What is life??? September's Player of the Month will tell you!

I remember meeting Casey Stoneberger at his first practice. Here was a hulk of a man who reportedly played for OMBAC’s DI and Super League side and now he was running Queenslander drills with a DIII side that didn’t make the playoffs the previous year. To top it off, he had a bad shoulder that made it difficult for him to play at the level he wanted. Truth be told, I figured he would be gone after a few practices…possibly to rehab his shoulder, or do fitness on his own…or to another club. But I think Casey saw something in our club that made his stick around. Maybe Keegan threatened to burn down a gym for every practice he missed? Thank God he kept coming around or you wouldn’t be reading about the September Player of the Month.

Casey grew up in Littleton, Colorado eventually going to college at my father’s alma mater, University of Northern Colorado in a small town called Greeley. Casey began playing rugby as a senior at Chatfield Senior High School. In college he played Lacrosse until halfway through his senior year where the magnetism of rugby and a scholarship issue forced him to the rugby pitch. Casey excelled at rugby where he was named an honorable mention All Americanr. Casey’s freakish ability to lift large amounts of weight is but one of his many hobbies. He enjoys fishing, hunting, boating, camping and eating. Casey married his college sweetheart, Laura Jean in 2006. Currently, Casey is studying to get his DPT at Azusa Pacific University. True, Casey prays to Krom for success, be his mentor is someone who thought him that “superior all around fitness ifs the key to performing better on the pitch.” Casey met Kent Weyand (OMBAC’s strength and speed coach…and fellow UNC graduate) while playing for OMBAC and really took to heart how this man could impalement his “concepts” at practice and this made Casey a better player. Casey in turn has brought this drive to US.

Casey was a huge reason PRFC was able to accomplish what we did last year, and not just by his play on the pitch. Casey is our resident fitness guru. But he is not just an iron junkie that throws weights around. Casey is a virtual Encyclopedia of nutrition, kinesiology and Crom. In short, he helps players achieve their goals with a systematic, player friendly, yet global approach. Why is he the September player of the month…we didn’t even have practice then?! Casey’s influence and training approach put our team in a better position to excel. Because of him and his effort, we are better prepared to hit the ground running. Casey planned a summer long regiment that challenged every player, no matter their level of fitness. All those that participated in the workouts enjoyed huge gains in strength and speed. I hadn’t realized how successful Casey had been until I saw Brian Brecheisen at practice the other day. He was bigger, stronger and, more importantly, faster than he had been all last year. Sure, Brian had to have the motivation to complete the workouts, but something tells me, without Casey’s planning and tutelage at the 24 Hour Fitness Gym twice a week all summer, we would not have seen the Brian (or Keegan, Seamus, James, et al.) that we saw at the BEGENNING of the season. I am sure Casey is working hard as we speak to develop the next round of leapfrog from hell to challenge us this year. It is a good thing Casey eventually found rugby, had he just stuck to the tap dancing lessons he started when he was 5 years old, Casey would be terrorizing little Baryshnikov’s about proper kettle ball form. While I might not want to see Casey show us the “ball and shuffle,” I am very interested in hearing his story about leaving a game at half to destroy a McDonalds toilet from a case of food poisoning.

So for all of you that think practice has been brutal…just hold your breath until Coach utters these fatal words, “Casey will be leading our fitness session tonight.”

Oops,Tanner