the event, which featured 182 teams.
Mr Thomas said: “It was a great experience for the boys and they were all very excited and keen to impress such a world-class coach.
“Having Mike Friday on the touchline certainly caught the attention of a few other schools!”
Aaron Hamilton, 16, said: “[It was] extremely beneficial to my defensive play as he taught me to work as hard off the ball as I do on it.
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“I liked his approach to coaching as he was very hands-on and getting involved with the quick exercise, mimicking the forthcoming games. It resulted in a new game plan and focus for the team.”
The UCS Under-18 side consisted of Finn Bennett, Julius Raschke, Aaron Hamilton, Jonny Gunning, Ale Kosak, Julian Plehn, Sam Chait, Sam Kay and Benedict White.
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They battled in a pool with four other sides and won their first three matches – against Prior Park (38-7), Pangbourne College (31-19), and Steyning Grammar (38-14) – before narrowly missing out against Gunnersbury (14-28).
Meanwhile, UCS’s Under-16s won all their pool games to reach the last 32 in the national competition before losing out to Loughborough Grammar.
