Chicago, IL—January 12, 2011

The Executive Committee of the Chicago Lions RFC announced today that they have
selected Matt Kelly to serve as Club Captain for the upcoming season. Matt was one
of 4 strong candidates to replace the current captain, John Vitale, who served for 2
consecutive years in that role. Jon did an incredible job for the Lions in a period that
saw the development of our relationship with Chicago Hope Academy; an expansion
of our 7s program; and a successful competition in D1 that put us in the top 16 for this
spring’s playoffs.

Matt is entering his 3rd season with the Lions after a very distinguished career with the
South Side Irish, including roles as coach, captain and general manager. Matt plays
a very strong #8 for the Lions; and is an acknowledged leader both on and off the
field. Marty Wiggins, the Lions Coach, notes that “Matt will never ask for anything to
be done that he wouldn’t personally do; and that he is not afraid to demand the same
accountability of others.”

Matt is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University and currently works as a teacher
and football coach for the Brother Rice Crusaders on the south side of Chicago. “His
experience there and his past work with the South Side Irish gives him both the tools
and perspective to be a true leader for this team at this very important time”, according
to Chris McClellan, Lions Assistant Coach and VP/Playing for the Club.

The Chicago Lions were founded in 1964 and are one of the original members of
the Rugby Super League, which is beginning its 15th year as the top level of rugby
competition in the USA. The Lions have been training since December with a new
fitness regime, Zone Ready, and began indoor team training on Saturday. The Club will
travel to Life College in Atlanta in March for intensive and full contact training. The Lions
will have a warm up match against Metro on 3/12; and then travel to New York to meet
Old Blue on 3/19 to start the RSL season.

Keith J. Brown

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The Lions have enlisted Chris Gizzi with his Zone Ready training program to help continue the trend of domination established in the fall.  Zone Ready utilizes coaching and programming that integrates what really works in strength and conditioning, speed development, injury prevention, sports nutrition, and sports psychology.  The Zone Ready website has everything needed to help the Lions continually improve throughout the season,  including: month by month training schedules, specific pack or back orientated daily workouts, and a video bank of all the exercises and training techniques used. In his own words:

“We’re blending two philosophies when it comes to training the Lions: The Old School – “blood ‘n guts” – “that which does not kill me, only makes me stronger” mentality along with the New Age – scientifically driven – “train smarter” view on programming.  I want the boys to train hard and compete in everything they do – their effort is 100% and that’s the Old School feel.  I provide the performance optimizing programming, coaching cues, injury prevention measures, etc. – the cutting edge (New Age) of what’s best out there in this field.  They trust me to push them right to the edge, but not over it.  There are high and very achievable goals on the horizon this year – we’ll need braun and brains to achieve them.  I’m honored to do my part and help the coaches get these guys ready and prepared to have an amazing 2011!”  – Chris Gizzi

About Chris Gizzi

A native of Brunswick, Ohio, Chris was football recruit for the Air Force Academy as a linebacker.  After learning how strong they were academically and how important military service was, he was encouraged to stay. After being signed with the Broncos in 1998, he was put on military leave while he upheld his commitment to the Air Force to serve for two years.  When he returned, he signed with Green Bay, being the first graduate from the Air Force Academy to play for the Packers in their 80 year history. After the attacks on 9/11, Chris displayed his patriotism by leading the Packers on the field, charging forward with the Nation’s flag. Since then, Chris has been developing his Zone Ready program, training some of the top athletes in the country with high profile clients such as, Green Bay Packers, the UFC, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and the ESPN Rise program, as well as several amateur high school and college programs.

The Lions can access their personalized page through the Zone Ready website with the user name and password given at the team meeting held on the 14th.  To find out more about Chris and Zone Ready, click here.

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