BERKELEY – California rugby opened the gates of Witter Rugby Field this past weekend for its 28th-annual summer camp for boys. 163 campers between the ages of 14 and 18 took to the pitch in Strawberry Canyon for world-class instruction from the Golden Bears' coaching staff.
 
 
124 players were returning campers, while the other 39 joined the Bears for the first time. As always, the camp attracted young aspiring rugby players from across the country, with the states of California, Florida, Oregon, New York, Montana, Hawaii, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Washington, Iowa, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and Virginia all represented. A contingent of international students also made the trip stateside to attend the camp, with players coming from Uruguay, Singapore, United Kingdom, France, Canada, Hong Kong and Dubai.
 
 
Participants of all levels and experience developed their fundamental rugby skills under the instruction of Cal Head Coach Jack Clark and Associate Head Coach Tom Billups, in addition to a handful of current Cal student-athletes who served as camp counselors. The Bears' camp schedule balanced intensive skill-building training sessions and competition play. Each day began with a complete movement preparation warmup before training specific rugby skills. The camp turned its focus to competition play each afternoon. They participated in Golden Bear Rules rugby, scrimmaging on Witter Rugby Field to showcase their skills and get a preview of what it is like to play rugby in Berkeley.
 

In addition to on-field training sessions, the Bears provided seminars on various topics related to pursuing collegiate athletics. These seminars included an academic preparedness discussion with learning specialist Daley Stevens from Cal's Athletic Study Center (ASC) and a "Laws of the Game" seminar with Tim Lew from the Northern California Referees Society to give players an official's perspective on the laws of rugby and the opportunity for a Q&A session.
 
 
Billups, a certified strength and conditioning specialist and longtime leader of the Bears' conditioning program, hosted a bodyweight strength clinic for the campers, teaching them strength movements to enhance their personal rugby training at camp and beyond. The campers also received a facility tour of Cal's state-of-the-art training facilities at the Simpson Center for High Performance.
 
 
"Our camp weekend is one of the most enjoyable of the year," Billups said. "We are able to share what we have learned with the players and witness their performance improve."
 
 
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