BYU Rugby Assistant Coach Kimball Kjar: Interview of the Week

In a departure from the usual, "Interview of the Week" introduction, I would like to preface this particular interview with a personal story. And while I'm sure Coach Kjar probably doesn't recall this experience, there's no way I would soon forget it...

As a freshman, I tried out and made the BYU Rugby team in the Fall of 2001. At that time, Coach Kjar was also on the team as a junior or senior starter. He had recently been selected to be a member of the US National Team, and so many of us new players didn't know what to expect.

It wasn't often that he practiced directly with all of us less-experienced players, and so I think many of us harbored a sort of uncertainty and intimidation with respect to his capabilities. There came a day, however, when we had to do tackling drills... against Eagle and All-American Scrumhalf Kimball Kjar...

Suffice it to say that we got a firsthand lesson in destruction... and I say we because it was actually three of us players that tried to take him down at the same time... Yeah... "tried"... we might as well have been trying to uproot a tree trunk! He carried the three of us probably a good ten meters or so before stopping (that is, I don't think he ever got taken down)...

Thank goodness we were all on the same team! That's all I have to say about that... ;)

And so, without further ado, BYU Rugby Forever humbly presents this week's guest, a former BYU Rugby star, All-American, US Eagle, and now BYU Rugby Assistant Coach, Kimball Kjar. (Paul Meyers Photo)


BYU Rugby Forever:
Throughout your rugby career, you essentially ran the gamut of opportunities available in the realm of American rugby. Now that you are off the pitch, acting as an assistant coach, how has your perspective of the game changed? What factors enabled the transition from player to coach?

Kimball Kjar:
The perspective is simply flipped. When you’re playing you need to know what your coaches are thinking and what their expectations are in order to perform to your best ability. As a coach you are asking yourself questions about what the players are thinking and what their expectations are. Anticipating those things as a player and a coach is one of the things that I believe make a player or coach successful.

BYU Rugby Forever:
What is your end-goal with respect to the future of the BYU Rugby program?

Kimball Kjar:
Primarily, I want to continue to help make BYU rugby what it was for me—a place where a person can grow mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. The uniqueness of our goals and objectives on and off the field make our program a brotherhood compared to no other and those relationships will be carried for the rest of a player’s life.

After that, I think I’d be dishonest if I didn’t say I wanted to see us continue to win rugby games, win the Wasatch Cup and compete every year for a national championship.

BYU Rugby Forever:
What adjustments will the BYU Rugby team have to make this year with cutbacks being made to the former, near-50-man roster? Any potential depth issues? Other concerns?

Kimball Kjar:
There are benefits and drawbacks. You just have to focus on what things you have control over—good or bad. Fortunately, we have a great staff and support system behind the scenes of the program that make any cutbacks in roster size a good thing. We can focus on recruiting more poignantly, our trainings are more focused and the pace is at a higher level since the talent continues to increase every year amongst our entire team.

With all this we can as coaches focus on developing a team that is playing at a high level instead of having to spread ourselves over 80+ players like we used to in the past. But looking back on last year when we were first faced with the cut in roster size, the benefits have clearly outweighed the drawbacks.

BYU Rugby Forever:
Please describe your experience during the 2009 National Title match against Cal Berkeley. What did the win mean for you and for the program? Future implications?

Kimball Kjar:
Words can hardly describe how pleased I was with last year’s team. They faced adversity from every corner and proved to be one of the most mentally-tough teams I’ve seen at BYU in a long time. They proved their mettle throughout the season and in that title match to come back against the best program in the country.

Honestly, I think it got a big monkey off our back of being the consummate doormat rival of Cal for three years in a row, but I believe it will open up greater and more competitive rugby across the country. If the 2009 season was any implication of the rising standard of collegiate rugby, then the future is bright for not only BYU, but for other teams to compete against the best like Cal. Teams like Arkansas State, San Diego State, Dartmouth, LSU, PSU, Army and others are showing that rugby on the collegiate level has a bright spot in USA Rugby’s future.

BYU Rugby Forever:
As a coach, what points do you primarily focus on with players to ensure their skill development, personally and collectively?

Kimball Kjar:
I was an effort-based player. I wasn’t always the handiest or most expert player, but I made up for it with my preparation and maximum effort on the field. I expect the same from the players I coach. In other words, we train our backs like we expect them to play—fast, hard, dynamically and smart. It’s the individual player’s onus to take charge of training in that fashion and it’s the group’s responsibility to ensure that the individuals are adhering to the same high level objectives.

In that way, the group becomes a self-governing entity that only needs mild correcting and coaching along the way. I wish I could say I had anything strategically to do with our back’s play in that national championship comeback, but it was their internal will to win and rugby acumen that aided to the team’s success. Not my coaching. That game was a good example of our preparation model: the basic skills coupled with effort beget sound rugby principles, and those principles coupled with good decision-making from the individual player and team begets a successful outcome. I try to build our back line play around those ideals.

BYU Rugby Forever:
How can we BYU Rugby alumni and/or fans everywhere better support the program? Thoughts?

Kimball Kjar:
We are one of the luckiest programs in the country to have the following and support of the fan base that we do. I can’t say how many times I’ve been stopped by someone to say congratulations on our national championship. The community around BYU and here in the state has firmly latched on to our success and the administration has been great with helping us off the field.

Our Alumni have always been there for us and we couldn’t have done any of this without not only their financial support, but also their leading our program to where it is today through their own contributions on the field when they played without the chance to compete for a national championship. We hope that we can continue to live up to the ideal set by our Alumni, our administration and our many fans. Keep cheering the Cougars on!

BYU Rugby Forever:
Many thanks for the insights, Coach Kjar. Best of luck this season!

Kimball Kjar:
No worries. Thank you as well.