Meet the coaches and club staff
Michael Yauch- Manager
A USA Rugby-certified rugby coach and our club manager, Michael Yauch's affiliation with the sport goes back over 31 seasons when he began playing at Occidental College under Dennis Jablonski, The United States Rugby team leading scorer and kicker. In Michael's fourth year as the General Manager and Head Coach of the Santa Clarita Youth Rugby Club, his goal is to pass on both skills and sportsmanship, of the sport of rugby.
In addition to coaching, Michael is a certified referee that has handled dozens of matches over the past decade. He continues to play for his club, the Oxy Olde Boys. The Oxy Tigers finished as the #9 ranked team in Division II rugby in the country in 2005. This past summer, the Tigers finished #5 in 7-a-side amongst all teams in the USA. Michael also serves as the Vice President of Southern California Youth Rugby, the parent organization for all of youth rugby in Southern California. In addition, he is also on the executive committee to the Southern California Rugby Football Union as the youth representative.
Coach Michael also plays a few Masters (over 40 years old) games a year. He has played every position on the pitch.
"I'm excited about the opportunity to coach in our community, with the bright kids and strong parental support. I have the best of all possible environments to mold young ruggers to play the greatest sport on Earth."
Anita Thompson - Treasurer
An AFAA certified personal trainer, she has training in anatomy, exercise physiology, nutrition, personal training, developing exercise prescriptions, flexibility and injury prevention.
Anita has been coaching and doing administrative work for SCV Youth Rugby Club since 2009.
Anita is originally from Hungary where she was a gymnast for 13 years and competed on a State level.
She has three children, two boys and a girl. Her boys have been playing rugby with SCV Youth Rugby Club since 2008.
Kelly Leach - Admin
Kelly has been with SCV Youth Rugby since 2009.
Greg Holmes- Boys U19 Coach
A USA Rugby-certified coach and our U-19 coach, Greg has been playing rugby since 1978. He began at Occidental College. From there he moved on to play for Santa Monica, where in 1982 he started on the team that won the national championship. He played for the Southern California Griffins from 1982-1985, qualifying for the Pacific Coast Grizzlies in 1985. The Griffins are the Southern California All-Star team, and the Grizzlies are a West Coast All-Star team. He coached the Occidental Olde Boy rugby team from 1989 to 1992. Those teams won the Southern California Championship for Division II in 1991 and 1992. Greg has been coaching SCV Tigers since its inception in 2004.
Steve Vasquez- Boys U16 Coach
A USA Rugby-Certified coach, a Certified Referee and our U-16 coach, Steve first started playing rugby in 1992 when he joined the United States Marine Corps and stayed until 1996. He played his first match against the famed Scottish military unit "Black Watch" in Hong Kong in 1994. He then played for Eagle Rock from 1997 to 1998. He currently plays along side Coach Yauch and Coach Holmes with the Oxy Tigers. He has played as a prop, hooker, flanker and center.
"I love rugby. I enjoy coaching youth rugby. It's the greatest sport on earth. Starting our boys and girls off at a young age learning the game of rugby will only strengthen the sport in the U.S."
Terry Hellinger-Boys U16 Coach
A USA Rugby Certified Coach, Terry started playing rugby as a tight-head prop in 1986 at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. After making it to national playoffs several years with Cal Poly, Terry played for the Griffins and the Grizzles in 1990. Playing a season with the Rotorua Pirates on the North Island of New Zealand, as well as matches in Fiji and Australia, gave him a unique experience in international play that he is happy to bring back home and pass on to the next generation of young players. Today, Terry is on the Board of Alumni for the Cal Poly Rugby Football club. “The unique sportsmanship and camaraderie that is part of the game of rugby is one of the aspects that I hope to bring to our young players. Some of your best friends can be made on a rugby pitch.”
Gary Thompson- Boys U14 Coach
A USA Rugby-certified Coach, Gary is originally from South -Africa where Rugby considered a way of life.
He played rugby in high school in Johannesburg, South Africa and was a semi-pro motocross rider. He was also actively involved in many extreme sports.
He is a local business man, father of 3 and he believes in discipline.
" Who dares wins" .
Sam Robin- Boys U14 Coach
Coach Sam has been playing and coaching rugby for 6 years. Sam began playing rugby for the SCV Tigers and went on to play competitive rugby for the Oxy Olde Boys and while in college in Berkeley. He then came back for a few successful 7-a-side-rugby seasons with the SCV Tigers. In 2011 Sam helped coach the u-14 boys to a victorious season that saw them making the playoffs. Sam is a certified USA Rugby referee and coach, a UC Berkeley graduate, CrossFit and CrossFit Football Certified, owns a local athlete training facility, and is a state record holding powerlifter
Tobias Konrad- Boys U12 Coach
Tobias started playing rugby when he was six years old. In 1972 and 1980 he won the German Championship with his club RGH Heidelberg, Germany. He played there for 14 years and then went on to play for HTV Heidelberg. After serveral years he moved on to another club, HRK Heidelberg. During his time with HRK he obtained an "A" coaching license from the German Rugby Union and started coaching youth ages U10 - U16 for his club. In 1996 his U12 team won the Southern German Championship and went on to place 2nd overall in the German Championships. For Tobias, it is most important that the kid's learn to play rugby properly and have fun doing it.
Marcus Garret - Boys U10 Coach
Bio to come
Renee Konrad- Girls U19 Coach
Renee captained her women's club team SCN Heidelberg, Germany from 1988 - 1996. During those years her team won the German Championship 7 times. She also played for the German National Team 11 times from 1989 - 1997. In 1996 and 1997 she played for Germany in the European Championships against teams from Spain, Italy, Holland, Ireland, France and Kazakhstan. Later she started coaching youth rugby at her club. She coached the under 6, "the Bambini" for 3 years. She also coached the U08 and U10 touch rugby teams at West Valley Rugby Club for 2 years before coming to SCV Youth Rugby Club.
Dan Klein- Girls U14 Coach
Coach Klein has been coaching for SCV Tigers since 2011 season. He started playing rugby when he was a Senior at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Then played for the Division 1 Santa Monica Rugby Club, for fourteen years. In his earlier days he played Wing, and Inside/Outside Center. He played Flyhalf for a few years and when the team reached the Nationals in 2004 he was the backup for all the back positions, from scrum half to wing. Coach Klein made the Division 1 finals in numerous 7’s tournaments where he played Hooker and Scrum Half.
Sally Vasquez- Website Design/Photographer
sallyvasquez9@gmail.com
George Swanson- Boys U12 Coach
George grew up in New Zealand where rugby is religion.
Started playing at age 6, played through all his school years.
Played 3 years club rugby in New Zealand plus some in Colorado Springs.
He started coaching at Douglas Co high School in Colorado both boys and girls teams
Helped his daughter make it to the State U19 team.
Attended USA coaching clinic in Denver
He believes sportsmanship, safety and fun are most important in kids rugby
He is also excited to be part of the growth of rugby in United States that is happening now.
Conrad Arjoon- Boys U19 Coach
Bio and pic to come.
Sean Rigsby- Coach
Bio soon to come
Santa Clarita Youth Rugby Club
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Alex Bercovici- U10 Coach
Alex Bercovici started playing rugby when he was 13. Since then he has played for many teams including: Antelope Valley, Hart District Wildcats, LA Cougars, SoCal Griffins, Santa Barbara Rugby Academy, USA U-17 and U-18. Alex was Captain for SoCal Griffins select side team in 2010. While playing for the LA Cougars he went to the U-19 National Tournament twice, placing 3rd both times. He just got back from living in Louisiana where he was working on an oil rig. He is now practicing Brazilian Jujitsu and Muay-Thai and playing rugby for Santa Monica Men’s Team. He specializes in line-outs and forward pack work.
Jacki Bercovici- Girls U19 Coach
Jacki Bercovici started playing rugby in high school for the Hart District Wildcats. She was captain in 2006-2007 and then played for the SoCal Griffins select side. After graduating high school she moved 1,500 miles away from home to play rugby for the University of Northern Iowa. She also played for the U-23 Midwest Thunderbirds. The UNI women’s rugby team has made it to Nationals 8 years in a row and Jacki was fortunate enough to be there for 4 of those years. In 2010, she was Captain and led her team in a 9-8 victory, taking them to Nationals. Jacki specializes in back line work and kicking techniques.
