{"id":295419,"date":"2019-03-13T06:00:22","date_gmt":"2019-03-12T20:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=295419"},"modified":"2019-03-13T06:00:22","modified_gmt":"2019-03-12T20:00:22","slug":"pro-rugby-player-holds-clinics-in-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/pro-rugby-player-holds-clinics-in-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"Pro rugby player holds clinics in schools"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_295420\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-295420\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/rugbypix1.jpg\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-295420\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former rugby pro player Mahonri Schwalger (back row, wearing cap) poses with Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary School students after conducting a clinic last Monday. (Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>World Cup veteran Mahonri Schwalger of Samoa is on Saipan and has started a series of rugby clinics in various schools to help Northern Marianas Rugby Union boost its grassroots program.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI knew that rugby was introduced here before and then people stopped playing. Now, it\u2019s being revived and the best way to grow the sport is through schools. You start at the grassroots level,\u201d said Schwalger, who played in pro leagues in New Zealand and Europe (Celtic League and Guinness Premiership) and suited up for the Samoa National Team on many occasions in both the Pacific Games and World Cup.<\/p>\n<p>The 40-year-old athlete held clinics at the Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary School and Tanapag Middle School last Monday and was scheduled to have similar event at the Chacha Oceanview Middle School yesterday. He introduced GTC and Tanapag students to flag rugby to teach them the basics of the sport.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe did a lot of passing and running with the ball. They are super excited to play and love the contact part of the sport. That\u2019s a good sign because you can tell that they are having fun,\u201d the Apia native said.<\/p>\n<p>NMRU president Stanley Iakopo and vice president Ed Arriola assisted Schwalger in conducting the clinics and the group thanked the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, the Division of Youth Services, and the three schools for allowing them to visit and introduce the sport to the students.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRugby would like to join the community in its efforts to keep our kids active through sports,\u201d said Iakopo, whose group is holding a flag rugby tournament for elementary and middle school students this Saturday at the CPA Airport Field.<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-295419 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon '>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/pro-rugby-player-holds-clinics-in-schools\/rugbypix4\/'>rugbypix4<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-295424'>\n\t\t\t\tFormer rugby pro player Mahonri Schwalger, right, and Northern Marianas Rugby Union president Stanley Iakopo visit the Saipan Tribune office yesterday to discuss their collaboration in promoting a grassroots program in the CNMI. (Contributed Photo)\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon '>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/pro-rugby-player-holds-clinics-in-schools\/rugbypix3-2\/'>rugbypix3<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-295423'>\n\t\t\t\tRugby Academy Samoa executive director Mahonri Schwalger gets ready to demonstrate drills to Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary School students. (Contributed Photo)\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon '>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/pro-rugby-player-holds-clinics-in-schools\/rugbypix2-2\/'>rugbypix2<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-295421'>\n\t\t\t\tMahonri Schwalger, standing sixth left, and Northern Marianas Rugby Union official Ed Arriola, standing fourth left, join Tanapag Middle School students for a photo after holding a clinic last Monday. (Contributed Photo)\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p><strong>Scholarship, contract opportunities<\/strong><br \/>\nSchwalger retired in 2014 after playing rugby for 15 years and is now focusing on training and recruiting players through his Rugby Academy Samoa.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have around 150 players, with 35 of them in the elite level. We also have U13, U16, and other age group players in the pool,\u201d said the former Samoa World Cup team captain.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe also recruit players in Fiji, Tonga, and other regions and hoping to do the same in the CNMI,\u201d Schwalger.<\/p>\n<p>The Super Rugby (premier league in New Zealand) veteran saw a lot of potential talents in the Commonwealth and if they will continue to work hard, play, and improve, his academy will be there to help CNMI players compete in high-level tournaments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI could hook them up with schools or clubs off-island. Not everyone will have the chance to play for the national team and turn pro right away. So, in Samoa, what we do is help talented players get scholarships from universities and contracts with clubs overseas,\u201d said Schwalger, whose ties with international teams and  colleges made it possible for other Pacific players to get opportunities to play. <\/p>\n<p>Samoa A and U20 player Iosefatu Mareko was an alumnus of Schwalger\u2019s academy and the former is currently in Japan on a four-year collegiate scholarship. Other scholarship and contract offers come from New Zealand and Europe, particularly from France.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are very fortunate that a legendary player like Schwalger visited us to share his skills and experience to our players. His academy will open a pathway to our players, who one day may want to play in college and in the pro ranks,\u201d Iakopo said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>World Cup veteran Mahonri Schwalger of Samoa is on Saipan and has started a series&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":295420,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-295419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295419\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}