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		<title>We Don't Have to be Minnows</title>
		<description>Discuss We Don't Have to be Minnows</description>
		<link>http://www.rugbymag.com/op-eds/2246-we-dont-have-to-be-minnows.html</link>
		<lastBuildDate>Wed, 22 May 2013 03:13:19 --500</lastBuildDate>
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			<title>james douglas says:</title>
			<link>http://www.rugbymag.com/op-eds/2246-we-dont-have-to-be-minnows.html#comment-7293</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Bruce ... as thoughtful as this may be it can really be boied down into one word: Contracts. Until the Eagles are compensated for their time and efforts assemblies will continue to be too few, tours will continue to be too few and the quality of athlete we put on the field will continue to be mostly less than is possible if national team players were compensated. Pay a squad of 50 athletes $50 K a year and you will be able to train and tour as well as lure a few not quite pro quality athletes into the squad. Sounds like a lot - 2.5 million a year. From a professional sports point of view it is a pittance. Sadly, US rugby has not evolved to the point where it can do this so all the chatter will remain just that - because nothing has changed or will change to make a substansive difference.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>james douglas</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Mon, 10 Oct 2011 07:55:12 --500</pubDate>
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			<title>mclane1 says:</title>
			<link>http://www.rugbymag.com/op-eds/2246-we-dont-have-to-be-minnows.html#comment-7252</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Yeah, I just used 150 as a guide, include U-20 and you get 200, use the same model through the regions and you get 750-1000. I agree, I just used a start and focused on the top rated in country and didn't mention following guys who play youth and HS rugby, play diff sports in college, do we track them to get them back? Lots to do and think about, I just wanted to start a discussion on how to most effectively progress.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>mclane1</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Fri, 07 Oct 2011 23:47:07 --500</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.rugbymag.com/op-eds/2246-we-dont-have-to-be-minnows.html#comment-7252</guid>
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			<title>dpt says:</title>
			<link>http://www.rugbymag.com/op-eds/2246-we-dont-have-to-be-minnows.html#comment-7249</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Great article and first comment. Whenever I watch the Eagles I see a physically fit, aggressive unit; relatively well coached; but naive. And the spot I see it the most is in scrummaging. With such subtlety and inflection magnified by power, nowhere does the lack of first rate competition for our top athletes stick out more. Sure it's great to be talking to the scrum doctor on the phone - but it's no substitute for packing down 100 times a week against a front row that's as good or better than you.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>dpt</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Fri, 07 Oct 2011 22:35:40 --500</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.rugbymag.com/op-eds/2246-we-dont-have-to-be-minnows.html#comment-7249</guid>
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			<title>Sevens says:</title>
			<link>http://www.rugbymag.com/op-eds/2246-we-dont-have-to-be-minnows.html#comment-7234</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Agree with the overall appoach, but I would argue that 150 players is too small of a pool to improve the Eagles. The elite player pool should be well over 1000 players. Each of the regions must identify and develop their own pool of 150 elite players which feeds the top players to the national pool. With colleges going their own way, high schools another and senior clubs yet another, it is almost impossible to manage a consistent approach to talent indentification and player development. Each region needs to establish an HP Center (aka Acadmey) responsible to identify and develop high school, college, senior elite players. Such HP Centers could be a database at first, and then grow to run elite rugby camps and representative sides. Top prospects in each region should be promoted and celebrated just as they are in baseball, football, and basketball. Standards must be developed at the national level and deployed at the regional level.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Sevens</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Fri, 07 Oct 2011 17:07:02 --500</pubDate>
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