As the saying goes, soccer is a gentleman’s game played by ruffians, and rugby is a ruffian’s game played by gentlemen. So, it makes sense that the valley wide club rugby team featuring six players from Aspen is named the Junior Gents. So far this season the passionate team members of the Junior Gents are third in their league and playing very successfully.

“We have a spread out talent which is what you need to win. Coming from a football mentality it’s very difficult for these guys to understand that the team really is better than the individual,” head coach Gary Williams said, “It always takes two or three games to start the gel and if and when and it’s always been when not if, they all become friends and understand each other and it gets really good. We have a very tight valley wide team, there’s no sort of cliques.”

The six players from Aspen of a 19 players team are Oscar Solis, Nik Morgan, Nick Hanle, Giovanni Valasquez, Laughlin McIntyre and Keenan McIntyre. Practices are at the Willits field in Basalt on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:30-7:00 PM. With their five to one record, their two and a half hour practices have clearly paid off. They typically beat other teams by 2o points and are now going to the playoffs.

“Having the ability to play with other students from different schools is so much fun and it’s not like any other game where sometimes you get lucky. In rugby there’s not really such a thing as luck except for when you’re kicking the ball. Most of the time you have to work really hard to get the score that you want and so when we win by so much it’s really rewarding,” AHS junior Oscar Solis said.

Playoffs take place April 25^th at the Dick’s Sporting Good Field in Denver where they will compete against Fort Collins and their biggest competition, the Titans from Denver. There are eight teams competing, which consist of mostly teams from Denver or Colorado Springs. If the team wins the quarterfinals they’ll go on to the semi-finals and move on to the finals if they win. There is an all-state select team where some of the Junior Gents might be heading after the Playoffs. About a month after Playoffs the all American Selections are made where players will have a chance to represent their country.

It’s said that coaching and teaching are among the most rewarding of occupations; it’s no different for the Junior Gents.

“Seeing them go from zero ability individually and collectively to featuring in the playoffs and 3 state finals in 3 years,” Williams said is the most gratifying part of instructing the team.