Early Friday Morning

Its the morning of the first day of competition. There are 8 U19- teams here representing 8 regions of the US. They are seeded 1-thru 8 as follows: Number 1 is Highland (representing Pacific 1), number 2 is United Rugby club (representing Pacific #2) Number 3 seed is Westerville Rugby Club (Representing the Midwest) Number 4 seed is Kansas City Junior Blues (Representing the West), Number 5 seed is Los Angeles Cougars (represening Southern California), Number 6 seed is West Shore United (representing Mid-Atlantic), Number 7 seed is Union County (representing the Northeast) and finally, number 8 seed is the Highlanders-of course representing the South region.

We are last seed because last year the team representing the south lost all 3 of their games. So we have a battle on our hands. The brackets are set for the team ranked number 1 to play number 8, team ranked number 2 plays the team ranked number 7 etc. So our first game is against the number 1 seed, Highland-from Salt Lake City Utah. Here is what they wrote for their bio " 2009 is Highlands 34th hear. Highland fields 5 teams, each with its own coaching staff. The Highland program attracts 100+ players every year. Highland has won the USA Rugby national high school/U19 championship 18 times in the 24-year history of the event. In 1998, Highland represented the USA at the World Schools Championship in Africa with a 3rd place finish and a bronze medal. Highland's 34-year cumulative varsity win-loss record is 388-9. The success of the Highland team caught the attention of the hollywood and was the basis of the movie "Forever Strong"

Carlos told me he saw the Highland team when the boys checked in at the field last night and he said they didn't look any bigger than some of the teams we played at South. I think they will seriously underestimate us. GO HIGHLANDERS! First game is at 11:30 this morning. I know they'll be ready. And as Robert told the boys,- win or lose, they're already winners by getting here. They should just have fun playing rugby the Highlanders way!