Let’s Play Ball: Rugby stars joins Press-Telegram drive for kids

Longtime pals, Stu Ledsam, who played connected the UCLA nationalist rugby title squad successful 1970-71, and John Morris, a Long Beach restaurateur who was a prima connected the Belmont Shore Rugby Team, person joined the Press-Telegram’s Let’s Play Ball thrust to assistance kids astatine the Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach.

“I privation to assistance kids successful immoderate mode I can,” said Ledsam, an biology extortion contractor. “My beingness has been each astir helping kids.”

Morris, manager astatine the Boathouse connected the Bay, echoed Ledsam’s sentiment.

The Belmont Shore Rugby Club, which went connected to go a championship, was founded successful 1972. Courtesy photo

“Kids are our aboriginal and we request to bash thing we tin to assistance them,” said Morris, who archetypal started playing rugby erstwhile helium was a 5-year-old lad increasing up successful England.

Ledsam and Morris are supporting the Press-Telegram’s 4th yearly Let’s Play Ball thrust with sports balls and donations.

The paper is asking readers to donate caller balls of each kinds and wealth for the clubs’ sports, fittingness and recreation programs, which service much than 3,000 youngsters from ages 6 to 18 each twelvemonth crossed 11 facilities successful Long Beach. The deadline for dropping disconnected the balls is Dec. 17.

Don Rodriguez, CEO of the Long Beach clubs, said Ledsam and Morris person been beardown supporters for years. Ledsam was a justice for the clubs’ 2020 Youth of the Year competition. Ledsam volition beryllium a Youth of the Year justice this twelvemonth also.

“Rugby teaches teamwork, sportsmanship and discipline,” Rodriguez said. “That’s what Stu and John bring to our assemblage and that is what they are helping to bring to our clubs.

“He has go a behind-the-scenes angel for our nine members,” helium added, “going supra and beyond to assistance them successful assemblage and making himself disposable for mentoring.”

Ledsam and Morris took antithetic paths successful beingness earlier gathering successful Long Beach successful the 1970s. Ledsam grew up successful Beaumont, wherever helium ne'er heard of rugby. But that changed successful 1969 erstwhile helium started assemblage astatine UCLA.

“I was walking crossed this tract and saw immoderate guys playing with what looked similar a abdominous football,” Ledsam said. “They said they were playing rugby and asked maine to articulation them. I was successful bully signifier truthful I joined them and played the athletics for 20 years.”

UCLA won 2 nationalist rugby championships with Ledsam connected the team.

Morris grew up successful a blessed but mediocre household successful Windes, England, a municipality known for contamination coming from its chemic plants, not rugby. But Morris played arsenic a kid. He came to the United States erstwhile helium was 15 and yet settled successful Long Beach, wherever helium became a well-known restaurateur.

Morris and Ledsam met accidentally successful 1972 and discovered they had a beardown communal involvement successful rugby. They started the Belmont Shore Rugby Club, which went connected to go a title team.

“John was a tremendous player,” Ledsam said. “He was a cardinal subordinate and spark plug for us.”

Ledsam is president of the Belmont Shore Rugby Club, which present includes 400 kids from 8 to 18 playing rugby successful summation to the big team.

Over the years, Ledsam said, helium has been asked galore times, particularly by parents, “Why play rugby?”

He answered successful a written reply sent to parents:

“Although the athletics looks dangerous, successful fact, it is overmuch safer than football,” helium said. “Padding successful shot is utilized arsenic a weapon, not protection. Rugby has nary pads truthful a subordinate tin lone tackle arsenic hard arsenic is safe.”

Rugby, Ledsam said, was the archetypal athletics to person a concussion protocol and is inactive acold up successful subordinate safety.

He besides emphasized that rugby teaches teamwork, subject and sportsmanship, successful summation to being fun.

“Parents volition spot a melodramatic wide betterment successful attitude, maturity and results successful schoolhouse successful their children if they play rugby,” Ledsam said.

He said rugby coaches, some men and women, are large mentors and privation to spot each of their players spell to college.

For the Press-Telegram’s Let’s Play Ball drive, rugby balls, of course, volition beryllium accepted, on with different balls, including basketballs, baseballs, shot balls, volley balls and tennis balls.

There are 2 ways you tin assistance with this year’s shot drive, which is aiming to interruption the grounds of 2,000 balls donated past year:

• You whitethorn driblet disconnected caller sports balls astatine assorted locations done the Greater Long Beach area, including 9 caller sites successful the Long Beach Unified School District. A database of locations is located below. Thanks to the information of Big 5 Sports Goods, you tin bargain balls astatine their locations astatine a 25% discount. So far, Big 5 has received 60 donated balls astatine its locations.
• You besides whitethorn bid donations online via Amazon and different web retailers and person balls sent straight to the B&G Clubs of Long Beach main office, 3635 Long Beach Blvd. You besides whitethorn donate acquisition cards from stores straight to the clubs.

Here are locations wherever you whitethorn driblet disconnected caller sports balls:

• Big 5 Sporting Goods: 4870 Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach; 5247 Lakewood Blvd., Lakewood.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach: Main office, 3635 Long Beach Blvd.; Dean A. Eastman/Fairfield Club, 700 E. Del Amo Blvd.; Freeman E. Fairfield/Westside Center, 1835 W. Willard St.; John C. & Alice Wallace Boys/Girls Club, 1929 Lemon Ave. Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday done Friday.
• First Bank: 6200 E. Pacific Coast Highway and 4040 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach; 5195 Lakewood Blvd., Lakewood.
• Unify Federal Credit Union: 4637 Candlewood St., Lakewood.
• Phil Trani’s Restaurant: 3490 Long Beach Blvd., Long Beach.
• Boathouse connected the Bay: 190 N. Marina Drive, Long Beach.
• LBUSD schoolhouse sites: Cleveland Elementary, 4760 Hackett Ave., Lakewood; Chavez Elementary, 730 W. Third St.; Jordan High School, 6500 Atlantic Ave.; Holmes Elementary, 5020 Barlin Ave., Lakewood; Herrera Elementary, 1620 Temple Ave.; Dooley Elementary, 5075 Long Beach Blvd.; Tincher Preparatory, 1701 Petaluma Ave.; Rogers Middle, 365 Monrovia Ave., and Marshall Middle, 5870 E. Wardlow Rd.