Who in the Hell is that tall guy, and who made a him coach?

Coach Bryant asked, several weeks ago, for permission to write up a bio of myself to be included in the “Legends” section of my blog. While I initially hesitated to do so (who wouldn’t?) I acquiesced, thinking, “What the hell, maybe people would like to know more about me?” The following “Legends Contribution” has been written by Coach.

Aaron Tanner is 36 years old, the youngest of 4 children and, by all accounts, the funniest person in the world. He has been with Pasadena RFC for a decade, and is married to Lisa (gorgeous by the way) and has a beautiful daughter, Aubrey, who is 3 years old. He grew up in Valencia, California, and admits that he was a pretty good kid, although he talked a lot (no surprise) and got into trouble for doing so. He went to William S. Hart High School, where he played basketball and volleyball. He admits to being awkward and says it took a while for him to “grow into his body.” He attended Pierce Junior College where he played volleyball for one of the premiere volleyball coaches in the country, Ken Stanley. Ken had a profound influence in Aaron’s life. He demanded excellence and helped make Aaron a formidable volleyball player, but more importantly, taught him the virtues of being good person. Aaron went on to attend Cal State University, Northridge where he received a B.A in Communication Disorders. He completed his Masters in the same field at the University of Redlands and is currently the Lead Speech Pathologist at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

When I asked him about his most embarrassing moment Aaron had two examples to offer. On the show “Puttin on the Hits” he lip-synced “Macho Man” with his best friend, Terry McLean, playing the role of the soldier. This example, however paled in comparison to his admission that while at Cal State Northridge he ran across a word that he did not understand. In a class of 200 he innocently raised his hand and asked: “What does ‘fellatio’ mean?

Aaron Tanner began his career playing rugby with Pasadena RFC in 1998. His childhood friend Terry McLean had always wanted to play and had encouraged Aaron to do so. Originally Terry went out to play for Cal Tech (as he worked at JPL) but left after one practice Credit for bringing Aaron and ultimately Terry belongs to Kristen Angelica, Chris Angelica’s wife. Kristen was hired as a speech pathologist at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and when she found out about Aaron’s interest in rugby, encouraged him to join the club. Aaron must have thought that Kristen was pulling his leg as he went to the first two games and discovered that no one was there. Coming from a life long sports background, Aaron was shocked to learn that some aspects of Rugby are very fluid (like, will the cops kick us off our field, will lights be on or will the referee show up?) He finally caught up with the club when they played Kern County. He started the next game.

Aaron has played lock for most of his rugby career. He did play number 8 briefly in 2002, including in the 2002 championship game against Camp Pendleton, which Pasadena ultimately won. When asked about one of the most memorable moments in rugby Aaron cites the win against Kern County in 2005. At the time Kern County had dominated Division III rugby for several years and had not lost a game in over two years in the SCRFU. Pasadena was relentless that day and with just 5 minutes left in the game, defeated Kern with a try and subsequent conversion beating them by 4 points. Aaron counts that win as a significant milestone in his personal rugby career, but more importantly a vital stepping-stone for the team.

Aaron has served as a leader on and off the pitch for Pasadena RFC. Known for his tenacious play on the field and equanimity, he was frequently sought after for advice and provided a voice of reason on the field. As a leader within the club, he was initially Vice President under the leadership of Allen Rooney and then served as President of the club from 2003 –2005. When asked about the challenges he faced as President, Aaron recounts that Pasadena had become a very social club early in his tenure. As President he had a vision that he “wanted the team to be better,” but wanted that desire to be a “grass roots effort” fueled by the desires of the players. He believes that timing was kind to him as the team began to recruit some additional players who really wanted to play competitive rugby again and these new recruits were augmented by a core group of veterans who were similarly committed. When asked about what have been the greatest rewards of being a part of the club, Aaron quickly admits that it is the camaraderie of hanging out with the guys. Other notable benefits include the overall progress of the team in terms of recruitment and retention, win/loss record, and the fund raising efforts which Aaron catalyzed in 2004 by securing the first $1000 sponsor, Hooters and by starting a “fundraising round table” effectively organizing the efforts under one roof.

When asked to comment on the challenges facing the club going forward Aaron likens the current Club to a team that just finished its last year of junior high school, enjoying all the popularity of being the big man on campus. With the decision to go up to Division II, he believes that Pasadena RFC is now the new freshman on campus where presumption is no longer the case. He believes that there is a lot of work to do to achieve the accolades once enjoyed in the last season (or as the big man on the junior high school campus), and while some players seemed prepared to pay their dues to enjoy similar success, others appear to want to be seniors immediately. He cautions that there is a lot of hard work ahead, and that the second division will be very competitive. More players will need to step forward in order for Pasadena RFC to continue to be successful on and off the pitch.

Aaron’s favorite rugby player to date is Chris Jack of the All Blacks. As you can imagine he plays lock. Aaron admires him because he is a workhorse, always doing what he is supposed to while simultaneously maintaining his head (with an occasional boot rake to an opponents back, as needed!). He believes that all teams need players like Jack. When Aaron first came to Pasadena RFC, he was mentored by Chris Angelica and Mike Aston, two players he continues to respect for their knowledge, skill and love of the game. His favorite Pasadena rugby player is Allen Rooney because he likes Allen’s perspective on rugby as it makes the most sense to him. Other players who inspire him include Keegan Hornbeck, (flanker), Alister Blevins (Center), Mark Frazier (scrumhalf/fly half) and Tim Riesen (All around back). He points out that all of these men work incredibly hard on the field, that it makes you want to work just as hard to be there in support of them and not disappoint.

Finally when asked what advice he would offer to those new to the game, Aaron says simply: “Shut up and listen! Most of the people providing advice are just simply trying to help.”

As a parting thought, Aaron relayed that he and many other members of the Pasadena veterans all do things in their own unique ways to support the club, and would enjoy an occasional unsolicited “thank you.” Aaron remembers when things weren’t as easy for Pasadena RFC. Fields were difficult to come by. Finances were a day-to-day challenge. At times there were only 7 – 10 players at practice. Our now familiar after practice pizza and beer were not waiting for us on Thursday nights. Nevertheless, there were a faithful few (led by Chip Kelly, Jim Ciampa, Angelica, Aston, Rooney and several others) who saw the team through those lean times. He is hopeful that those new to the team appreciate the journey to date and are equally willing to weather adversity, should it come, to build upon the team’s history.

There you have it. One more person you know a little more about…tune to http://www.the2ndrow.blogspot.com/ for more commentary on my life…should be entertaining, devoid of facts, but entertaining!

Oops,

Tanner
p.s., several players have asked why I end my emails with oops. Quite a simple story really. I completely understand that we play a sport that is more prevalent in other countries compared to the US, but that doesn’t mean because we play a “foreign sport” we have to use their lingo as well. I didn’t want to use “cheers” as a sign off or “ciao.” I even find myself cringe when I call my cleats "boots," but I regularly do… Sitting at my computer, about to write my first emails as President, I thought, “What is the complete opposite of cheers?" I came up with, "Oops!” Oh, and when I would send out emails to the team, I always had one or two (maybe 5) factual errors that required me to send a second (or third) email with corrections…. so “Oops” made perfect sense given my “I am soooo not as organized as Coach Bryant” nature.