Al Caravelli
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Al Caravelli (born 1959 or 1960 in
Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
, New York) is head coach of the Philippines national rugby sevens team. He was head coach of the
United States national rugby sevens team The United States national rugby sevens team competes in international rugby sevens competitions. The national sevens team is organized by USA Rugby, and was led by Head Coach Mike Friday from 2014-2024, when he resigned and was replaced b ...
from 2006 until 2012. Caravelli inherited a team that was on a 30 game losing streak. The US national sevens team improved steadily on the
IRB Sevens World Series The SVNS, known as the HSBC SVNS for sponsorship reasons, is an annual series of international rugby sevens tournaments run by World Rugby featuring national sevens teams. Organised for the first time in the 1999–2000 season as the IRB World ...
circuit under Caravelli's leadership, improving from 15th during the 2006-07 season to 10th during the 2010-11 season. Caravelli managed to transform the US team into a legitimate
IRB Sevens World Series The SVNS, known as the HSBC SVNS for sponsorship reasons, is an annual series of international rugby sevens tournaments run by World Rugby featuring national sevens teams. Organised for the first time in the 1999–2000 season as the IRB World ...
contender in his first few years. Following several strong performances in several tournaments during 2006-08, in 2008 the US team was promoted to "core" status as one of the 12 teams competing in all events on the IRB Sevens World Series. He is the winningest USA coach in history, by percent and record. His is the only USA coach to have a winning record against Canada and Argentina, both Pan-Am and World Series rivals. Caravelli led the US team to its first ever Cup final in an IRB Sevens World Series event in Adelaide in 2010. Caravelli guided the national team to a bronze medal at the
2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Guadalajara 2011, were an international multi-sport event held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby c ...
. Caravelli becomes Philippines head coach in August 2012. He stopped coaching the Philippines in 2013.


U.S. national team

Caravelli leveraged the increased exposure of rugby's planned return to the Olympics in 2016 by overseeing a transition in the U.S. national team from amateur to professional status. Caravelli had set the goal of professionalizing the U.S. team, stating that his number one objective in improving the team was getting a full-time squad that would have more time to train together. Caravelli was a key part of U.S. 7s rugby winning a grant from the USOC that allowed the U.S. to contract with 15 professional full-time rugby players for the U.S. national rugby sevens team. Caravelli’s goal for the U.S. national team was to win a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics. Caravelli recruited for new talent for the U.S. national team. Caravelli attended the National All Star 7s Championship, scouted for players at the various domestic sevens competitions, and also scouted at regional open try-outs. Caravelli was the longest tenured coach in U.S. history for rugby sevens, and at the time of his departure had more wins than any other U.S. national team sevens coach.


Philippine national team

In August 2012, Caravelli took over the coaching of the Philippines national rugby sevens team. Three months later, he guided the Philippine team for a berth in the
2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens The 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens was the sixth edition of the Rugby World Cup Sevens. The tournament was held at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia. New Zealand won the tournament, defeating England 33–0 in the final. Attendance for the tourname ...
in Moscow.


Previous playing and coaching experience

Caravelli played several sports in his youth. Caravelli played varsity football as a freshman at St. Francis High. Caravelli began playing rugby in his sophomore year of high school. Caravelli attended UCLA on a soccer scholarship, and played for UCLA when they won the NCAA championship in 1985. Caravelli played rugby with several clubs throughout the US, including the
Los Angeles Rugby Club The Los Angeles Rugby Club (LARC) is a rugby union club in South Bay in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is a member of the Southern California Rugby Football Union within USA Rugby. History Competing continuously for over ...
. Caravelli took up coaching, when he retired from playing, in part because his father advised him he would make a better coach than a referee. Caravelli was the Director of the US Women's sevens program (2000-2005) and coached with NYAC (2000-2005) prior to becoming head coach of the US national team.


See also

*
IRB Sevens World Series The SVNS, known as the HSBC SVNS for sponsorship reasons, is an annual series of international rugby sevens tournaments run by World Rugby featuring national sevens teams. Organised for the first time in the 1999–2000 season as the IRB World ...
* Philippines national rugby sevens team *
United States national rugby sevens team The United States national rugby sevens team competes in international rugby sevens competitions. The national sevens team is organized by USA Rugby, and was led by Head Coach Mike Friday from 2014-2024, when he resigned and was replaced b ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caravelli, Al Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American rugby union coaches United States national rugby sevens team coaches