Genuine untapped talent pool or gimmick?

[eal]

3 minutes ago, Gomersall said:

Yet the BBC were asking people in NYC if they knew the T20 WC was taking place there and next to nobody had any idea.

Cricket has a long way to go in the USA for sure, but as someone who lives here I have seen media coverage of it without seeking it out, whereas NRL coverage I had to actively look for it. This article is one I saw the other day for example - mentions that there are 200,000 players over 400 leagues. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cricket-popularity-u-s-world-cup/

[The Blues Ox]

3 hours ago, Big Picture said:

I do agree that guys who played offense in gridiron will all be poor prospects.

I don't know, the likes of Dereck Henry playing at centre could be a scary thought. 

[Gomersall]

1 hour ago, John bird said:

The U.S. is a huge country populated by hundreds of millions of people who for the large part couldn’t tell you what’s going on in the next state never mind tell you anything about a sports tournament that’s totally alien to them.

I can remember something similar when USA 94’ was going on and Ireland were playing Italy in New York and the overwhelming majority of New Yorkers were totally oblivious to the game.

I was replying to eal who has seen plenty of media around the T20 WC but it doesn’t appear to be cutting much ice with New Yorkers (pun intended ).

[Arizonared]

I think this is both a gimmick and a way to find the odd athlete that might have transferable skills. I am not sure it will generate a huge amount of crossover athletes.

I coach club Rugby union in Arizona (I know, I wish it was league, but that isn't currently an option.)

There are tons of athletes that have amazing running and catching skills, but what is interesting to me, is of the young kids that come and train with us, it feels as if the basketball players are the ones that have better transferable skills. At least at a young age. They are naturally able to catch and pass with ease, plus, passing backwards doesn't seem to phase them, whereas a lot of the American Footballers I have seen take a while to get used to it.

In terms of defending, if you have a kid who has a wrestling or judo background, they seem to pick up on it pretty quickly.

I do think however, if we can tap into the Polynesian communities in the US, a lot of them are already familiar with league and at least watch on tv when Tonga/Samoa are playing.

[JM2010]

7 hours ago, Damien said:

Interesting, just imagine the development of the game in the US if every NRL team did this:

Was thinking the same thing. Hopefully more NRL teams will do this, creating more clubs on the East and West coast and building awareness of RL in the US

[Sports Prophet]

7 hours ago, The Rocket said:

The full story in today`s telegraph:

Full story:

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/sydney-roosters-will-spend-500k-to-launch-a-team-out-of-los-angeles-for-2025/news-story/3b5b2133cd6cd3768be8c434cb0eef7b?amp&nk=9d2ae4f16633183f77c24eb04a4b0dc3-1718089025

The Sydney Roosters are on a groundbreaking $500,000 mission to break into the United States market with their own team based out of Los Angeles from next year.

Billionaire Roosters chairman Nick Politis is leading the charge on the back of interest created from the Las Vegas double-header in March in a revolutionary initiative he hopes will provide the first proper pathway for gridiron players into the NRL.

Under the plan a Roosters West Coast Rugby League Academy will be established alongside a team to be known as the LA Roosters to compete in a six-team competition in California.

“This is one of the most exciting ventures our club has ever undertaken,” Politis said.

“We see this as an exciting long-term opportunity not just to grow and develop rugby league in America but to provide openings for tens of thousands of great athletes that don’t always make it in the NFL or college football.

“It is a serious investment into an area where no NRL club has ever been.

“Who knows what can be achieved in the long term. There is so much potential.

“We are incredibly optimistic as to the opportunities that exist to unearth future rugby league talent.”

Politis is rugby league’s greatest visionary, the first man in Australian sport way back in 1976 to become a jersey sponsor with his car company City Ford.

He now insists this latest venture into the world’s biggest sporting market will pay off.

The Roosters were blown away by the Las Vegas experience earlier this year and the vision of independent commission chairman Peter V’landys to create a permanent footprint in America.

The LA Roosters will be made up of part-time players in the Pacific Coast Rugby League competition.

Roosters CEO Joe Kelly says the long-term plan is to attract players from the college football system.

“There are one million college football players,” Kelly said, “Of those, 10,000 participate in the combine each year, 300 go to the draft and approximately 285 get drafted.

“This leaves thousands and thousands of extremely talented athletes that are looking for an alternative once they finish college.

“We will become a very attractive second option. And we will be on the ground looking for them.”

Kelly has been working alongside Politis on the plan for several months.

Their $500,000 comes from the Roosters Foundation, the club’s fundraising arm that is dedicated towards young player development in junior academies and pathways.

V’landys loves what the Roosters are trying to achieve.

The Roosters will be the back-of-shorts partner for both the men and women USA National Hawks teams and will also be the referees sponsor for the USARL domestic competition.

Another $50,000 will go into a development fund for other American clubs to support the growth of rugby league awareness and participation in their region.

“Our investment will hopefully accelerate growth and provide the governing body and the players with much needed financial support to create further awareness and interest in the game,” Kelly said.

“In turn we are confident participation numbers will grow in the US domestic market.

“This whole thing isn’t just about finding NRL players.”

The Roosters also see an opportunity to entice rugby union players across to league.

“There are conservatively 1.2 million rugby players in the US. They play in winter, league plays in summer so their seasons don’t cross over,” Kelly said.

“There is a great opportunity to work alongside rugby and see a transition of players to league in their off-season.”

Talk about putting his money where some of our mouth’s are. I love this optimism.

[NRLandSL]

16 hours ago, The Rocket said:

The full story in today`s telegraph:

Full story:

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/sydney-roosters-will-spend-500k-to-launch-a-team-out-of-los-angeles-for-2025/news-story/3b5b2133cd6cd3768be8c434cb0eef7b?amp&nk=9d2ae4f16633183f77c24eb04a4b0dc3-1718089025

The Sydney Roosters are on a groundbreaking $500,000 mission to break into the United States market with their own team based out of Los Angeles from next year.

Billionaire Roosters chairman Nick Politis is leading the charge on the back of interest created from the Las Vegas double-header in March in a revolutionary initiative he hopes will provide the first proper pathway for gridiron players into the NRL.

Under the plan a Roosters West Coast Rugby League Academy will be established alongside a team to be known as the LA Roosters to compete in a six-team competition in California.

“This is one of the most exciting ventures our club has ever undertaken,” Politis said.

“We see this as an exciting long-term opportunity not just to grow and develop rugby league in America but to provide openings for tens of thousands of great athletes that don’t always make it in the NFL or college football.

“It is a serious investment into an area where no NRL club has ever been.

“Who knows what can be achieved in the long term. There is so much potential.

“We are incredibly optimistic as to the opportunities that exist to unearth future rugby league talent.”

Politis is rugby league’s greatest visionary, the first man in Australian sport way back in 1976 to become a jersey sponsor with his car company City Ford.

He now insists this latest venture into the world’s biggest sporting market will pay off.

The Roosters were blown away by the Las Vegas experience earlier this year and the vision of independent commission chairman Peter V’landys to create a permanent footprint in America.

The LA Roosters will be made up of part-time players in the Pacific Coast Rugby League competition.

Roosters CEO Joe Kelly says the long-term plan is to attract players from the college football system.

“There are one million college football players,” Kelly said, “Of those, 10,000 participate in the combine each year, 300 go to the draft and approximately 285 get drafted.

“This leaves thousands and thousands of extremely talented athletes that are looking for an alternative once they finish college.

“We will become a very attractive second option. And we will be on the ground looking for them.”

Kelly has been working alongside Politis on the plan for several months.

Their $500,000 comes from the Roosters Foundation, the club’s fundraising arm that is dedicated towards young player development in junior academies and pathways.

V’landys loves what the Roosters are trying to achieve.

The Roosters will be the back-of-shorts partner for both the men and women USA National Hawks teams and will also be the referees sponsor for the USARL domestic competition.

Another $50,000 will go into a development fund for other American clubs to support the growth of rugby league awareness and participation in their region.

“Our investment will hopefully accelerate growth and provide the governing body and the players with much needed financial support to create further awareness and interest in the game,” Kelly said.

“In turn we are confident participation numbers will grow in the US domestic market.

“This whole thing isn’t just about finding NRL players.”

The Roosters also see an opportunity to entice rugby union players across to league.

“There are conservatively 1.2 million rugby players in the US. They play in winter, league plays in summer so their seasons don’t cross over,” Kelly said.

“There is a great opportunity to work alongside rugby and see a transition of players to league in their off-season.”

Great news, could do wonders for rugby league in California. Not sure why there is such an emphasis on ex Gridiron players though.

[NRLandSL]

Roosters have a signed a partnership with the USARL for 3 years.

https://www.roosters.com.au/news/2024/06/12/sydney-roosters-sign-landmark-partnership-with--usa-rugby-league/

[Damien]

A lot more on the development academy, LA Roosters team and the sponsorship deals here, as well as Tafuna and Woolridge:

Tafuna, who has played Rugby 7s for the USA, arrived last month to join the Roosters NRLW squad, while Woolridge has been offered a training contract.

Woolridge, a former defensive back with Saginaw Valley State University, was one of four athletes - two male and two female - chosen from the NRL talent combine in Las Vegas to spend time with NRL clubs.

He impressed at the combine, with a 2.7sec 20m sprint, bench pressing 125kg three times and clocking 4m50s in the 1.2km bronco endurance test.

https://www.nrl.com/news/2024/06/12/american-dream-roosters-invest-in-us-growth/

[John bird]

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-2024-sydney-roosters-usa-rugby-league-partnership-las-vegas-nick-politis-michael-woolridge-usarl/news-story/8e30b9d5c1db443f973175dd3cb0a3b1

[bbfaz]

Whether we think it's a good idea or not, they're not nibbling around the edges with this.

I've long said they need to get the game into colleges though.

[John bird]

1 hour ago, bbfaz said:

Whether we think it's a good idea or not, they're not nibbling around the edges with this.

I've long said they need to get the game into colleges though.

Football(soccer) and rugby union are played in US college’s and universities but I wouldn’t have the faintest idea how you go about introducing sports in US college and university.

[bbfaz]

48 minutes ago, John bird said:

Football(soccer) and rugby union are played in US college’s and universities but I wouldn’t have the faintest idea how you go about introducing sports in US college and university.

There are broadly speaking three types of college sport; varsity, club and intramural.

• Intramural sports are played within departments or fraternities at a university, amateur stuff on campus.
• Varsity sports are associated to the school's athletic department and, at the D1 and D2 level, also receive the ability to give out scholarships.  This can be anything from your female shot putter to your star quarterback that plays in front of  65,000 on a Saturday.
• Club sports are somewhere in between.  They get funds from the college but usually a limited amount from a student/campus life department.  As such, club sports are usually pay-to-play-type affairs, somewhat similar to sports in British universities, where you travel to other local universities.

At the risk of writing an essay, Association Football is a pretty mainstream varsity sport, especially for women.  The NCAA sponsor it and it has to comply to the NCAA definition of student-athletes and all that entails.

However, Rugby Union has always been a club sport.  It's a storied club sport -  they've been playing Rugby at Cal Berkeley and been funded by the athletic department since the 1880s, and two US presidents played at college - but it's a club sport nevertheless.  Clubs were associated to USA Rugby and then to a state or district Union, though that has changed in the last 20 years and is now almost entirely under one banner.  The NCAA wants women's rugby to be a thing but they've been trying for 20 years and haven't got there yet.

Now, becoming a varsity sport is hard but becoming a club sport is conceivably easy.  So long as you have 2 or more colleges that want to play Rugby League, it's very possible.  That would require money, expertise and reach that is beyond USA RL at the moment.  They could set up an overseeing body though. They could put feelers out.  They could talk to universities and get them into the USA RL setup.

[ATLANTISMAN]

On 11/06/2024 at 22:46, Sports Prophet said:

Talk about putting his money where some of our mouth’s are. I love this optimism.

Good man Sir Nick met him in Vegas