Berkeley Recreation Report

Warriors looking for rugby players

It's not really football, but that's what people compare rugby to.

The Charleston Warriors are hoping to broaden the appeal of rugby to high school athletes in Charleston County. They are inviting players to join boys' and girls' teams that will compete this spring against high school teams from around the state.

"Since this is our first year we are combining kids from a couple of schools to make sure we have enough players to field a team," Warriors coach Tim Smith said. "Next year, we want to be able to branch off and have teams from any of the schools that want one."

Rugby is a sport that bears a passing resemblance to football in style of play, but Smith said the contact is nowhere near the same and doesn't require the pads that football does.

"Our sport is a contact sport but it is not football without helmet," he said. "We have rules and a style of play that remove unnecessary risk and overly zealous collisions. I learned to play at 20 years of age and I still play now that I am 42."

He added that rugby is a good conditioning sport that will help football players hone their skills.

"We teach players decision-making skills, how to read the opponents formations, supporting your teammates, taking the initiative and improving their physical conditioning," he said.

The boys' team practices on Mondays and Wednesdays at 3:45 p.m. at Hampton Park. Anyone who is interested should feel free to stop by to sample the game. A girls' team has been organized by Vanessa Krysa and Kristen Graziano with practices on Mondays and Wednesdays at 6 p.m. at Septima Clark Academy on James Island. Smith now has 19 players on the boys' roster and would like to expand to around 30.

"We have 15 players on the field at any one time and we're constantly rotating players in and out," he said.

Graziano said the girls' team won't play for a state title this spring but will gear up for a competitive program in the winter.

"The girls' program is going to be more of a winter sport and that's nationwide," she said. "Really, in the winter, there's not a lot for girls. We are targeting that in order to get the players from the other sports an opportunity to play.

Anyone interested in boys' team can contact Smith at 343-8893 or co-coach Jeff King at 443-569-1591. The girls can call Krysa at 219-241-6411 or Graziano at 270-7120.

G. Creek baseball, soccer registration

Registration for baseball and softball at the Goose Creek Recreation Commission will be held through Monday. Leagues are available for ages 4-16. Participants' birth certificate and two proofs of residency are required to register. Acceptable proof of residency is government issued photo ID and current utility bill.

The league fees are $45 per child. The nonresident fee is $80; the only nonresident areas accepted are Devon Forest, Okatee and unincorporated areas in Crowfield.

Spring soccer registration for instructional leagues for ages 4-7 will be held Feb. 19-28. Registration requirements are the same as in baseball.

The cost is $35 per child or $70 for nonresident areas.

Ray Smith group wins 15 medals

Members of Ray Smith's Tae Kwon Do earned 15 medals at the U.S. Open held in New Orleans, exceeding the six medals they captured at last year's competition.

Eleven participants won a combined three gold medals, four silver and eight bronze.

The U.S. Open was a three-day event held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center with more than 1,000 athletes and 250 coaches from 45 states and 38 countries represented.

Angela Mills earned gold in sparring for her second U.S. Open victory. She also earned a silver medal in forms.

Joe LaStringer also came home with his second gold medal, winning in forms and adding a bronze medal in sparring.

The other gold medal went to Travis Faith in the adult forms category. He also took bronze in forms.

Williams Mills earned a silver medal in forms and a bronze in sparring. George Unsinger took bronze in sparring and forms. Kelsie Lyden earned silver in adult forms, and John Villenueve was a silver medalist in forms.

Tyler Lyden and Eddie Ellis picked up bronze medals in sparring, and Dru Nimmich earned bronze in forms.