Dubai: More than 150 budding young rugby stars from the Dubai Hurricanes were treated to a masterclass from the USA Rugby Sevens team on Monday evening.
USA took a break from their preparations for the Dubai Rugby Sevens to coach boys and girls, across all age groups from five to 18, who dream of one day lining up in Dubai's number one sporting event.
The players shared technical tips and fielded questions from the youngsters who quizzed them on how to make the grade before showcasing their skills to the USA team.
"One of our goals is to promote the growth of rugby in America so to see grassroots rugby thriving in the Middle East is a real inspiration," said Al Caravelli, USA Rugby's National Team Head Coach, Rugby Sevens.
Focused and confident
"Our preparations for the tournament this weekend have went very well. The players are focused and confident of making a strong challenge. The Dubai crowd is very passionate and having them behind you is a huge advantage so hopefully some of the Hurricanes boys will be cheering us on after today's session," he added.
"I was very impressed by the talent I saw today and with such a great coaching set-up, the future of rugby in Dubai looks very bright indeed," Caravelli said.
The training session was also an inspiration to the young players, who got a close-up look at the skills which the USA players hope will drive them to glory this weekend.
"It was amazing for the boys to be trained by the USA players, who were terrific and gave the boys some great tips," said Lloyd Carr of the Dubai Hurricanes. "It is important for youngsters to have good role models and it was fantastic for them to meet the players. The passion and enthusiasm that the USA players have for rugby is a real inspiration. I think they had as much fun as the kids out there today."
