Cerra “C-Train” Cardwell is a true New Englander growing up playing field hockey and lacrosse like every good prep school student. She discovered rugby her freshman fall at Trinity College (aka yuppy epicenter) and never looked back. She currently serves as VP for the Village Lions Rugby Football Club and likes to remind everyone about it.

The two things that make her happiest are hitting the fly half off a defensive scrum and making kids laugh. Eating cheese is a very close third.

She is grateful to LIL’ RUGGERS for giving her the opportunity to share her love of the best sport on earth with NYC’s youngest (and most adorable) athletes and keeping her laughing every step of the way.

Ryan grew up on Long Island and has been playing sports his whole life.  Unfortunately, it was a long time before he found rugby.  Through his childhood and high school he was competitive in baseball, wrestling, and golf, but his first real love was football.  Ryan was a captain on his high school football team and continued playing at Cornell, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree.  In the magical Winter of 2004 (Ryan’s sophomore year), some of his college friends convinced him to spend his offseasons from football playing rugby.  It was one of the best choices he ever made!  He found rugby to be a fast-paced, exciting game, which allowed him to do something his football coaches never did: Run with the ball!  He also learned that the rugby community–across genders–has more camaraderie than any other sporting community he’d ever seen.  For the rest of college, Ryan continued to split his time between football and rugby.

After college, it was law school–again at Cornell.  Between classes and studying, Ryan coached the Cornell Men’s Rugby Club.  It was here that he found his love for coaching–working with players to unlock the best in themselves.  While Ryan continues to play rugby for the New York Rugby Club as a scrumhalf, he is also an Associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

Growing up on the Isle of Wight, a little Island off the coast of the south of England, Joe’s pace of life, was to say the least, a little slower.  Sport was certainly not a priority, and thus most children missed out on many of the amazing aspects that sport brings such as confidence, social skills, being part a team, and having an identity. Luckily for Joe, he happened to be rather speedy and a rugby club came a knocking!  Rugby changed his life.  It brought him out of my shell, he made friends for life, grew in confidence, and me people from all walks of life.  His rugby expertise aided his acceptance into Europe’s premier sports college, Loughborough University, where he was privileged to train under and alongside some of the best coaches and trainers in the world.  Hunter has continued a career in rugby, representing the UK at an under 19 level, playing semi-pro ,and taking care of the strength and conditioning for professional teams.  Through all of this, he claims it is in the coaching of children where the greatest rewards can be found.  Joe remembers what it was like starting out, and how rugby changed his life for the better.  “Helping others start out on that journey and watching them flourish, is the best job in the world.”

Daniel has been involved in Rugby his whole life.  He started playing when he was seven years old and developed an early passion for the game.  Whilst growing up he played for a number of Representative team’s in Queensland, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand.  During his final year of high school he played for the winning, Premiership 1^st XV, which then went on to win the Queensland Schools Championship.  He started his university degree and continued to play rugby union and rugby league for the next three years for various teams in the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Perth Competitions.  In 2011 Daniel received the opportunity to play and help develop rugby in Europe.  He started off playing for a team in the Spanish National Division and then moved to Germany to play in the Bundesliga.  After Germany he went to Rhodes in Greece and helped coach and grow the game there.  Ever on the move, he traveled to France, and was living in Narbonne, training and negotiating a contract with a number of Pro D2 and Top 14 Academies.  Unfortunately for LIL’ RUGGERS, he will return to French negotiations in August of 2012, but until then, we’re  lucky enough to have this star touring coach!