MLR Grassroots | Utah Warriors, Academy

Written by Joe Harvey

In the third and final article highlighting the grassroots efforts of Major League Rugby teams, Utah Warriors General Manager Brandon Sparks discusses the Selects program in Salt Lake City and the hopes for the initiative. 

Arriving in Utah in 2019, Sparks had a wealth of coaching experience having led the University of Michigan’s rugby team, as well as coaching the AIG Women’s Collegiate All-American 7s side. 

Also having been a part of the Seattle Seawolves’s coaching staff in the 2018, Sparks originally joined the Warriors as Director of Rugby before being made GM in May. Overseeing all aspects of rugby with the team, he has been coaching the Selects and molding the teams’ long-term future.

Covering several aspects of rugby in the Utah region, Sparks believes that the team has its uses at grassroots, in MLR and the development of coaches for the future. 

“This is something I have carried with me from job to job, regardless of where I am at,” Sparks said. “I like to think of rugby as a pyramid, with players at the top and the base is made up of referees and coaching.

“Players won’t be successful without the referees and the coaches, just like the referees and coaches won’t be successful without the players. So, with anything we are looking to do on the development side of things, we should be looking to develop those three entities.

“There are guys here in Utah that aspire to be referees, so we want to help them do that by refereeing at a level below MLR, and it is the same thing with coaches who have aspirations to be coaching in MLR, if they can work alongside me, Shawn Pittman or Shaun Davies, it will hopefully give them the resources that they need to be successful and take the step up.

“For me, the most important thing I do in my job is to create these opportunities for people who want to get better, because opportunities are sometimes fence posted by other organizations.”

Acting as the link between the Warriors academy and the senior MLR team, the Selects has already been utilized to good effect by the team. Each of Lance Williams and Alex Tucci represented the side on their return from serious knee injuries, whilst Logan Tago and Joe Mano have each had their development aided by being in the team.

With there being an objective for players to make the Warriors’ matchday 23 within six months of being joining the Selects, the program takes on 40 athletes for a three-day training week that incorporates strength and conditioning work, analysis sessions and, of course, field sessions.

This is all done with the intention of gauging how players will fare in a full-time environment, as well as aiding their individual development as athletes.

“We have an abundance of rugby playing people here in Utah, so we are able to capture a lot of talent that other regions maybe can’t, but there needs to be an opportunity for us to assess their professionalism,” Sparks said.

“We can teach someone to be fitter, to be better at passing, at tackling and so on, but if the mindset isn’t there and they don’t have the necessary soft skills to be successful in that environment, it won’t work for anybody.

“The Selects gives us a chance to see individuals, see how they operate and for us to try things that we want to give a go in MLR, but can’t as a result of the pressures of competition.

“In the Selects we can tinker with things and develop them using the data with get back and it is a proving ground for us in a lot of different areas.”

Already the stepping stones are in place for how the Selects will move forwards. With the Junior Warriors and High School Academy (which is being run in partnership with Utah Youth Rugby) now in place, the pathway to the selects is cleat and Sparks has put in place the man to aid the development of the next generation.

Derek Smith is currently an Academy Coach, whilst former Eagle Vaha Esikia is part of the Selects staff. Two-time MLR champion Olive who is the team’s head coach, Sparks tipping the Warriors prop to not only have a big influence on the Selects, but USA Rugby as a whole in the years to come.

“I coached the Selects in my first year and I am really excited to hand it over to Oli,” Sparks said. “I think he is the most perfect person to take on the role and I feel we pulled off the heist of the century by getting him out of Seattle and to be a part of our long-term plan.

“He has of course got a lot to offer on the field still, but where I feel America will feel the impact of Oli Kilifi will be at this development level and then later on in MLR because the kid has got to the chops to be a great coach and a great facilitator and developer of talent.”