Photo Credit-Charlotte Rush

With six games left, the Charlotte Rush are working together to get ready before the USPHL playoffs commence. Head Coach Troy Schwab and Director of Player Development Trevor Jewell talked about the weekend that was against Hampton Roads.

“This past weekend was the first Charlotte Rush Alumni Weekend. Rush alums that were in attendance were: bubba Battisti, Charlie merkley, Shane Hemmer, Riley Dunne, Andrew Williamson, Richard Doherty, Lunden Strickler, Carter Gallo, and Nikita Morozov.

A few thoughts from Trevor Jewell on the weekend. “Having a weekend like this means everything to us. To have players back that helped build the foundation into what it is today. Being able to show our appreciation to them and give them a weekend to call theirs was extremely special to us. To see how they interact with this years players plus the support they gave them was amazing. Seeing where they all are in their lives & careers after their time in a Rush uniform is great. To see what the culture of our program has meant to them in their professional & everyday lives was truly a testament to how they bought into the program & culture. Many of them left here as champions and bring that mentality with them in everything they do. It was a very special weekend and an absolute pleasure to have them all back.”

Thoughts from Head Coach Troy Schwab on the weekend. 

It was great to have the former Rush players in town for this past weekend’s games. It’s unfortunate we didn’t play a little better for them but it was great seeing them back in town. They all left Charlotte with such great experiences and memories and are advocates of the Rush program to this day. 

Charlie Merkley was a player who was hesitant at first to come to Charlotte. He eventually put his trust in the Rush program, went to work on an everyday basis, saw his game develop, and moved on to the NAHL level the next year. He would have success at the NAHL level and attain that Division 1 scholarship that he was looking for. A tremendous person that was rewarded for his hard work. 

The weekend didn’t go the way we expected it to go. Give Hampton credit as they played very well but I don’t think we played to a level we should be playing at. The ability to get off to a good start and stay disciplined is something that both Premier and Elite teams are struggling with and something we need to address as we move forward.  

We have added a few players over the last few weeks and we are slowly getting them comfortable into our system. I think we are always evaluating our rosters and would look to add players if we felt that they made us better. Right now I am very excited about the makeup of our rosters. I believe the rosters at the Premier and Elite levels are both built to win a championship. 

Kelley Clark and Isaac McGregor are two players who had tremendous weekends. Both players are from the Charlotte area and really stood out over the two games. They have taken huge strides in their development over the past two seasons and it showed on the weekend. 

We have 6 games left before playoffs and our goal is to get ourselves into a spot where we are feeling good going into playoffs. Playing the right way, feeling confident, and have the right mindset, so when game 1 starts, we are ready to go.”

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