South African rugby star Andre Snyman has joined the Glendale Raptors staff to coach the new Raptors Sevens team.

He took the position just days before the Raptors' 15 man team wrapped up their spring season as National Champions, and he will be leading the march carrying that momentum through the summer around the country and on the home field at Infinity Park. Snyman and the Raptors Sevens are off to a very good start. They were on top at the Harlequin Cup in Irving, Texas in June and came home from San Diego with wins in all three matches played there last month.

The Sevens team will extend the rugby season at Infinity Park and it promises to boost the level of play for the Raptors, especially with Andre Snyman at the helm. For a decade, Snyman was a big player for South Africa's Springboks. The Springboks became familiar to America's mainstream through the 2009 film, Invictus, but South Africa has played a role in international rugby for over 100 years.

In addition to his long running contribution to the Springboks, Andre Snyman enjoyed a successful professional career in England. While playing in England and in France he participated in coaching clinics, but that was limited due to restrictions against team coaching for professional players.

Since retiring as a player in 2007 he has stayed active in the rugby community of South Africa with development coaching in townships, schools and clubs including the Varsity College Old Boys club in his hometown, Durban.

Making A Difference

Andre says that the typical career route for a rugby professional of his caliber is to go where the game is developed and 'where the money is', but he chose to think out of the box. "If you go to South Africa or Australia, New Zealand or England, yeah the game is developed, but are you really going to make a difference as a coach?" He continues. "That’s why I made this decision; because I see a big opportunity in America to help the players and coaches develop the game and take it to the next level - and my gut tells me that I can make a difference."

Snyman's path to Glendale began in South Africa at a family BBQ where he chatted with a friend over a couple of beers and mentioned that he was interested in coaching in the U.S. That friend was a coaching colleague of Glendale Raptors Head Coach Mark Bullock and, as Andre says, one thing leads to another. "Steve Tarr, one of Glendale's coaches is from my hometown, Durban, and he played for the Old Boys where I coached." He goes on. "After Steve and I emailed each other and talked numerous times, I said to my wife 'Lets take the leap of faith - let's just do it."

Destination Glendale

Not only did Andre take the risk of launching his coaching career in the States where rugby is a relatively new sport, he chose to join the Glendale Raptors, one of the youngest rugby teams in the country.

Gazing at the pitch in Infinity Park, Snyman wears a winning smile that validates his decision. "If you just look around at this facility, you can see that they have spent time and effort and, obviously, money into setting up this whole project and the fact they actually won the Championship is absolutely a bonus." He continues. "Players are going to start talking now and they’re going to be saying that's the way to go."

Andre says that in South Africa and New Zealand everybody’s talking about how, once rugby takes off in America, they’re going to be a big force to be reckoned with in the international arena. "I always say to my friends that I see America as a sleeping giant, and its true." He continues, pointing to Infinity Park and the Glendale Raptors. "They’ve got the facility, they’ve got the coaches, they're drawing the players - and that’s the way to move towards semi-professional and hopefully a professional era in America."

Sevens Means Action

The enthusiasm of Glendale's new coach is as much about the Sevens game as it is about working in new territory where he hopes to make a difference. Sevens rugby is played by a team of seven players with seven minutes of play for each side which amounts to a fifteen minute match.

The Sevens rugby game has been approved as an Olympic sport, which explains the focus on Sevens teams in organizations like the Glendale Raptors who have concentrated more on building their competitive 15 man game in early team development.

However, when Andre Snyman talks about the nuances of the Sevens rugby game he gets wild eyed over the action. "Sevens is a game with a lot of action - quick, fast, sharp, high impact, then next team, next team." He grins like a kid and says, "I love Sevens and, when I got the opportunity to coach Sevens here, I thought, 'you know what?' its my calling."

As a professional player, Andre was obligated to stick to the 15 man rugby game; but early in his career he played on the Springboks Sevens team and in 1997 went to the World Cup Championship in Hong Kong where they lost to Fiji in the finals.

The Sevens team means more Glendale rugby at Infinity Park. Summer is typically off-season for the Glendale Raptors, but the players who have joined the Sevens team will be playing fast paced rugby through the summer months.

Andre Snyman is confident that his work with the Glendale Raptors will be worthwhile. “It really feels nice to be part of something where everybody’s got the vision and the same goal.” He explains, “Whether you are a city mayor, a water carrier, a coach or a player, when everybody’s got the same goal and works toward it, that’s a great recipe for success.”