Coaching Staff at Chinook Rugby
All Photo Credits – Melissa Olin-Brewer – 4Ever Photography
2/4th Grade
Click Here For Coach Contact
| Carole Busselaar
Head Coach
|
 |
Carole was introduced to Rugby in 2019 when her daughter started playing with Girls Rugby.
Like many parents she wanted to help out so jumped right in her first season to assist the coaching team. Volunteered as extra help with the short 2020 season and was back in 2021 with her daughter and her younger son that also loved the fun of rugby. Has been coaching both Spring and Fall leagues and contributing her time to the Chinook Rugby Club ever since.
Carole is a USA Rugby Certified Coach for non-tackle teams
When asking the Youth Head Coach about Carole, he said; “Carole is a real asset to the me and the team. I couldn’t coach all the many great kids we get all by myself, so having her there helping means we get to have teams for these young rugby players. I must confess I sometimes struggle with the really young ones, but Carole is there to round them up and have them having fun”.
5/6th Grade
Click Here For Coach Contact
| Mitchell Wells
Head Coach
|
7/8th Grade Girls
Click Here For Coach Contact
| Lance Henwood
Head Coach |
7th/8th Grade Boys
Click Here For Coach Contact
| Gavin Schmitt
Co-Head Coach |
| Trevor Heasley
Co-Head Coach |
High School Girls
Click Here For Coach Contact
| Lance Henwood
Head Coach Rugby Referee |
 |
Like most Kiwis, Lance Henwood couldn’t wait to start school so he could be in his first rugby team and run around bare foot on the icy grass each Saturday morning (kids wear cleats these days but it’s still just as much fun). He played school rugby right through High School and then onto club rugby.
Lance played for the Battle Ground Bulls men’s team in 2016/2017 and still plays Old Boys rugby with the Brahma Bulls and OAF’s (a team made up of coaches from Oregon and SW Washington). He went to Cuba in 2016 to play in an international Old Boys tournament and was honored to be selected to referee the tournament final between Cuba and Canada.
Lance is a USA Rugby Certified Coach at all levels of the game, World Rugby Certified Referee and Certified Match Official Coach.
In April 2008 Lance brought his New Zealand business to the USA and moved to where the biggest clients were, Sioux City. After 5 years experiencing the wonders of the Midwest, he decided to go somewhere more permanent, headed west and settled in Brush Prairie. “Good choice, with great schools and community,” he says. It wasn’t long after a chance meeting that Coach John Fletcher was inviting him to come down and see the local youth rugby program.
What he found was an enthusiastic local group with teams in all grades and playing in a well-organized competition run by Rugby Oregon. He says; “They had got it right; the true spirit of the game, how we play and the inclusion of all the kids, was all there. All the Coaches believed in the rugby philosophy that every kid, no matter size, shape or ability, gets to participate and play/run with the ball”.
In 2014 both his girls started playing and he jumped into coaching the youth grades alongside Coach Brad Batten. Since 2018 he has been enjoying the Head Coach role for the 7/8th Lady-Pack team and the 5/6th grade Co-ed teams. His teams have achieved a State Championship title in both these divisions. When asked about the State Championship Titles Lance reminds me: “Our one and only primary goal is “Have fun at practice and on game days”, and I truly believe in that. Kids that are having fun play well and some years you get a group that just consistently has more fun than other teams.
High School Girls Lady-Pack team came back to the Chinook teams in 2022 with Lance as their Head Coach. Being a supporter of girls playing rugby he started coaching with Girls Rugby Inc. during its first season in 2018. Lance founded the Chinook Rugby Club in 2019 to enable parents to support local coaches and has also founded the Chinook Rugby Nomads team which brings together High School players from North & West Clark County. Spring 2014 was his first official season coaching the kids and he’s looking forward to plenty more. Lance works with schools doing PE classes based on rugby, runs the local summer camps, and after-school programs.
When asked about his coaching philosophy he said that like most certified rugby coaches he has it published for all his players and their supporters to see and was proud to bring out it and share:
Coaches lead during the week and Players lead on game day. I like to coach with a “Player Led” style, where I encourage each player to take on a leadership role of motivation and improvement of the entire squad. On Game Day, Players not Coaches have to make the calls and lead on the field. I believe in “Respect” for each other. I as a coach need to respect all my players and players need to respect, support and encourage their teammates on and off the field to build a strong team.
My philosophy as a player is the same as my philosophy as a coach. It is based on the fundamentals of rugby and sportsmanship: Play Safe, Play Fair, Play Hard. When playing I strive to play to the best of my abilities and to respect the Game, Officials and Opposition.
“What I have now learnt over the years”, says Lance, “is the established fact that Rugby Oregon is the best run youth program in the USA and that Chinook Rugby is one of the strongest clubs in their competition, both in number of players, teams and the spirit in which they play”.
| Alex Kurilenko
Coach
|
HS Boys JV & Varsity
Click Here For Coach Contact
| Durward Holt
Head Coach Rugby Referee |
 |
Started coaching in 2016 with the Chinook Rugby 3/4th Grade for 2 years. Then spent 2 years with the 5/6th coaching team before becoming Head Coach of the Chinook Rugby Rebels 7/8th Grade Boys in 2020.
Durward is a USA Rugby Certified Coach at all levels of the game and World Rugby Certified Referee.
Specialist Coaches
| Duffin McShane
Director of Coach Development
|
 |
| John Fletcher
Specialist Coach – Backs Rugby Referee |
 |
John Fletcher started coaching with the Chinook Rugby Club in 2007 when it was one combined High School team of Prairie & Battle Ground High Schools.
In 2013 the High schools formed their own separate teams. John has been the Head Coach of the Prairie High
School Wolf Pack team since then, retired as Head Coach after the 2019 season and is now supporting and developing multiple teams and new coaches.
John always states that working with local youth has always been the highlight and plays down the fact that Prairie Wolf Pack team under his guidance were State Champions in 2014 and 2019. “Yes, it was great to take those State titles, but it was the team that stepped up and lead when it was needed.
John is a USA Rugby Certified Coach at all levels of the game and a World Rugby Certified Referee.
John is originally from New Zealand and has lived in the Battle Ground area for 19 years. He says “Rugby in New Zealand is like apple pie and baseball in America. It’s part of the fabric of our culture”. Like a lot of Kiwi kids, John started playing when he was 5 years old and played regularly into his 30s.
While travelling around in his mid 20’s, he was able to play in Australia, Hawaii, Southern California, Canada and South America. It’s one of the great things about rugby, you can always find a rugby team and fit right in. John met his wife Kelly, while in California and took her to NZ for a holiday. Seven years and two kids later, they travelled back to the Pacific Northwest to be closer to Kelly’s family.
Around 2003 John heard that youth rugby was starting up in Portland. Both of his kids played in the summer camps in Portland and LOVED it. A high school team was starting up in Battle Ground area in 2005 and he was able to help out coaching with the new team. he has been involved ever since.
John’s son has since graduated Prairie HS and now helps out coaching. From very humble beginnings the BG area now has a men’s team, a BGHS boys team, the Prairie HS boys team, a combined (BG & surrounding areas) Freshman boys team, a combined HS girls team, two 7th & 8th grade boy’s teams, a 7th & 8th grade girls team and four 3rd – 6th grade co-ed teams. “It’s been awesome to be part of all this growth in local Rugby.”
“Rugby Oregon administers our league in SW Washington, and provides the best support for creating a fun and positive environment for all players. From tall and thin – short and stout – fast and not so fast there is a spot for every player and they all get to play.”
John looks forward to having many young adults and juniors continue to enjoy this great sport.
| Bradford Batten
Specialist Coach – Forwards Rugby Referee |
 |
Brad Batten has been playing since around 2008. He played 1 season with the Portland Pigs, and has been with the Battle Ground Bulls ever since. Brad began playing Loose Head Prop, moving to Hooker when he joined the Bulls. In 2019, the Bulls and the Clark County Chiefs merged to advance their goal of building a regionally dominant men’s club. Once he hit a “certain” age, he began playing with the Brahma Bulls & Oregon OAF’s.
This is what sets him apart from the vast majority of youth sports coaches out there. He still plays on three different teams, and as such he has intimate, first-hand knowledge of the most up to date rules and techniques”. In 2018 he traveled to Munich as part of a select Old Boys side, where his team finished undefeated in first place.
Brad is a USA Rugby Certified Coach at all levels of the game.
Since Brad began playing, Liam (his oldest) has been coming out to training with him and running with the men. Brad began coaching rugby in 2012 and has been coaching ever since. He began when Liam started playing in 4th grade and he continues to play hooker, and utility front row.
Brad says: “In just a few short years, our little club has grown from fewer than 30 to roughly 200 amazing rugby players in 2019. This is a sport you can play for your whole life. We have players as young as 2nd grade, and I’ve played with men well into their 80’s. There is a position and role for every ability, body type, size, and experience level. Anyone can play this sport. It is my goal to instill a love of rugby, hard work ethic, and a sense of teamwork and fair play into every player I have the privilege of coaching. We’re in the business of developing young men and women through rugby.”
Past Coaches
7th/8th Grade Boys
Click Here For Coach Contact
| Reiley Castle
Head Coach |
 |
Reiley Castle started playing rugby in 2013 when he joined the Battle Ground Rebels team before they would rename the club and the team to the Chinook Rugby Rebels. After making it to High School, he would play for the Battle Ground High School Bulls till 2015 but then had to take a less active role due to injury complications.
This didn’t stop Reiley’s involvement as he continued on by supporting his teammates and took on an active role of assisting the Coaches and youth teams.
Reiley is a USA Rugby Certified Coach at all levels of the game.
He started his official coaching career in 2016 with Lisa May as an Assistant Coach for the Chinook Rugby Rebels and stayed with them until spring of 2019. He then had a major involvement in the Fall 7’s series with coaching the 7/8th Grade Boys squad. He was a valued member of this coaching staff taking on the leadership of the team and also managing them on game day. With most of these players coming from Flag Rugby they were new to rucks, scrums, lineouts and tackle. His greatest challenge with this team was the coaching of the safe and effective tackle technique, which he achieved through great coaching skills and excellent communication with the players.
You can hear the enthusiasm in Reiley’s voice as he talks about the love of Rugby from; the first time he got to touch the ball, the exhilarating feeling of running with ball in hand, to supporting his teammates to play to the best of their abilities.
He has no other family involved with the sport, but they are often seen on the sidelines enjoying the rugby atmosphere, supporting Reiley and cheering him on.
Reiley is always talking about how much he loves this game and stated; “It changed my athletic career forever”. He always tries to make a point to the youth he has coached that sportsmanship and comradery are the two most important ideals of the sport. He says; “On the pitch, you give it all you have got to beat the other team. But the moment you hear the final whistle to end the game, everyone is friends from both teams, and win or lose we all get to enjoy the game.”
| Tyler Homer
Head Coach |
 |
Tyler started playing rugby while in high school with the Beaverton Barbarians and immediately fell in love with the game and the community surrounding it. He went on to play in college at Willamette University and then club rugby with the Portland Pigs.
Tyler is a USA Rugby Certified Coach for non-tackle teams.
Coaching has always been an interest for Tyler and he began to help out with the Chinook 5th/6th grade in Spring of 2022 as well as helping with Girls Rugby in the Fall of 2022. As he talks about these first rugby coaching experiences you can tell how much enthusiasm he has to get involved, give back to the game he loves. He wants to inspire the youth starting out in their rugby adventure as this age is a joy to coach. They know how to have fun, absorb so much and develop their skills quickly.
| Daniel Brown
Coach
|
 |
Dan’s daughter Aubrey started playing as Freshman in 2022. He saw that Head Coach Lance Henwood could do with some help with the team so stepped up and got involved with coaching. His enthusiasm was contagious as he motivated the team to 3rd in State in their first year.
Dan is a USA Rugby Certified Coach for tackle teams.
| Ryan Albertson
Head Coach |
 |
Ryan like many parents that support their kids in sport started helping the coaches in 2019 when his son Ronan was in 3rd grade. He was an assistant coach 2020 to 2021 and took up the Head Coach role of the 5/6th grade in 2022.
| Hannah Foster
Head Coach |
 |
Hannah is a former player for the club, playing her sophomore, junior, and senior years in High School for the Lady-Pack team. During her senior year she was Team Captain and was awarded the National Minuteman Award for leadership. She also led the team in her senior year to their first ever High School State Championship title.
She couldn’t keep away from Rugby and the Rugby culture so returned to the club as Assistant Coach for the Chinook Rugby 7/8th Grade Girls Lady-Pack team. The Head Coach tells us; “Hannah is an amazing asset to the team as she draws on her practical playing experience to ensure the best techniques are passed onto the players and her Rugby leadership skills to motivate the team”.
Hannah is a USA Rugby Certified Coach at all levels of the game.
Hannah first got into the sport after watching her brother play for the Prairie Wolf Pack team and her family has been big fans of Rugby ever since. Hannah says her favorite thing about rugby and why her family got involved with the sport was the respect it teaches and the sportsmanship necessary to compete.
Hannah started coaching in Spring of 2019. That season the Lady-Pack team won their first Middle School State Championship title and remained undefeated the entire season. Hannah states; “The moments that made me most proud were watching my team captains award the opposing team “Player of the Match” awards and how much dignity and honor my players brought to the Chinook Rugby club”.
| Olivia Henwood
Coach & Referee |
 |
Since Spring 2017 Olivia Henwood has been an Assistant Coach with the Chinook Rugby 3/4th Grade teams. Rugby is normally just a 2 day a week practice commitment but not for Olivia. She works with the 3/4th Grade at the Monday & Wednesday and practices with her own team on Tuesday & Thursday.
Olivia was born in New Zealand and moved to the USA in 2008. After 5 years in the mid-west, the family moved to Brush Prairie in 2013. Olivia attended High School at Hockinson.
Olivia is a USA Rugby Certified Coach for non-tackle teams and a World Rugby Certified Referee.
Having started playing in 2014 in the 3rd Grade, going through all the grade level/teams, and joined the High School team in 2020. She also having played in the 2018 first season of Girls Rugby Inc. she was back coaching and as a refreree in 2020.
Olivia talks about the friends she has made and the many highlights she has had both playing and coaching Rugby. She said; “The culture and atmosphere on the field and after the game are the most important aspects of Rugby to me”. She plays it down, but one of her achievements was being Captain of the Chinook Rugby 7/8th Grade Lady-Pack team in 2019 when they won their first State Championship title and remained undefeated that entire season.
The Head Coaches tells us; “Olivia is so good to have in the Coaching team as she just loves working with the younger kids and they just love her. With her many years of playing experience she is a huge asset to the coaching staff at all levels”.
Sydney graduates High School in 2023 and like most of our Rugby Players and Youth Coaches moves off to College.
| Holly Akimseu-Leitgeb
Head Coach |
 |
Started coaching in 2018 as Head Coach for the Chinook Rugby 3/4th Grade teams. Also started coaching with Fall Girls Rugby in 2018. In 2020 moved into the Chinook Rugby 5/6th Grade teams.
Holly is a USA Rugby Certified Coach for non-tackle teams
| Dale Cheney
Specialist Coach – Forwards |
 |
Started coaching in 2013 with the Prairie HS Wolf-Pack Varsity team for 7 years until becoming a specialist coach in 2020.
Dale was the Coach of the forwards with the Prairie Wolf Pack team when they were State Champions in 2014 and 2019.
Dale is a USA Rugby Certified Coach at all levels of the game.
| Ben Wall
Coach |
 |
Started coaching as an Assistant Coach to Lisa May 2012 with the Chinook Rugby Rebels 7/8th Grade Boys. Has supported the 7/8th Rebels each year until taking on the Head Coach role with the Chinook Rugby JV Boys team in 2020.
Ben is a USA Rugby Certified Coach at all levels of the game.
| Cameron Stricker
Coach |
 |
Starting coaching with the Chinook Prairie HS Wolf-Pack Varsity team in 2020.
| Matt Newbigging
Head Coach |
 |
Starting coaching with the Chinook Rugby 3/4th Grade teams in 2019 and became the Head Coach in 2020.
Matts plays for the local men’s team and is one of those Rugby players that likes to give back to the sport that has given him so much enjoyment. With his sons now playing he is enjoying the coaching and passing on his skills to the teams he coaches.
Matt is a USA Rugby Certified Coach for non-tackle teams
| Jersey Palomo
Coach & Referee
|
 |
Jersey started playing rugby in 2018 with the Chinook Rugby Hornets 5/6th Grade team, a team of all Hockinson Elementary School players. In that year the Hornets were the first 5/6th team to ever win the State Championship title. She also started playing in the Fall for Girls Rugby Inc. in their inaugural season. In 2020 Jersey wanted to give more back to the sport so started coaching with the Chinook Rugby 3/4th Grade.
Jersey is a USA Rugby Certified Coach for non-tackle teams and a World Rugby Certified Referee.
| Lisa May
Head Coach |
 |
Lisa May’s involvement with rugby started in 2012 when she to help coach Middle School Touch volunteered Rugby when her oldest son Brendon was in 6th grade.
Brendon as a Senior played his final season for Prairie HS Wolf-Pack Varsity in 2018 while her youngest Delaney started just joined her first rugby team in the 4th Grade.
Lisa is a USA Rugby Certified Coach at all levels of the game.
A complete rookie to the sport, Lisa was comfortable at the “Touch” Rugby level as she only needed to learn a few key rules. The club had 3 HS teams in 2012 but just the one 4-6th grade team with 1 new Coach and 8 new kids all eager to learn.
That summer after her first season a coaches meeting was held, and Coach John Fletcher insisted that Lisa would be a great Middle School Tackle Coach. Since she did not know the rules and had never played a tackle sport, Lisa was hesitant to commit. After some pushing from John (and maybe a bit of implied consent), Lisa agreed to take on the role.
Spring 2013 comes around and her previous years Touch squad had grown to 18 kids with 2 teams, but her new Middle School squad only had 10 boys. Her first year of tackle was rough. Her team lost every game, and it was very discouraging for players as the team often didn’t have enough boys to play a full game of 7s.
Determined to grow the program, Lisa along with several other rugby community members put out the word and were able to put together 22 players to form 2 full teams for the 2014 season. She divided the teams as equally as she could, named them “Rebels” and both teams went on to have a very successful season. So much so, that the 2014 Rugby Oregon State Championship finals included BOTH Battle Ground Rebels Teams! The Rebels took first and second place in State that season. The following season with the squad now up to 30 players The Rebels placed 2nd and 3rd in State.
Lisa took two years off from coaching rugby to focus on her responsibilities of being the Head Girls Basketball Coach at Battle Ground High School. She couldn’t stay away for long and was back out on the pitch for the 2019 season with the Chinook Rugby Rebels.
Coach Lisa feels that rugby is a “man-maker” and has gained great inspiration from the youth she has coached.
Unfortunately for Chinook Rugby Lisa moved State after the 2019 season so Indiana will be getting an amazing Rugby coach. Already in the first 2020 season in Indiana Lisa has re-established the local Middle School rugby team and will also be assisting the Leo High School team, who have been State Champs 2 years in a row.
| Sydney Henwood
Coach |
 |
Since Spring 2016 Sydney Henwood has been an Assistant Coach with the 3/4th Grade teams. She enjoys rugby as can be seen by this picture taken in Chicago when the New Zealand All Blacks played the USA Eagles. Sydney is seen here with the All Black and highest ever point scorer in the world, Dan Carter.
Sydney was born in New Zealand and moved to the USA in 2008. After 5 years in the mid-west, the family moved to Brush Prairie in 2013. Sydney attended High School at Hockinson and Clark College.
Sydney is a USA Rugby Certified Coach for non-tackle teams.
Sydney started playing in 2014 in the 6th Grade team and then went on to the 7/8th Grade Girls tackle team when it was first established so trained with the High School Girls team that season. Sydney says; “I enjoy working with the younger kids as they have so much fun when the practice and play on Saturdays. It’s great to witness firsthand their eagerness to learn and support each other”. The Head Coaches tell us; “Sydney is a great asset to the Coaching team, bringing enthusiasm, new ideas and an invaluable player perspective.”
Sydney graduated High School in 2020 and like most of our Rugby Players and Youth Coaches moved off to College.
| Jake Schlaefli
Assistant Coach |
 |
Jake started coaching in Spring of 2019. That season the Lady-Pack team won their first Middle School State Championship title and remained undefeated the entire season.
| Peter Tuck
Coach & Referee |
 |
As a high-level referee Peter is an asset to teams both in execution and interpretation of both old and new laws as the game evolves.
Peter brings a wealth of rugby experience to the coaching team
Peter is a USA Rugby Certified Coach at all levels of the game and World Rugby Certified Referee.
He was also the Referee Performance Director and Allocator for Rugby Oregon and served on the High School Disciplinary Panel.
Peter enjoys social rugby as he is an active player with two or three old boy’s teams.
| Seth Berg
Head Coach |
 |
Seth Berg was coach of the Freshman/JV teams when they were first formed in 2017. These are combined Club teams formed from the High Schools of; Battle Ground, Prairie, Hockinson, Ridgefield, Skyview, Columbia River, Heritage, Woodland, La Center and surrounding areas.
Seth grew up in the Hockinson/Brush Prairie area, graduating from Hockinson High School in 2008. He started playing Rugby a few years later, and according to him, “It was the best decision I ever made.” He played as a Lock and was President for the Battle Ground Bulls Men’s team.
Seth is a USA Rugby Certified Coach at all levels of the game.
Seth got into coaching after a rugby coach he knew invited him to give it a try by assisting coaches. He started with the 7/8th Grade Rebels teams in 2015, and he loved it. Spring 2017 moving to Head Coach of the Chinook Rugby Freshmen/JV team.
Growing up playing sports, Seth had some great coaches that taught him that nothing comes without hard work. It has helped him in not only sports, but life. He believes hard work overcomes talent every time. Rugby is a tough game, not only physically, but mentally. If you want to succeed in Rugby, you have to work hard, and work well with your team. Seth says; “Rugby is an all accepting game, and there is a position for everyone. Battleground Youth Rugby is the perfect example of that, and the perfect place for a kid to learn the great game of Rugby”.
| Andre de Klerk
Head Coach |
 |
Andre was the founder of Rugby in Battle Ground district in 2006 and coached the High School team until he retired in 2018 from coaching and refereeing. Even today all the teams use the pre-game war cry in the South African Xhosa language that Andre introduced to the first team.
Andre is a USA Rugby Certified Coach at all levels of the game and a Referee.
Both his sons Cole and Jode have been rugby crazy since they could walk and a lot of their buddies starting to play rugby regularly on a field on his acreage. This led him to start an official program in Battle Ground District with players from both local high schools Battle Ground and Prairie. His sons then went on to play high school and University at top levels.
He started playing rugby himself at a very early age in South Africa, grade 1 primary school, barefoot, tackle and played at loosie (lose forward) and lock. Then high school Grade 9 he was invited to a 1st team practice and played top side for rest of his schooling at lock. His stint in the army saw me play No. 8 and lock for the regional side, then for a local top side, Olympics RFC (Blues). Then he kept playing for the Old boys for Gardens Tech in Cape Town.
He gives one of his trademark smiles as he says, “I am very proud to see how the Chinook Rugby program has grown under the guidance of many dedicated coaches namely John, Dan, Reed, Lisa, Lance and Brad.