At the beginning of March, the Lions travel to their annual preseason camp, which consists of two-a-day practices and ends with a game against our hosts. This year the host were the Lindenwood University Lions, located in the Gateway to the West, St. Louis; home to the great Arch and plenty of seedy casinos. The Lions were finally able to spread out and get some good sessions in outside after being limited to indoor soccer facilities and basketball courts since January. Even though conditions were cold and extremely windy, the Lions took full advantage of the space and were able to work out some kinks and establish some groundwork in their kicking game. The training payed off, as the Lions beat a previously undefeated opponent. Lindenwood’s college program is top-notch, with scholarship athletes and a few foriegn imports who have played at top levels in their native, rugby embracing countries. However, Chicago’s smart play and constant pressure put them in favorable positions early.  Nick Viviani put the first points on the board with a handful of successful penalty conversions. Lindenwood could not seem to capitalize on any gained momentum they had and strung together some good phases, but Chicago’s defense held strong and patiently awaited the opportunities to strike. The final score had Chicago on top, 41-26. Lindenwood University have good potential to mature and will surely find themselves in the play-offs in the coming years. The Lions would like to thank the Lindenwood program for the hospitality and the use of their facility.

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Gearing up for season includes a lot of prep work and attention to details. One of the most important aspects leading up to a season is the work you put in off the field and in the gym. Chris Gizzi has been prepping the Lions with his RugbyReady sessions at the Atlas Crossfit on Monday and Wednesday nights. These sessions are open to all Lions looking to get the edge on the competition. Giz’s workouts focus on rugby specific development, emphasizing speed, power, and agility. He has also created a page dedicated to the Lions on his ZoneReady website where players can get all the workouts if they are unable to attend the sessions, as well as build a custom workout from Giz’s extensive bank of athlete specific warm ups, lifts, and conditioning sessions, complete with video explanations.f that wasnt enough, check out the nutritional tips and all the other resources a rugby player needs to get better. Lions wishing to gain access to the site need a specific login and password, which can be gained through the Active Lions email list.

When: Monday and Wednesday at 7:15 PM

Where: Atlas CrossFit – 1030 North Larrabee Street  Chicago, IL 60610

Cost: Discounted Sessions for $20 each

How to get involved: Talk to the Captain or any senior player at practice to find out more info

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Saturday Morning Training until Feb 25, Chicago Indoor Sports. Check back regularly for updates in training locations, due to the mild winter weather.

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Thursday Night 8 pm, Hope Acadamy Gym

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Dear Chicago Lions Old Boys and Active Players

We are proud to announce the formation of The Chicago Lions Charitable Association (CLCA).The CLCA is organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes in accordance with Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.   The CLCA will provide charitable services for the support of amateur (Chicago Lions RFC) and youth Rugby football the Chicago-metro area. The goal is to promote physical fitness, youth development, sportsmanship and healthy sports competition.

The CLCA is the result of a lot of hard work by many members of the club and takes our club to a level of “sophistication” only a handful of other rugby clubs enjoy. It is important to note that the CLCA is a separate legal entity than the Chicago Lions RFC and the funds raised will be segregated from the operating account of the club. We have set up our own bank account.

For the past several years we have enjoyed an informal partnership with the Chicago Hope Academy. In that time we have helped with fundraisers, field improvement , coaching clinics and in turn, use of  “Lions for Hope Field “ which has become our home. The CLCA gives us flexibility in continuing our relationship with Hope as well as our pursuit of a long-term permanent home.

As a member of the Chicago Lions family, we hope you will support the CLCA and the future of rugby in Chicago. This can be accomplished by a financial contribution to the CLCA in 2011. In addition, your company may have a matching gift program so please check.

There is an immediate planning opportunity for those who are over 70 ½ with an IRA. They can make a direct contribution to a charity from their IRA but it has to be done before 12/31/11 (consult their accountant). So if a parent, grandparent or someone you know meets the criteria, please let us know. There are some other strategies for giving to the CLCA in the future such as naming the CLCA as a beneficiary of life insurance policy or estate plan. We will discuss these strategies more in depth in the future.

Please make your check payable to and send to:

Chicago Lions Charitable Association

P.O. Box 532

Northbrook, IL 60065

 Special thanks go to Rodney Reeves, Tony Rio, Ryan Nelson and Keith Brown for their efforts in setting up the CLCA. Any questions, call Jeff Simon at 847-921-0872.

 Yours in Rugby,

 Jeff Simon, President

Michael Palmer, Vice-President, and Treasurer

George Plackmann, Secretary

Complimentary Injury Screenings to Keep You Healthy!
If you experience an ache or pain, AthletiCo Physical and Occupational/Hand Therapy
offers complimentary injury screenings – your chance for a licensed physical or
occupational/hand therapist or certified athletic trainer to evaluate your injury, answer questions,
and recommend next options.

Complimentary Injury Screenings are available at all AthletiCo centers located throughout Illinois, Milwaukee, and Northwest Indiana. For more information or to set up a screening, call 877.ATHLETICO or visit www.athletico.com<http://www.athletico.com/

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The Chicago Lions and guests raised over $33,000 at the Lions For Hope benefit last December. It was a fantastic night with many alumni and active club member in attendance. A huge thank you to all that donated to the event. 100% of the proceeds went to Hope Academy High School. This year’s event will be Saturday, December 1st, 2012, at the Ravenswood Event Center. Mark your calendar!

Chicago Hope Academy Eagles

Chicago Hope Academy, a private Christian high school serving predominately minority students in the inner city, was founded in 2005 by Bob Muzikowski, a former Columbia University and Old Blue NY flanker. Hope Academy is a coed, non-denominational college and life preparatory school dedicated to nurturing and challenging the whole person – body, mind and spirit. Hope Academy is committed to developing not only sound minds but sound bodies as well. There are about 180 students in this 4 year program and 85% are minorities. The athletic programs seek to serve the students and the larger community through teaching the values of teamwork, discipline, sacrifice, sportsmanship and perseverance. In 2009, Chicago Hope Academy and the Chicago Lions entered into a unique, mutually beneficial partnership in ordered to further develop the sport of rugby in Chicago. This partnership has provided the Lions with a home field and clubhouse in the inner city of Chicago, while producing financial support and developing a rugby program for Hope Academy. Furthermore, the partnership has produced a safe and substantial location to develop all levels of rugby, from youth to Super League.

In 2010, over 150 guests attended the event, including a great contingent of current players, as well as old boys, Hope supporters, and friends and family of our honored guest, Bill Lavicka. The early returns suggest we grossed nearly $45,000. All of the evening’s proceeds are used to offset the costs of operating Lions for Hope field, which run about $80,000 per year; so while we made a dent, there’s still more to do here!

4th Annual Lions for Hope Benefit to be held in the memory of Keith Brown 1950 - 2011

There were many silent auctions items including Cubs, Bears, and Blackhawks tickets, as well as rugby memorabilia, and a raffle throughout the night. The Guest of Honor was the owner of the Lions for Hope Field, Howard Weitzman. However the event was dedicated to the memory of the late Lions President, Keith Brown. Without the hard work and determination of both men, none of this could be possible.

A small portion of last year's silent auction items

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Moustache Season is upon the Lions yet again, so we’ve registered for Movember to embrace the hair of the wild. Many of current and past players have pledged to cultivate a genuine 100% face grown moustache for 30 days to raise awareness and funds for men’s health, specifically cancers affecting men. Last month, a good friend of the Lions and five year President of the club, Keith Brown, passed away after a three-year battle with cancer.  He influenced a generation of Lions through the commitment of his time, counsel, resources and good cheer.  Slightly less importantly, Keith usually rocked a sweet ‘stache.  Those players Keith influenced have formed a Movember group — Brown’s Army — as a small token of our appreciation for Keith’s life and legacy.

Now, we’re on the hunt for trusty and fearless pioneers to join me by signing up for my team. Together we can change the face of men’s health.

To join the Brown’s Army Movember team go to https://www.movember.com/us/register/details/team_id/356558.

Did you know that 1 in 6 American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime?

As more people become Citizens of Movember, more lives will be impacted. You can grow a moustache as a Mo Bro, or join as a Mo Sista to show your support and help recruit other Mo growers to the team.

Once registered, Movember will send you all the information you need to start raising awareness and funds for men’s health as part of Brown’s Army.

If you’d like to find out more about the programs funded by Movember, please visit http://us.movember.com/about.

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Keith with his wife, Lisa, at the Lions For Hope Banquet in 2010

Keith J. Brown passed away peacefully on Wednesday, Ocotber 19, 2011 after a battle with Melanoma Skin Cancer. He was Executive Vice President at Klaff Realty, LP, a private Chicago-based real estate investment firm that specializes in the acquisition of distressed commercial property on a national scale. He was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 18, 1950 and is survived by his wife, Lisa Quinn, and two sons, Colin and Brendan. He also leaves behind a Black Army…

Keith as we knew him.

Keith was President of the Chicago Lions Rugby Club and a board member of the USA Rugby Foundation. Keith had served as President for five years, until this past August when he stepped down. He was instrumental in realigning the Lions when he first became involved as part of the building committee in 2005. At this time the Lions had assets in both the School Street Clubhouse and the North Park Tap. He spearheaded the group to consolidate and sell both using the proceeds to purchase an income producing six flat building on Chicago’s Northwest side. The rental units provide a steady income for the Lions as well as providing lodging for newly transplanted players to get their feet on the ground.

Keith was also the leader in securing the present playing pitch and clubhouse at our Lions for Hope Field in conjunction with The Hope Academy. His work with Hope Academy was monumental. I will be submitting a proposal to the Lions Executive Committee to rename the grounds Keith Brown Hope Memorial Field.

-Ray Karenas

If one could describe Keith in a word, for me it would be “passionate.” As a true lover of life and all of its offerings, Keith made the most of the time given to him on this Earth. One look at his resumé would drop your jaw, his wit would make you smile, and his advice and guidance would inspire you. Yet, as the President of a rugby club, you knew he could throw back a beer or two and just be one of the boys, as well. The influence that Keith has had on rugby in the U.S.A. is immeasurable, and as a leader of lions, a mentor, a friend, a father and loving husband, Keith Brown will truly be missed. Here’s to Keith. – Matt Priest

Dave Hall, Keith Brown, and Dick Smith at the Las Vegas Sevens in 2010

To Keith’s Family -

Dear Brown’s,

It is quite likely that by the time you read this, you will have already heard everything I am going to say about Keith from the thousands of people aside from myself that he brought so much joy and levels of friendship to throughout his astounding life. It is also quite likely that as family members you knew these characteristics far better, deeper, and more intimately than anyone else who is now recalling them with such clarity and heavy hearts in his recent passing. Despite the fact that very little of what you are going to read will be new to you or surprising in any way, shape, or form, the words still need to be expressed to let you know how cherished Keith was to those who were able to spend even small amounts of time with him, but especially to those who were privileged enough to call him a mentor and friend during the time we were able to share together.

Perhaps more than any sport in the world, rugby brings an exceptionally eclectic group of men and women together to share their passion for the game and the pride in which they have for it. The rich and the poor, the young and the old, the seasoned and the novice – you will find every single one of these people and then some within every active rugby club throughout the world. And while the goals and passion for the game may be a shared commodity within a club, those two assets alone do not ensure there will be the type of teamwork, camaraderie, and mutual respect amongst the group necessary in order to create the kind of resounding success we all strive for in playing this beautiful game. In order for true success to be achieved and in order for a club to become more than merely the sum of its numerous and distinctive parts in constant motion you need a leader to unite each faction of the machine and teach them to play and be as one, both on and off the pitch…someone to teach the club how to become a real part of each other…someone to show what it means to care, to look out for, to enjoy, and to respect what each piece of the machine – no matter the shape, size, background, or perceived capabilities – contributes to the overall success and livelihood that can be attributed to the club for all its days to come.

Nobody with even the smallest knowledge of the Chicago Lions ever questioned who that person was within our club. Everyone knew who our leader was, who our visionary was, who our captain was in times of calm, in times of celebration, and times of choppy waters alike. The instant you met Keith Brown you knew you were in the presence of someone who’s vision and passion for the club and life itself was exceeded only by the reward he felt in bringing such care and friendship to each individual he encountered along the way. The moment you met him, you knew you were in the presence of a great man who had acquired knowledge of the lessons we all strive to pry from life’s handbook throughout our own journeys, and someone who was happy to share whatever he could to make you and the group you were a part of infinitely better than you could ever have been without him.

Keith had the unique and unmatched ability to make every single person in a room feel genuinely welcome to a group; to feel a part of something; to feel as though he was in fact someone who cared about what you brought to the table and someone who wanted to help you make the most of those talents, ideas, and qualities that make up the fabric of who you were. Keith was a unifier in every sense of the word; someone who was able to bring people from every walk of life together and seamlessly begin the transition from stranger to friend in the most heartfelt and sincere manner I have come to know.

Think for a moment about how many different people counted Keith as one of their closest and most cherished friends they had in their lives…think about how many people in Chicago and throughout the world honestly felt as though Keith was the person in their life that they admired most and held in the highest regard. Think again about how remarkable it is that one individual person was make so many people feel as though he was their rock, their mate, their partner, their buddy, their confidant, their voice of reason, their friend in every meaning the word has to offer. What I am describing is no small feat and should not be disregarded or understated. Achieving something like this in one’s life can only be accomplished by a person who values others over himself, someone whose empathy and compassion removes all room in his heart for greed and selfish desires; and the most difficult of all – someone who is able to put the good intentions he has stirring within his thoughts and his soul into real, tangible action in his every day life…

We are all extremely saddened by Keith’s passing. There’s simply no way to avoid that feeling, and no way to assuage the melancholy we have in thinking about the time spent with such a magnificent man who meant the world to the Chicago Lions and all those he came in contact with throughout his life. That said, in addition to that sadness we undoubtedly will feel for a very long time to come, so too are we inspired to live our own lives in his honor and take on those lessons he taught us about cherishing each individual that is already a part of our lives and those we will meet in the days and years to come as we continue on…about making the most of your abilities and talents professionally, socially, and domestically…and about taking the time to enjoy the life that you have with those you love whenever the opportunity presents itself – just as Keith did.

We’re all going to like this world a little less without Keith in it, and we are all better from simply knowing him. Cheers, to the best Lion I’ve ever known…and one of the best men I’ve had the pleasure to meet and learn from in this lifetime.

With love and respect,

Dennis O’Donnell

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Now you can grab all the Lions kit you can get your hands on through the Rugby Athletic online shop. Show your Lions pride at the next match, in the gym, and everywhere else with all the latest Lions gear.

Check back soon for updates which includes more apparel for both men and women. For now, just click the link, go to Club Shop, and choose Chicago Lions.

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