Photo by David Belnap
This is the last season for rugby head coach David Logsdon, who has worked hard to turn the sports club into an accomplished team. In 2015 the Wolverines became national champions and they are on the hunt to repeat this season.
Logsdon, an Orem native, graduated from UVSC in 2001 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Military Science and while attending school he played rugby with what he calls a “rag-tag” bunch of guys. Logsdon pulled the disbanded club back together in 1998, with guys coming and going every year after that.
Serving two years with the Utah 19th Special Forces, Logsdon was deployed for only six weeks to Afghanistan after the events of 9/11. After coming home Logsdon decided that the military life wasn’t for him. He is now a systems and applications engineer, or in his own words “your ultimate computer geek.”
Having played rugby for 17 years, Logsdon came in to the team with experience on how to rebuild a program to its fullest potential. He did so with the Orem Stallions Youth league, taking them to four national titles.
When Logsdon became the head coach of the Wolverines in 2014, he decided that they needed to be professional and look the part if they were going to transition from a sports club to a Division I team.
“It’s all about building an image for the team,” Logsdon said. “People like to be a part of that image, players specially like to be a part of that image you know, when you look like a team.” He believes that players gravitate to that.
Logsdon proved to be the perfect fit for the Wolverines, as they reached their ultimate goal of becoming national champions in 2015. Logsdon’s vision of a professional team has been fulfilled. As of next spring the Wolverines will be playing Division I-A and according to Logsdon they will have some real completion.
Because of a new job opportunity Logsdon will become an Assistant Director of the team and will no longer be the head coach after this season. This transition is a bitter-sweet one because of his love of the sport and the players. “I love coaching those guys. I learn a lot from them everyday. I love seeing them play and implement what I teach them,” he said.
Having accomplished the goals he set for the team in 2014, Logsdon is ready to move on to the next chapter of his life leaving behind a winning program that is ready to take on the new challenges that a new division will bring.
