Friday, July 15, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Wes Clark Interview
http://wesclark.com/rrr/highland_rugby.html
Is there a strong non-U.S. contingent on the club? (I had heard that there were many players of Tongan and New Zealand nationality.)
A more appropriate question to ask is this, "Is there a strong non-U.S. contingent at the school?" Highland High School is a designated ESL (English as a Second Language) school. Depending upon the school year, between 25% to 30% of the student body are enrolled in the ESL program. Immigrants, refugees, etc. that come to the Salt Lake area have the children enrolled at Highland because of the excellent English language program. At present, 37 languages, other than English, are spoken by students as a first language at Highland. Talk about diversity! Many students come here with little or no English speaking ability.
While we get students from all over the country, presently the majority of students come from Latin America, the South Pacific, and Eastern Europe. We are seeing more African students of late. Several years ago we saw a flood of Southeast Asian immigrants.
Naturally we have some non-U.S. citizens who are students and participate in most all sports at the school, both sanctioned and unofficial sports. (You hear more Spanish being spoken on the Highland soccer team than English!) Although rugby has more students participating than football at Highland, there are more non-U.S. students playing football than are playing rugby.
The team is bigger than any player or any coach. We put our personal wants and wishes aside for the sake of the team. We sacrifice for the team.
We have dominated because we get the best athletes in the school, they work hard and train hard, and, I believe, are properly coached.
What attracted the non-U.S. players to Salt Lake City?
Utah has become a popular place for immigration because we have so much space here and the economy is so good. There is virtually no unemployment here. The LDS Church is also a major draw. Many people want to come to "Zion." Highland High School gets a disproportionate share of immigrants because of the English program.
Is there a strong non-U.S. contingent on the club? (I had heard that there were many players of Tongan and New Zealand nationality.)
A more appropriate question to ask is this, "Is there a strong non-U.S. contingent at the school?" Highland High School is a designated ESL (English as a Second Language) school. Depending upon the school year, between 25% to 30% of the student body are enrolled in the ESL program. Immigrants, refugees, etc. that come to the Salt Lake area have the children enrolled at Highland because of the excellent English language program. At present, 37 languages, other than English, are spoken by students as a first language at Highland. Talk about diversity! Many students come here with little or no English speaking ability.
While we get students from all over the country, presently the majority of students come from Latin America, the South Pacific, and Eastern Europe. We are seeing more African students of late. Several years ago we saw a flood of Southeast Asian immigrants.
Naturally we have some non-U.S. citizens who are students and participate in most all sports at the school, both sanctioned and unofficial sports. (You hear more Spanish being spoken on the Highland soccer team than English!) Although rugby has more students participating than football at Highland, there are more non-U.S. students playing football than are playing rugby.
The team is bigger than any player or any coach. We put our personal wants and wishes aside for the sake of the team. We sacrifice for the team.
We have dominated because we get the best athletes in the school, they work hard and train hard, and, I believe, are properly coached.
What attracted the non-U.S. players to Salt Lake City?
Utah has become a popular place for immigration because we have so much space here and the economy is so good. There is virtually no unemployment here. The LDS Church is also a major draw. Many people want to come to "Zion." Highland High School gets a disproportionate share of immigrants because of the English program.
Answering but not answering the question ... the invisible boys from New Zealand.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
BYU Broadcasting Not Talking
Contacted BYU broadcasting several times, Kevin Worthen and President Samuelsons office. Spoke to the admin assistants and left my name and number. I asked that they have someone call me back.
No one had the courtesy to return my call and discuss why BYU is putting its stamp of approval on such a recruiting scheme.
Just prior to the 2011 NCAA tournament, BYU removed a basketball player from the team who voluntarily came forward and admitted that he had violated the school honor code. I will have to read the BYU honor code to see if it gives any further direction.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Zero Mentions
In over 25 years the invisible rugby players from New Zealand have contributed to winning at least 50% of the 410 wins and 1/2 of the 19 National Championships?
Yet there are ZERO mentions of their critical contributions in the forever strong movie, on the team website, on the missionary strong website or in any newspaper article. Not even a thank you!
WHY?
Because recruiting foreign rugby players to get wins does not:
- sell movie tickets
- secure funding from BYU for a documentary (Brigham Young University)
- get you paid corporate speaking engagements.
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