Difference between revisions of "2024 Men's End of Season Party"

Revision as of 14:16, 31 May 2024

Last evening, Memorial Day, the ZRFC Men's Team held their annual end of year awards banquet at the ranch of MGen Tru Eyre and his wife, Deb. We have used their barn in the past and it was great to be back in that venue for what turned out to be a great evening of rugby camaraderie. Over 90 players, parents, fans, and alumni were present to send off our seniors so a special thanks goes to the Eyres for their generosity.

MGen Eyre opened the evening with some important words about our young warriors and remembering those that gave their all so that we might have and enjoy the tremendous advantages our country has to offer.

Before the awards were presented some special thanks were offered to several individuals and volunteers that directly contributed to the successes of our team. They are: Dr. Glen Dudevoir, OIC - Dr. D, as we affectionately call him, has completed his final year as the OIC. He has done an immense amount of work for the team across the last 7 years or so and has been instrumental in navigating the USAFA requirements to run our team. Sarah and Joe Schlundt - Leaders of the ZRFC Parents Group who coordinate and then provide nutrition and snack support for all our home and away matches. Anu Alama - Anu is a graduating senior from the ZRFC Women's Rugby Team and led the effort, along with her fiancé, team captain Jeremiah Palaita, to build unity and synergy between the Men's and Women's Teams. We will work hard to make sure that connectivity continues in the future. A special thanks also goes out to newly minted CIC Colt Stoub who worked with Jeff Burrows to plan and coordinate the evening's festivities.

The following players were selected by the coaching staff and OICs to receive special recognition. When presenting each award, the coaches offered some stories and history as to why each player was selected for recognition:

Most Improved Player of the Year - Kyle Hulme

Rookie of the Year - Will Taylor

Forward of the Year - Eli Williams

Back of the Year - Simon Bolinger

7s Player of the Year - Jackson Macias

The Murph Award (Heart and Soul of ZRFC) - Jeremiah Palaita

The Koehn Award (Top Rugger) - Jackson Macias

The AFARF Spirit of Zoomie Rugby Award - Colt Stoub

Captain's Cup - Jeremiah Palaita

CIC's Cup - Eli Williams

Silver's Captain Cup - Liam Dineen

Each senior then received a special remembrance framed photo of themselves with an inspirational quote and a team challenge coin.

This year, under leadership of CIC Eli Williams, the team decided to “cap” our players. By way of background, at the international rugby level, players are capped each time they play an international match and the number of caps a player receives is an indicator of their experience. For our team, our players will be capped each time they play in a Blue Side sanctioned match but instead of receiving a cap, they will receive a specially designed and approved patch for their cadet uniform athletic jacket.

Additionally, and as is the team tradition, the graduating seniors handed off their Blue Blazer to the underclassmen/player of their choice as a way of passing their legacy forward. Each player autographs the inside of the blazer before passing it along and in some cases the jackets have 20 years of team history tied to them.

We closed out the evening with the naming of the team's cadet leadership for AY2024-25. The players elected their leadership by vote, and they are: Captain - Jack Brown, CIC - Colt Stoub. It was a great way to send off our seniors and handoff the team to the next group to carry on the legacy and traditions of ZRFC.