Behind every charge made by the Roosevelt Rugby team you will find determination, behind every tackle, team spirit.
"Regardless of everything that was going on we came out and we played and practiced late at night with no lights on because rugby was our escape. There was nothing better than rugby for us," rugby player Jack Medina said.
Medina and his teammates come from tough backgrounds. They grew up in single parent, low-income families in neighborhoods known for high gang activity. The team lost their former teammate Nicholas Quiroz in a 2011 murder.
"Rugby taught me to keep going. Herb he's like a father to us," Medina said.
Herb Breen is their coach. He busses some of the rugby team to Roosevelt High School and feeds others, even though he doesn't get paid a dime. Instead Breen hopes everyone moves on to something better.
"This gives them validation. We all need a little validation and work from there," Breen sad.
Several Los Angeles moviemakers are making a film about the Central Valley rugby team. But the crew hit a big roadblock when someone broke into their car.
"Window was smashed in the car, obviously a quick smash and grab because we had other equipment in the back of the car which hadn't been touched," production crew Mark Botting said.
Botting said the car was parked outside Doghouse Grill just after 9 p.m. Friday. The thieves took several cameras, equipment and laptops all adding up to about $20,000. Botting hopes someone will soon return the stolen items so they can keep telling the story of the Central California team playing their hearts out on and off the field.
"We are here to cover such an amazing story about this coach who is taking kids off the street and introducing them to an incredible worldly sport," Botting said.
The filmmakers are asking anyone who may have seen anything suspicious Friday night near Doghouse Grill to call Fresno police.
