Image: Coach Doug (right) via Isaiah Ireland
I can’t quite name many people as eclectic as WCU’s rugby Coach Doug. The fifth-year coach’s energetic personality and passion for the sport makes him equally interesting, entertaining and authentic. This is his first time coaching rugby, and he went to school here as an undergraduate studying communications with a minor in theater. He also played rugby, starting as a wing. Fun fact: he and Coach Brown graduated from WCU during the same year and had the same major but didn’t know each other at the time. After Coach Doug graduated, he played at the men’s club in Philadelphia: Whitemarsh. After a while, the injuries caught up to him (he mentions breaking his nose, some fingers and his knee, just to name a few), and his personal life grew as he started having kids, and they played sports as well. Unfortunately, his kids weren’t interested in rugby. Now that they’re grown, he’s back here at WCU coaching for the team. His love for the game and teaching others how wonderful it is has kept him coaching throughout these years. Once coaching, he became enamored with seeing the guys he coached become full grown adults right in front of his eyes, for which he’s now grateful. He mentions Q and AJ, two guys he’s seen since they were freshman to now graduating seniors, which is awesome to see.
What interested me about Coach Doug was his hobby and sort of passion for woodworking. He makes a lot of different crafts, admitting that most of his tasks are things his wife asks him to make, but he obliges because of how much he loves the art form. He does occasionally sell some of his work.
Getting back to rugby, he loves the competition and camaraderie of the sport as a whole. It’s a big community and feels like a real brotherhood. I would like to mention that during our whole conversation, he couldn’t keep his eyes off the field, seeing his players practice, whether it was to give pointers or words of encouragement. It showed how dedicated he was not only to their success but to their specific performance on the field as well.
He calls the sport “controlled brutality,” saying that although it may seem like things are just a free-for-all on the field, there’s a level of control and awareness happening when the guys are playing. He tells the guys you have to have controlled aggression to play and can’t go out there acting psycho. If they want to get the prize, it doesn’t just fall flat on their lap; they have to put the work in. I ask him If he had any player he wanted to highlight; he talks about Kevin Lowman and mentions his early days of getting involved in rugby and how he was in-between playing rugby or football, when he didn’t have much weight on him at the time, calling him “a bag of bones” (which Lowman admits to being). Lowman is now an awesome player himself, and Coach Doug says he sees him putting in the work to get in shape and get his mind ready. Another player, Colin, who never played rugby before but put in the work, is also a standout player on the team.
Describing himself as a coach, Doug thinks he’s honest and doesn’t sugarcoat anything to the guys, even if it’s criticism. But at the same time, he doesn’t put them down. Between the two coaches, Coach Brown thinks Coach Doug loses his temper more than he does and calls him a “hothead,” whilst he’s the calm, cool and collected type. Otherwise, he does like to yell a little bit during the game. His biggest pet peeve with his players is complaining, especially about referees.
Coach Doug thinks anyone can play the sport, no matter your weight size, if you train correctly. He notes a few players that went through body transformations as they kept playing the sport as well. But, do note that most of it depends on the position you play. He feels like rugby is safer and cleaner than what it used to be and thinks that’s for the better.
Going down memory lane of when he used to play, he remembers playing in Memphis, Tenn. during a 7s tournament and how great the field and atmosphere were; people were dressed up as Elvis Presley, so they called it the “Elvis 7s.” Coaching-wise, his favorite thing is coaching on the women’s field here on campus because of the atmosphere and field as well.
Talking about the team again, he says this year has seen a big improvement overall with the team and says last year they weren’t as good as they are now.
When discussing some random thoughts on the team, he expressed that he thinks Ritchie is the funniest and calls him a “walking jukebox,” and the most serious and intense on the team are AJ and Q. His favorite weather to play rugby in is a 70 degree sunny day. His favorite snack for rugby is a power bar and a banana. His last meal would be fried ribs and mac and cheese. His zodiac sign is a Virgo, and his favorite drink is an old fashioned. His favorite show is “The Wire” and recommends it to me, and if he could live anywhere it would be San Diego.
I hope this gives you a glimpse into the multifaceted man that is Coach Doug. Highlighting rugby, its players and coaches has been a real treat of mine. The team needs your help in bringing more awareness and fans to the sport. So look out for the next rugby game here on campus.
Isaiah Ireland is a fourth-year Media and Culture major. ii978280@wcupa.edu