Inside St. Edward's epic turnaround

Alright, I’ve got a badass story for you.

Grab a soda pop and a comfy chair while I tell you how St. Ed’s went from a struggling program to winning their first game on the national stage, all within two years.

Here we go.

It's May 23rd, 2024, and a group of school vans barrels down the freeway en route to St. Edward's High School in Cleveland, Ohio. Inside those vans is a wild scene: boys whoop and holler, high-fives and laughter fill every seat, and an overwhelming sense of youthful joy spills out of the windows into the streets.

One boy bursts into spontaneous song. Another lunges over the seat in front of him to clap a teammate on the back. A third tilts his head back and makes wild-man victory sounds to nobody in particular.

Never mind the sweaty aroma circulating in the air, or the various bruises, split lips, and swollen knees - the telltale signs of a great physical battle. These young men are too busy celebrating to even notice. They have just accomplished something big. In fact, they have just made history: The first St. Edward's High School rugby team to ever win a game at the national tournament.

But if you rewind the clock to just 24 months earlier, these boys wouldn't have believed this moment was possible. They were barely a blip in the national rankings, and their rugby team had dwindled to about 1/3 of its former size.

So what happened? What sparked this massive turnaround? Well, let's go back in time to see how it all unfolded.

2021: Rock Bottom

If you’re thinking “whoa that’s not a lot of kids” then you would be correct.

St. Ed's rugby program had been facing challenges for several years. The team struggled to attract new players and foster a competitive culture. They weren't winning games and it felt like the program was hitting rock bottom.

Jayden Williams (class of 2024) reflected, "We were playing just for fun on the side. It wasn't very serious." Conor McGuirk (2024) added, "There was a disconnect between older and younger players. Older players weren’t hanging out with or helping the younger guys."

Enter Greg Miranda, a former St. Ed's football and rugby player who joined the St. Ed’s rugby program as an assistant coach in 2021. Miranda took on multiple roles, coaching the Freshman and JV teams and overseeing the entire team’s conditioning (read: He made everyone sprint a LOT). Wearing multiple hats gave him a unique perspective on the program's challenges and potential.

While working with the younger players, Miranda quickly noticed the drive and ambition in freshmen like Williams and McGuirk. Their enthusiasm hinted at the untapped potential within the program. More on that in a minute…

When the head coach position opened up for the 2023 season, Miranda initially recommended other candidates. However, when they declined, he stepped into the role, becoming the new Head Coach of St. Edwards High School Rugby.

Little did anyone know, this unexpected turn of events would be the catalyst for a remarkable transformation.