Born in Seattle but raised just outside of Williams Lake, Todd Pritchard has made his mark in B.C.’s Cariboo as a passionate promoter of the region’s rugby community.
A leader, team player, community supporter and connector, Pritchard describes his experience in rugby as quite different from the more athletic, professional approach to the sport often seen today.
“We were just a bunch of guys going out and playing and having fun,” Pritchard said.
He played rugby as a schoolboy at Williams Lake Secondary School (WLSS) and Brentwood College, while also dabbling in soccer, hockey and European handball. He played rugby at UBC while working towards a degree in business administration, and joined the Williams Lake Rustlers Rugby Club in 1979, the year it was founded. His first rugby coach from WLSS, Paul Carnes, was among the men Pritchard played with in the early days of the club.
Carnes, who refers to Pritchard as a “very dear friend,” said the latter was instrumental in establishing the Rustlers and has been a longtime treasurer for the club.
Carnes said Pritchard helped to “build up the game of rugby,” having promoted it across the Cariboo. He has been a member of the BC Rugby Union’s board of directors where he had the opportunity to promote B.C.’s northern rugby community, helping to attract about 27 teams to visit Williams Lake annually during the Stampede Rugby Tournament. Pritchard has been helping with the Stampede tournament since it first began in 1980, and though the Rustlers have only won the tournament twice, it remains one of his most treasured memories as a rugby player.
“It was awesome,” Pritchard said of the team's first tournament win in 1983.
As well as being a player, Pritchard has done his fair bit of coaching in his time. When the Rustlers were short on a coach, Pritchard stepped into the role for just short of 15 years. He also coached rugby at Columneetza and WLSS as well as a young team at Cataline Elementary, starting his youngest son in the sport as early as the second grade.
“You have to step forward to coach your own kids,” he said, remembering how he did this for soccer as well when there weren’t enough coaches around. Pritchard continued to coach rugby in local schools up until three years ago and was out playing rugby himself in early January at the Rustlers’ annual Snow game.
Pritchard has been inducted in the BC Grassroots Rugby Hall of Fame which, while not officially recognized by the BC Rugby Union (BCRU), is a testament to his commitment to the sport.
Pritchard and his team helped promote the sport in and around Williams Lake, sometimes travelling almost 12 hours to compete against other teams in their league. It’s a big commitment, he said, but it’s worth it. The Central Interior Rugby Union was formed in 1981 and included teams from Quesnel, Prince George, Fort St. John and Williams Lake. Today, teams from Prince Rupert and Terrace also compete in this league, though the Quesnel team has folded.
He’s been on BCRU’s board of directors and currently sits on the BC Rugby Hall of Fame Committee where he helps to determine who will be inducted. Pritchard said it’s an honour to work with the committee and be part of the discussion.
“People have dedicated their life to either playing or coaching or growing rugby and these are people that have been huge in the rugby community,” he said about inductees to the BC Rugby Hall of Fame.
Some of today’s inductees are people he’s crossed paths with as opposing coaches or players.
Despite more than 50 years of playing rugby, there’s a lot more to Pritchard than the sport.
“Family is everything...that’s really all there is,” he said. Nevertheless, the two have in a sense melded together. All three of Pritchard’s children are rugby lovers themselves, and one of his grandsons is showing promise too, working hard to tackle rugby players at the Snow game by holding onto their legs.
All three of Pritchard's children grew up playing rugby in Williams Lake, and have represented the central and northern interior selects at the Provincial Regional Championships. Pritchard’s oldest, Brendon, has played rugby for UVIC and the Oak Bay Castaways and is the current captain of the Rustlers. Pritchard's youngest, Jordan, also played with the Castaways and his daughter Sydney has played for B.C. in the Canadian National Championships and now plays for Nanaimo.
Pritchard told the Tribune that rugby players love to sing, and he’s no exception. For at least 40 years now his family and friends come together for an annual carolling party, bringing the songs of Christmas around their neighbourhood as the holiday approaches.
“I wasn't blessed with a great voice,” Pritchard admits, but that doesn’t stop him one bit. “I love to sing,” he said with a big smile.
Pritchard mentioned a lot of names during his interview with the Tribune, and said it would be hard to point to one person who has had the most influence on him. Instead, he chose to thank everyone he's played for over the years.
"These individuals have given me so much joy over this time, and I think of them all as my rugby family."
