How Mike Friday is building a resilient Kalinga Black Tigers

In 2014, Mike Friday took over the reins of the teetering United States national rugby 7s team after successful stints with the Kenyan and English national squads.

When he bid adieu, a decade later, the squad had amassed two Pan American Games medals and noteworthy performances at three Olympic Games, two Rugby World Cup 7s and at 85 World Series tournaments.

Such was his influence that USA Rugby CEO, Bill Goren, called Mike’s impact on the sport in the country as “indelible.”

But unlike his previous roles of working with national teams, coaching the Kalinga Black Tigers (KBT) in the Rugby Premier League (RPL), offered Mike a different challenge – that of developing a relatively new sport in India.

‘Technical competence first’

Speaking to this publication, Mike acknowledged the significance of the league: “RPL is a cradle-to-grave opportunity for Indian players to develop and participate, and to rub shoulders with marquee international players.”

While the players would undoubtedly get exposure via the league itself, the task at hand for Mike was to channel the energies of the players. And his approach is steeped in simplicity.

“When you come to this environment and when you’re operating in leagues like the RPL in its inaugural year in a country like India where rugby is new, you have to expect nothing, you have to keep the game simple and you have to go back to the basics,” he explains.

Having been a player in his formative years and after having worked across the world, Mike recognizes that it is important to do the fundamentals right.

“Ultimately, it is about technical competence first. If you have to be successful in this game, technically, you have to do the basics very well. What do I mean by that, I mean pass and catch, I mean ball presentation, I mean tackling, your cleaning, your ability to move the ball. That coupled with physical preparation and attributes will get you a long way to start with,” says the 53-year-old.

And so, all his preliminary training sessions with the KBT squad were built on a core principle of doing the basics right and allowing players to play around a simple structure that they can relate and adapt to.

Bravery of the tiger

The progress has been incremental for KBT and as per Mike, the first couple of weeks in training, although tough, yielded results.

“We started to see some shoots of development. They are starting to understand that they have to look after the ball, you can see that some of the techniques they have been taught about how to ball-present, how to get their body high and right at cleaning, is coming to fruition,” says Mike.

And these are reflecting in their performances on the field as well.

After losing the first two games, KBT roared back to hold Chennai Bulls and have since notched up victories against Delhi Redz and Mumbai Dreamers.

Innovation and the use of wide-angle camera videos to show players what happens to the game when they are ‘off the ball’ has helped KBT’s cause.

The Indian players, according to Mike, are now recognizing the importance of work ethic and attitude on the pitch. This is a considerable change from when the squad started working together, when initially, the players tended to switch off when the ball moved away from them.

Also helping Mike’s cause is the squad’s very own mascot – Odisha’s black tiger.

“Within the team, we embrace the spirit and the bravery of the tiger and the ability to bring the smart thinking individual, to contribute to the ambush, and ambush like a pack of tigers,” says Mike.

And these are the values that he wishes to see in his Indian players.

A long-term strategy

Given the tough nature of the sport, hunger and positivity are vital to a rugby player. And Mike is constantly looking to cultivate and unearth those tenets in his players.

“I need to see a positive attitude. I need to see resilience,” he says.

According to Mike, while the Indian players have been presented with a fantastic opportunity with KBT at the RPL, they have been “thrown into the deep end of the swimming pool.”

To swim out of it, the Englishman feels that the players will have to watch, learn and sustain the hunger to persevere.

“That will give them the benchmark and the foundation to then go and coach their local players in their local regions from everything that they have been blessed with over these weeks at the RPL and KBT.”

Mike’s philosophy, therefore, is one that fosters trust via continuous improvement and learning. And all he asks in return from his squad is “communication, resilience, and empathy.”

After all, the RPL and KBT for Mike are not about short-term winnings, but about long-term strategy.

“Let’s judge the KBL not in year one, but where they are in terms of their contributions in 10-years,” he concludes.