Charlie Joe Rosemeyer made headlines last fall when he started in three different sports for Penn Hills in one season. As a senior, he was a four-year starter on the soccer team, the starting kicker and punter on the football team and one of the Indians’ top golfers, all at the same time.
Now, after graduating in the spring, Rosemeyer is taking his talents overseas — but not for football, soccer or golf. This time, this Charlie Joe-of-all-trades is going to get a bit more physical.
Rosemeyer was selected to take part in the Rugby Americas North under-19 championship in Kingston, Jamaica, where he will represent USA Rugby South as part of a 22-man roster in the tournament that starts Thursday and runs through Sunday. He helped start the club rugby team at Penn Hills where he was one of the best players in the school, but this will be his first international competition.
“I’m nervous, but that’s the nerves you get before any sort of game, especially big games,” Rosemeyer said.
Played under 15-a-side Rugby Union rules, the Rugby Americas North championship features teams from several island nations, along with the USA South team and Mexico. Each team will play two games on Thursday, two games on Friday and one game on Sunday, with the championship match at 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon following the bronze-medal match and a consolation match.
Rosemeyer said he’s going to try to soak it all in and enjoy the experience, but he’s a competitor first and foremost — and he’s going there to win.
“Obviously, I want to win,” Rosemeyer said. “We had a team meeting on Zoom, and every single person’s goal for the trip was to win the tournament. But I will be happy for the experience. Getting some experience playing international rugby will be good.”
Known as a fly half, Rosemeyer plays a position similar to that of a quarterback in football. Most of the time, the fly half is the first player on a side to get the ball on a given play, and he then surveys the field while calling out a play on the fly before running with or distributing the ball.
Although he does run with the ball some, he won’t be counted on to score many tries — the terminology used for touchdowns in rugby. Still, as a fly half, it is essential for Rosemeyer to know how to kick — and that’s where his soccer and football expertise kicks in.
“Not everyone has to be able to kick. It’s always helpful if you can. But for the most part, there are a couple positions, fly half being one of them, that should know how to kick,” Rosemeyer said. “All of my sports cross over, so I think just kicking a very similar ball that much helped.”
Rosemeyer may be a man of many sports, but rugby is in his blood. His father, Matthew, played in college and then in men’s leagues before opening up his own youth rugby training facility in Harmarville. Rosemeyer began learning the game from his father at a young age and has been playing competitively since he was 8 years old.
Considered one of the toughest and most violent sports to play by most, rugby also has many rules that make it arguably safer than American football, especially when it comes to tackling airborne or defenseless players. As someone who has played both sports — although only as a kicker and punter in football — Rosemeyer is used to the contact. And although he’s far from the biggest body on the field, he doesn’t shy away from it.
“I’m more of an ‘I’m going to make you miss’ type of player,” Rosemeyer said. “But every now and then I can hit someone, because they’re not expecting it.”
Now, Matthew Rosemeyer works in logistics for domestic international rugby events and professional events all across the country — and his son could one day be following in his footsteps.
In the fall, Rosemeyer will attend Sewanee: The University of the South, a liberal arts college in Sewanee, Tenn. Having already enjoyed a decorated athletic career in high school while registering a 5.0 GPA — something not many teenagers could pull off — Rosemeyer might actually have a bit more free time on his hands in college.
Still, as someone who likes to stay busy, he will surely find more than enough ways to keep his competitive juices flowing — and he already has a spot waiting for him on the club rugby team.
“I’m going to join the golf course there, and try to definitely focus on my academics and do well,” Rosemeyer said. “I’m looking forward to playing [rugby] in college. … It’s going to be a good time.”
Steve Rotstein: srotstein@post-gazette.com and Twitter @SteveRotstein.
First Published: July 12, 2022, 4:30 p.m.