One of the future leaders on the pitch for the University of Delaware's Rugby Club might just be a kid from New York City.

Well, not just any kid.

"He became an asset to the team immediately," says Delaware's head coach Bjorn Haglid. He is referring to John Gearity, a 2010 high school All-American, a key member of the 2010 Boy's National High School Champions Xavier High School, and the 2010 Delaware Rugby Foundation's (DRF) University of Delaware Rugby Scholarship winner.

"When the Foundation offered me the scholarship, I realized that I've accomplished something with my athletic abilities," says Gearity. Receiving the scholarship was one of the primary reasons that he decided to attend the University of Delaware; Gearity is the fourth student-athlete to win this award. "Rugby taught me all the basics that any other sport would give you. It also helped me form stronger bonds with friends, and provided me with a sense of family."

Gearity comes from a high school program that features four different levels of rugby--two varsity squads, one junior varsity team, and a freshmen team.  Most of the players were also teammates on the Xavier Football team. Mike Tolkin, the Head Coach of Xavier's Rugby team explains that "[Gearity] earned the starting fly-half role as a sophomore, and after some growing pains, he developed into an excellent tactical leader. His great hands and sharp passing skills helped John to become an excellent fly half."

This fall Gearity was assigned to the University of Delaware's Division III (D3) Rugby Club as the starting fly-half. New players and those with high school experience make up the D3 team, which is coached by Tom Conrad. The D3 Club competes in the  Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union's(EPRU) Eastern Division.

The experience of starting for the Division Three III has served as a testing ground for Gearity's game, 'the pace picks up more in college" he explains, "guys are bigger and you need to know what you are doing in order to be successful. In high school the coaches set the plays, but in college you are given a lot of responsibility as far as strategy and decision making." He has also worked on identifying his strengths and weaknesses as a fly-half by realizing that, in order for the team to be successful, he needs to "put myself out there as a threat first," and that "[his] goal is to work the inside game in order to set-up tries."  

The challenge of new teammates coupled with a change in the style of game play could have derailed this promising player; however, Gearity's level of maturity and knowledge of the sport have aided him in successfully taking the step-up to a new level of playing.

According to the EPRU's website, the University of Delaware Rugby Club's D3 team went 4-1 in the regular rugby season. After a very close victory in the semi-final match against the D3 Western Champion Franklin and Marshal Rugby Club, the D3 squad went on to win the EPRU D3 title in a tough game against The College of New Jersey (5-0), who had previously beaten Delaware 41-5 in September. "They were big and athletic," says Gearity, "but our patience in our play is the reason we were successful."

Haglid explains that the future looks promising for Gearity, "The coaching staff looks forward to seeing Gearity play in some matches against the likes of Penn State, Navy and Army in the Collegiate Premier League. So do the players around him, who are beginning to realize his potential."

For more information regarding the DRF's University of Delaware Rugby Scholarship, please visit http://www.derugbyfoundation.org/scholarship.html.