USQRA Quad Rugby Tournament is Big Eye Opener for Local Team.

On Friday February 5th The North Texas Cowboys played their first real quad rugby game against Possibilities Crown, a team from Southern California.  They lost the game by 16 points…  But at the end of the game no one was hanging their head.  They were ecstatic, they played beyond their expectations and they played hard as a team.  There were a total of 7 teams from all around the country that came to play.  Crown went on to take first place in the tournament and the Cowboys continued to lose the rest of their six games.

This tournament wasn’t about winning or losing for the Cowboys it was about getting experience and playing together as a team.  They are a brand new team brought together from playing recreational quad rugby through RISE Adventures.   Only two players #17 Clint Caudel (1.5) and #7 Chris Post (1.5) had played on a USQRA team before.   The rest of the team had just started the classification process the night before their first game.   This was also the first time they had legitimate lineups.  Head Coach Andy Burton and assistant coach Chris Goad had a deep lineup of low pointers to work with but only a few high pointers.   #42 William (3.0) was the workhorse high pointer for the team until his rugby chair took a death star blow and was sent to the recycle bin.  Will is now waiting on a grant for his new chair.

The Cowboys were proud of their accomplishments over the weekend.  They realized coming into the tournament a win would be just out of their reach playing against teams that had been together for 10 plus years.  But now they know what they are up against and expect the Cowboys to come back next year with more speed, experience, and even a trick or two up their sleeves. The Cowboys hope to roster a complete USQRA team next year to travel and compete out of state.  They are currently looking for sponsors, coaches, equipment, and volunteers.  If you would like to donate contact And Burton at andy-burton@hotmail.com.

CLICK HERE for more photos.

CLICK HERE to watch the CBS 11 news report.