08/19/2007

TC's Thiel, Brick try to make an impression

They're among 3 TC natives vying for select team

BY JEFF PEEK

jpeek@record-eagle.com

Brick

Theil

TRAVERSE CITY — If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

That saying is particularly appropriate in rugby, where a "try” — the equivalent of a touchdown in football — is every team's goal.

And there was plenty of "trying” going on at this weekend's Midwest Union All Star Rugby Championships at the TBAYS complex off Keystone Road. Players were trying to score, trying to win, and most importantly, trying to impress scouts for the Midwest Thunderbirds select team that will take part in the national championships in Florida in December.

At least three Traverse City players are competing in this weekend's event, which concludes today. Former TC West standout Phil Thiel plays for the Michigan select team; TC St. Francis graduate B.J. Brick plays for the Chicago Lions; and TC's Matt Thomas plays for Central Michigan.

"It's always good to come home. It's great to see family and friends,” said the 22-year-old Thiel, who attends Life University in Atlanta. "I haven't been home in months. The weather here is great — TC weather is the best weather. I've been living in 105-degree heat with about 80 percent humidity, so this feels good.”

Thiel will feel even better if he catches the eye of a Midwest Thunderbirds select team scout.

Tristan Lewis, a native of England who lives in Chicago, said he and his scouting colleagues will choose approximately 75 players from the nine teams competing in the select-side tournament and ask them to report to a one-day camp at St. Charles, Ill., in October.

After another round of cuts, remaining players will take part in another camp in St. Louis in November.

At total of 28 players will be chosen for the Midwest senior squad that will play in the nationals, and another 25 will make the developmental team.

"It's an ongoing thing, much like a college football coach never stops recruiting,” Lewis said. "You can't ever stop looking. There's always a diamond in the rough out there somewhere.

"It's our job to find that diamond and work with their coach to get them polished and ready for the elite levels.”

Thiel is probably the city's best-known player. He was impressive in his one season with the TC Alliance high school club, then — after a year of playing football at Saginaw Valley State University — Thiel quit the team and began playing rugby on a regular basis.

"Everything kind of changed after that,” he said.

The 5-foot-11, 250-pound Thiel eventually scored a spot on a semi-pro team in England, where he played for seven months.

Thiel returned to the United States to continue his education, and rugby was a means to an end. Life University offered him a scholarship, and now he is preparing to graduate with a degree in business.

In the meantime, Thiel would welcome a spot on the Midwest select squad, especially after playing for the developmental squad last year.

"That really is the ultimate goal for most of the players,” Thiel said. "You have to play well. You have to impress the scouts.”

Brick, like Thiel, was also a football player who eventually turned to rugby. The 2001 St. Francis graduate was given a tryout with Miami (Ohio) University, but he felt he wasn't given a fair opportunity to make the team as a kicker and walked away from the experience with a bad taste in his mouth.

"I hated it,” he said.

So Brick, now 6-4 and 235 pounds, "started playing rugby the following day.” Brick played so well that he was eventually invited to take another shot at football, but he declined — missing an opportunity to play on a team that included current Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Again like Thiel, Brick went abroad to hone his skills, playing one season — six months and 26 games — in New Zealand.

"Rugby is huge there,” said Brick, 24. "The culture is unbelievable. The learning curve is straight. Just the pace of the game is incredible.

"I played great competition. It was a lot of fun.”

Brick returned to the U.S. last December and accepted a job with an alcohol distributorship in Chicago. He also landed a spot with the Lions, "one of the best clubs in the country.”

Brick agrees with Thiel that making the Thunderbirds "is kind of the ultimate goal of everybody here,” and Lewis is familiar with both players.

Lewis said choosing the right players for the Midwest club isn't as simple as "finding a guy who can kick the ball 70 yards.”

"Of course, we'd love a guy who can do that, but a lot more goes into it,” Lewis said. "Are they fit enough? Are they disciplined enough to stay fit enough? Are they disciplined enough to choose nutrition over a Big Mac? And do they have the time to make that kind of commitment?

"We're looking for the complete individual.”

The trying continues on both sides.

The 34th annual Cherry Pit tournament is also being played in TC this weekend. For more information on the Grand Traverse Rugby Club, send an e-mail to mjcoco@gmail.com. For more information on USA Rugby, log onto www.usarugby.org.