Coach Buchtinec bring years of experience as both a rugby player and coach. A founding member and former prop & captain of Medina Rugby, Joe earned a scholarship to Notre Dame College where he played prop/lock. 

During his tenure at NDC, the team had an undefeated season & MARC Conference Champion 2013, MARC Conference Champion & DII National Championships 3rd place finisher in 2014, and ACRC Bowl Series Winner in 2015. 

Buchtinec was also the Head Coach & cofounder of Cleveland State Rugby and an Assistant Coach at Medina Rugby in 2018-2019, before joining Hudson in 2022. He led Hudson to a 2nd-place finish in Ohio State Championships in 2023.

"Doc Sam" has been involved in Northeastern Ohio Rugyb since 1986, when he began his career playing for Hiram College. His journey continued to the East Side Blues (1991-1993) and Life University (1994-1997). 

Passionate for coaching, "Doc Sam"  lead the Walsh Jesuit High School team in 2016-2018 & 2022, and has been a part of the Hudson Rugby Club family since 2019,  coaching our Middle and High School teams.

Coach Reed, a former Back for Hudson Rugby Club (2013-2016), has been giving back as an Assistant Coach since 2020. In the interim, he played for the University of Akron (2018-2020) and served as a Back for the Cleveland Crusaders DI team (2020-2022).

Coach Lewis joined Hudson Rugby Club coaching staff in 2022, after a successful tenure as a Back for Walsh Jesuit High School (2016-2018). He continued to play for Franciscan University (2018-2022) and was a member of the Great Lakes Thunderbirds in 2022. 

Currently, Coach Lewis is a Back for the Cleveland Crusaders DI Side, as well as a Backs Coach for Hudson Rugby Club.

Coach Barelka is a founding member of Medina Rugby, where he served as a captain from 2011-2014, and was an All-Ohio Selects player in 2014. He continued his rugby career with a scholarship from Notre Dame College, where he played Flanker (2014-2018). NDC won the DI-AA National Championship (2017) and Barelka made DI-A Rugby East All- Conference First Team (2017-2018).

Barelka joined Major League Rugby with Washington DC Old Glory and Rugby ATL as a Loosehead Prop and Hooker (2019-2020) and was a Forward for the Cleveland Crusaders DI Side (2020-2023).

Welcomed to the Hudson Rugby family in 2023, Coach Barelka is the Forwards Coach. 

Coach Kender has had a passion for rugby ever since first stepping onto the pitch at The Ohio State University in 2002. Growing up in Dayton, Ohio his rugby foundation was built on the soccer field and the wrestling mat, both giving him the competitive skills to compete on the rugby pitch.  Kender was the team’s kicker and played the wing position for much of his career.  

After playing four years of Division 1 NCAA rugby, he went on to Life Chiropractic College to play on a rugby scholarship and receive his Chiropractic degree.  At Life University in Atlanta, GA, Coach Kender boasts a division 1 Men’s National Championship in 2008 where he scored the game winning kick!  

He now resides in Hudson with his family and coaches the Hudson Youth Rugby program bringing dedication and knowledge of the sport to the future ruggers in northeast Ohio.  He still likes to play sports competitively and you can often find him on the Akron men’s Hurling team and various men’s league soccer teams.

Coach Khatib has 15 years of playing experience. He competed at Kent State University, followed by a successful career at the men’s level, primarily with Akron RFC, along with selections to the Ohio Select team for the regional championships, and the CARPS and Crusaders in the Midwest 7s qualifier division. 

He is a Northeast Ohio native, and works as a sports medicine physician for Akron Children’s Hospital. He has the love and support of his wife Patty, and is now passing the torch to his two children, Vincent and Elena, who have also caught the rugby bug. Coach Khatib coaches for our various youth teams.