Winter 2001 Meeting Summary


Meeting Overview: December 6th Uptown Restaurant
The meeting last night was very useful. Thanks to everyone who attended. A lot of people gave their input. We had 27 present, 16 had contacted the Club to say they could not attend and 10 players couldn’t be bothered to do either. The meeting was broken down into 5 parts (I have added a 6th on behalf of Don Briggs who had the flu but talked with me at length on Thursday).


Role Call, General Stuff (Julian Reading)
The meeting last night was very useful. Thanks to everyone who attended. A lot of people gave their input. We had 27 present, 16 had contacted the Club to say they could not attend and 10 players couldn’t be bothered to do either. The meeting was broken down into 5 parts (I have added a 6th on behalf of Don Briggs who had the flu but talked with me at length on Thursday).

The Banquet is on February 16th at the Red Horse Steakhouse in Frederick (7:00pm - 12:00). The menu will be prime rib - chicken - vegetables and beer. It really is good food (lots of it) - there is a cash bar for stuff other than beer. As well as dinner we will have the player awards for the Fall 2001 season, the “Alternative awards” and the first presentation of the Pat O’Connell Memorial award. Cost is $30 per person (this is not a fundraiser, that’s the actual cost of dinner). Please make it a priority to be there and please mail me a check (made out to FRFC) or get it to me during off-season training. I think the limit is 60 people - so don’t wait too long.

Savannah is coming up soon (March 14 - 18). The format is we travel south on Thursday, play on Friday, enjoy the parade on Saturday, play on Sunday then come back either Sunday afternoon or Monday morning. Total cost (hotel, van rental and jersey will be around $140) - please get back with me now if you are coming and whether you want to return on Sunday or Monday.

The England Tour is getting sorted. We have three dates to choose from for the match against Dorking (Sept 14, 21 or 28) the tour will be built around that date. Total length is 10 days with a cost of $700 (that’s air, vans, lodging and jersey). I really would like to know who would be making it and if any of those dates are bad for you.


Training + Commitment (Eric Aldinger)
The meeting last night was very useful. Thanks to everyone who attended. A lot of people gave their input. We had 27 present, 16 had contacted the Club to say they could not attend and 10 players couldn’t be bothered to do either. The meeting was broken down into 5 parts (I have added a 6th on behalf of Don Briggs who had the flu but talked with me at length on Thursday).

We all need to train in the off-season and should identify something specific to improve upon (i.e. speed or strength). We have a session at Gold’s in Frederick each Monday (6:00pm), but we need to form workout groups in Mount Airy, Germantown, Whittier as well as Frederick in general. This will be a priority to set up before Christmas.

The need for increased commitment if the Club wishes to make a run for the play offs was obvious to everyone present. Eric passed out a letter of intent, which players signed as a symbol of their commitment to the Club and their teammates. This letter will be available for those players not present to sign in the off-season.


Schedule, Squad (Art Hall)
The schedule will be broken down into 3 parts; the first 6 matches (3 in Savannah) will be used to aggressively build a squad, Mon River and North Jersey are dress rehearsals for the play-off squad then the rest is single elimination MARFU and National matches.

The match against North Jersey will have a special significance. This is Fain Moran’s old team so that in itself will be great, but more importantly one of the team was killed in the Sept 11th attack and this will be a Memorial match. Fain will work on a fundraiser and it will be a bus trip.


Coaching (Dave Gentzel)
As Jim was getting prepped for surgery, Dave Gentzel our new Backs Coach had the opportunity to set out his expectations.

Fitness now and in the off-season will allow us to work more on timing and plays in the real season. We will be going back to basics to improve some fundamentals and will emphasize the need for Backs to know the Forwards plays and vice-versa.


Director of Rugby (Don Briggs)
The major focus this spring will be to improve links between Frederick and local colleges, specifically the Mount, Frostburg and Salisbury.

The Mount and Frederick Rugby will run a collegiate and high school rugby camp at the Mount on Saturday Jan 26th. This is an all day event and Frederick will provide players to assist the coaching staff and be directly involved in setting up the camp. Frederick and the Mount will have some outdoor practice sessions together in Feb (at the Mount).


Governor of FRFC (Allen Byrne)
Allen has accepted the mantle of Governor of Frederick Rugby. Allen will oversee the whole club, playing and non-playing with a major focus on fundraising, raising the profile of Frederick Rugby and gaining corporate sponsorship.

Believe me, Allen is the man and is a very important part of Frederick rugby.

Allen brought the meeting to a close by offering a toast to Jamie Romano, Frederick’s MARFU All-Star.