Live Oak is preparing to adjust to a new league
Morgan Hill – There will be a new look to the Live Oak rugby team that has moved conferences and is fielding three different squads.
The Acorns are making the switch from the Skyhawk Confernce to the tougher Bay Conference.
Coach Bart Nielsen said the difference is the switch allows Live Oak to field not only a varsity team but also junior varsity and frosh/soph teams.
“The main reason (for the switch) is to get the young guys a game every week,” Nielsen said. “Skyhawk had some good teams, but not a lot of good programs. By that I mean there were a lot of clubs that only had 20-25 players, not 40 to 50.”
Having squads with more players, Nielsen said, allows clubs to field the younger level teams, something that Live Oak has always been able to do and the Bay Conference will allow them to use.
The switch will also mean both tougher competition and farther away games.
Schools in the conference include Antioch, De La Salle, San Francisco Golden Gate and defending conference champion Lamorinda.
“It means more travel time, but I figure we get a bigger bang for our buck,” Nielsen said.
Last season, the Acorns went undefeated in conference play, taking the Skyhawk title. Overall, the Acorns went 17-2-1, losing in the quarterfinals of the Nor Cal championships.
Live Oak will attempt to relive that success, but will be doing so without leading scorers Erik Cifuentes and Dustin Muhn, both of whom graduated last year.
Nielsen said his returning and new players will be able to make plays, but said he still is looking for someone who can replace the speed Muhn, who is now at Cal.
“It’s going to be very difficult to fill Dustin Muhn’s shoes, he was an exceptional player,” Nielsen said. “Where we’re going to recruit heavily is speed. We need a little more speed.”
Nielsen said the team already knows how to adjust for Muhn’s absence, since the squad last year didn’t rely on Muhn alone to create plays.
“(Last year) we still had several players who could step up and make plays,” Nielsen said.
Several players from last year will be returning, including senior Victor Kalata, who Nielsen said can be very physical on the field.
“He is a hard punishing runner,” Nielsen said. “He does not have the speed, but he is very physical.”
Joining Kalata are Garrett Webb, Mark McHenery and Nic Muhn, who all played on last year’s squad.
Nielsen said he is still looking for a few more players to round out the team on all three levels.
Live Oak will open at home Jan. 20 against the Sonoma Dragons. League play will begin the week of Feb. 9.
Overall, Nielsen said he is looking forward to the season starting.
“It is going to be a huge challenge, but I think we’re up for it,” Nielsen said.
