Yesterday's announcement of 7s coach Al Caravelli's resignation lacks credibillity, fostering an inference nearly as significant as the change itself.
The 7s Eagles had not been playing well, and as is typical of losing teams, there was talk of unhappy players. In a professional environment, so much is sufficient grounds for action.
According to USARFU's press release, Caravelli, who for six years sustained a breakneck balancing of responsibility for one of the union's highest-profile teams with the demands of enterprise software sales, suddenly gave up. With no warning, a lifelong rugby man made this decision scarcely two months into an Olympic era which he helped create, and just two weeks before Hong Kong, the abbreviated game's signature event.
If chair Kevin Roberts and chief executive Nigel Melville decided it was necessary to make an immediate change, they should have said so. Authority which is untethered to clear direction and policy is the essence of unaccountability. It is caprice that undermines future performance, because no one else can be on firm ground.
Reached by telephone, Caravelli reiterated the decision was personal in nature and declined further comment. Melville did not respond to queries. The union said it would unveil information about Caravelli's successor 'within the next 24 hours'.
Taking the reins in 2006, Caravelli began his tenure as the USA 7s tournament was beginning life under private management and the International Rugby Board was accelerating its campaign to get the abbreviated game into the Summer Olympics. These were primary catalysts for a better resourced, more competitive team.
The Eagles had been playing only sporadically on the Sevens World Series. By year two, the 2007-08 campaign, the US began a streak of qualifying for the cup, or winner's bracket, at least twice per season for three consecutive seasons. (Rugby Magazine has a good summary.) Put another way, for the first time the US grew capable on any given weekend of beating most any team in the world.
The highwater mark was reaching the finals of the 2010 Australia 7s, in a year that saw the Eagles finish 10th on the world circuit.
Having risen from 15th at the end of 2005-06, players such as Todd Clever, Chris Wyles, and Takudzwa Ngwenya developed bona fide international notoreity. USARFU, its dreams of fostering domestic pro competition gaining no traction, decided to export these stars to Europe in order to get them superior 15s training.
Thus Caravelli quickly lost a standout generation. Some new stars like Kevin Swiryn came along, and they too went overseas.
Meanwhile, the US appeared to lose ground technically. At its height, despite possessing average team speed, the Eagles scored as many long-range tries as anyone on the tour. The 2011-12 edition still counts on long-range touchdowns, but tends to lose the ball in contact, meaning it is scoring less.
A year ago, the Eagles slipped to a single quarterfinal appearance, and 12th in the standings. Halfway through the present season, the trajectory has degraded further: Its win-loss percentage at its lowest since 2006, the team lies in 13th place, behind Canada, which is not a series regular, even as clamor for 'core' membership has grown sufficient for the IRB to add 3 more teams beginning next year.
The 2011-12 season has marked another watershed. After USARFU failed to deliver 7s contracts in 2009, admission to the Summer Games opened the door for Boulder to gain promotion to full membership of the US Olympic Committee, up from the affilate status it gained in 1998. In this, Caravelli as well as Melville and vice chair Bob Latham were key figures.
Subsequently, USARFU launched an 'off site' training program at the Olympic Training Center near San Diego. A dozen players are now under contracts worth approximately $20,000 per year, forming the expected core of the Eagle squads which compete on the world circuit.
Caravelli, whose schedule sees him shuttling among the OTC; northern California, headquarters of his employer, a newly public company; sales trips; and his home in New York Connecticut, was almost certain to face teething problems. Particularly under the aegis of the USOC, coaching the 7s has clearly become a full-time job.
In many ways it is more important than the 15s side, and there is nothing inherently wrong with making a change under the present circumstances. Coaching is an unstable profession; it happens all the time in American pro sports; and teams are frequently the better for it.
As Caravelli says he stepped aside for personal reasons, one can only take him at his word. Yet it would not be out of character for USARFU, a member-supported organization which does not so much as publish its budget, to have sought to avoid the more difficult path of explaining itself.
Having made the midseason change, the union has no time to conduct a formal search for a replacement. There is no program for developing elite-level 7s coaches, and the alternative of bringing in a proven foreign coach -- which are generally thin on the ground -- would be complicated by the time-consuming process of certifying that no domestic coach could do the job.
All-American 7s coach Alex Magleby, a past 7s Eagles, and women's 7s coach Rick Suggit, already resident in San Diego, are presumed the likely candidates to succeed Caravelli.
Related:
Surging 7s Eagles could be facing turnover
Roster building highlight of 7s weekend
Melville touts prospect of Eagle 7s contracts
San Diego residency plan for 7s Eagles
American citizenship required for USOC 7s program
This kind of post is why you get so much criticism Kurt. It is standard in American sports to allow coaches to resign and save face. Calling out USA Rugby for potentially allowing him to do so only takes away from the credibility of your legitimate criticisms and concerns.
Posted by: Realist | 01 March 2012 at 15:47
Al had zero warning this was coming. The chickens#!ts at USAR crafted the press release and then told him about it afterwards. Please keep paying your CIPP to these bottom-feeders. Mags and Tolks are brave souls to be aligned with this leadership.
Posted by: reliable inside info | 01 March 2012 at 17:09
Meh. How many press releases have I read, either politicians or sports coaches that said they resigned for 'family reasons'? That's code for either leave or get fired or we're making a change and will allow you to save face. No biggy. Or maybe Al told them to take a hike and they let him slip out with no drama. Either way, this is pretty par for the course for coaches leaving teams.
Posted by: Sergeant Hulka | 02 March 2012 at 20:53
I hear ya Sarge...
But if you know Al and how much he did for the program, they would at least given him the courtesy of finishing out the season. He put family and work aside many times for the good of the team. The team played well in LV and were a few unlucky bounces and calls away from winning the closer matches. It would've been cool to see how things went in the next stops. He did so much behind the scenes as well. I hope that Magelby can keep it going.
Posted by: reliable inside info | 03 March 2012 at 06:46
Al nearly snapped in Vegas, or perhaps he did.
Posted by: Ray Schwartz | 06 March 2012 at 21:00