Growing Youth Rugby

Rugby participation in America is somewhat of an “inverted pyramid”: the majority of players register at the top age bracket (senior club) and very few at the bottom (youth club/Rookie Rugby). Conversely, US Youth Soccer registered more than 3 million youth players in 2011; even if the majority of these players leave the sport eventually, it is the awareness and exposure that is important. American Rugby needs that same exposure of having millions of youth participants. As we look to improve our game as a country we need to cast a wider net and give more athletes the opportunity to discover rugby.

Rookie Rugby is the brand name for non-contact rugby in America. This award-winning program developed by USA Rugby introduces kids ages 6-12 to the sport. Rookie Rugby emphasizes basic skill development while engaging players in the spirit of the game. The program uses fun and simple games which even college and senior club volunteers enjoy playing.

College volunteers exemplify an important resource for growing rugby in America; many schools even require community service or service-learning hours for graduation.  The clubs benefit from volunteering by earning a positive name for their program and by creating connections with potential future players. Recently, Westfield State University WRFC was trained as Rookie Rugby Instructors while attending “Berkshire United Rookie Rugby Day”; Berkshire United RFC hosted this day to kick-off their Rookie Rugby program which will serve young ruggers on the Western edge of Massachusetts. Partnerships between college and club teams to benefit youth programs are an ideal model for growing the game as a whole.

In addition to college and club partnerships, forging relationships with youth-based organizations or local school systems is also important. Lauren McCormack plays for Boston University WRFC and volunteers at Excel Academy Charter School every week; she speaks to the values of rugby which are passed on to the athletes in addition to the skills,

In only a month I have seen a great improvement in the kids I work with. Rookie Rugby shows the value of good sportsmanship and makes it clear to players that they need to have a certain level of respect.

The team at BU has been volunteering with Rookie Rugby for a number of years and almost every semester middle school students visit BU, tour the campus, and play a match on Nickerson Field. Not only is this field trip fun, but it also provides an important and tangible vision of college life. Every sixth grade student who daydreams about playing rugby in college is one step closer to attending college, and the club is that much closer to recruiting more athletes.

While the BU women typically volunteer with middle school enrichment programs and Berkshire United RFC is planning on starting their own league, there are many different ways to grow youth rugby. New physical education programs, community programs, and high school programs have been starting up around the country and the majority of states have their own Youth Rugby Organizations.

As of the 2010-2011 registration cycle there were 30,000+ high school players 7,000+ youth players and almost 2,000 Rookie Rugby players registered with USA Rugby. In order to grow the game as a whole, these numbers need to increase significantly. This development will require existing rugby communities around the country to advocate for the advancement of youth rugby in their areas. Ross Yellin, Director of Community Outreach for the Boston Maccabi Rugby Club, echoes the sentiment of many adult players who were not brought up playing the sport,

I have only been playing rugby for about a year now, and wish I had been introduced to the sport earlier.  The work that the Massachusetts Youth Rugby Organization is doing today is critical to the success of the sport in this country tomorrow, and we are honored to play even a small part in it.

The Maccabi team was created with the mission to “be known as much for its service to the community as for the quality of its rugby play.” Players like Yellin and McCormack realize the positive impact that youth rugby can play on both the game and the athletes, and have taken steps to increase this impact.