Principles for an American Rugby Policy: Part 2

An effort to elucidate the few principles on which any successful rugby policy in America must be grounded:

Principle 2: The leading resource for growth and improvement is the school system, which requires rugby to adopt a mainstream approach to sports.

• Junior high, high school, and college teams sanctioned by school authorities enable rugby to systematically access valuable public resources.
• Rugby teams, varsity or otherwise, that emulate mainstream sports in providing advanced coaching, facilities, sports science, etc. obtain more of the most valuable resource: athletes. School teams also benefit from scholastic brands.
• Elite (i.e., representative or national) teams that replicate the varsity structure better prepare athletes since superior training is more practical than tougher competition. Olympic 7s represents the apotheosis of varsity training and support.

Previous: Principles for an American Rugby Policy: Part 1

Related:
    Is American rugby adaptive?
    USARFU losses undermine strategy

Comments

[Eric Pittelkau]

"The leading resource for growth and improvement..." I wouldn't say "resource", I would say "target". While I agree with the point you're making, you leave out one very big condition - that the schools have the resources to absorb another sport. Money (which pays for coaches, training, athlete support, travel, game expenses like referees) is the currency in a zero-sum game - some other sport is spending dollars that we would like to be spent on rugby, and it's difficult to just add more dollars to the pot. It's not so simple as saying rugby is not expensive, it will only cost you so many thousands of dollars to field a team. Then there is the problem of field space - it's in short supply, other sports need their share of it, and it's expensive (dang, there's that money thing again) to build a field. Synthetic turf fields are fixing some of that problem (all weather, all the time), but it still costs a substantial sum of money to build one - assuming you have the space on the school grounds. However, rugby should be ready to present itself as a worthy and viable replacement when schools (particularly HS) decide that some sport is too expensive and they need to drop it.

[Squeaky]

Eric,
You make a good point - and with the Federal spending freeze, no is going to be alot of HS sports that get cut over the next 3 years.

[varsity]

Eric is missing the point.

The value of the 'varsity system' isn't their budget, it is their sporting credibility and non-budgetary resources like: 1) assigning teachers already employed an after-school coaching opportunity (teachers get paid only on average $1k for coaching a school sport), 2) access to field space already in existence, 3) access to shared school resources like equipment room, weight room, training quarters.

Rugby's plan isn't to have its hand out. We are funding HS rugby now and to grow the sport within the varsity school system we will need to continue to fund the sport.

The USAR plan is to wait until somebody gets the sport in the Olympic Games, or makes it a varsity sport, or creates a professional competition. This is the lazy man's route.

As American ruggers we know better. We need to keep doing what we are currently doing with a sharper focus towards making rugby a HS school sport...that won't cost the school money.

[Flynn Hagerty]

Really just emulate what soccer does.

Grassroots, grassroots, grassroots. It's not even entirely about the varsity system (though it helps), it's about getting kids playing rugby by hook or crook. If you can get varsity status at a school, then great. If you can't, then get as many kids playing rugby as possible.

That is basically what soccer did and if rugby had the popularity soccer does today we'd be among the strongest teams in the world with many of the world's best players considering America as a serious option to play in as opposed to France or England.

[Leksan]

Good to hear from you Flynn.

You're exactly right: we need to get ever more kids playing and falling in love with the game of rugby. It can be done; I'm watching it happen at our club (and at your former club as well).

Our youth programs are growing every year and creating a tremendous, community driven, groundswell of interest in the game. Kids are having a great time playing and they are actively recruiting their friends. Perhaps more importantly, parents are getting involved with their support, volunteerism, and a growing understanding, respect, and passion for rugby. I am seeing this movement throughout the NorCal clubs.

Most comments to the contrary, the future is not so bleak.

[ISP8]

I agree with Eric's point: School systems DO face finite budgets. And as some municipalities face budget crunches, existing athletes are being asked to pay dues into the varsity system.

Generally speaking the rugby participant is already someone who would play another sport at the school. Thus rugby is substitution for another sport.

Thus, in this paradigm, the schools have a finite supply (of money for sport), and the student body has a finite demand for sport.

To ask a school to take on the burden of "another" sport might not fly. Why incur all the fixed costs of adding another sport, when you can just make some other sport larger -- add a Freshman baseball team, or bloat your track and field with your 11th best shotputter? It's cheaper.

To Flynn's point, grass roots is the way to go. In this world of finite sport resources, it is up to the parents to drive school budgets -- both at small private schools and public systems. A lone teacher wanting to start a rugby team faces an uphill battle. Parents who are mobilized cannot be ignored by the school board or leadership -- they will vote with their ballots or their tuition.

Thus starting rugby at the grass roots is the way to build up the demand for their children to keep playing.

[varsity]

Not to suggest there won't be hurdles to rugby becoming a "school sport" in HS, but youth participation along will build little. We need to become a school sport in HS. It is one of American rugby's signal biggest objectives.

If we continue to build the sport outside the sports-education system we will fail to reach our potential.

I laugh when I hear people use soccer and LAX as examples. Let's remember that why those two sports are here to stay and grow forever, is because they are "school sports".

If rugby doesn't become a school sport we will remain an insignificant fringe sport.

This is where we need to invest everything we have.

[Leksan]

Varsity, you are confused. Soccer is ONLY in the schools today because of a massive grassroots effort that started in the 1970's. Rugby is subject to the same economics: without a supply of kids interested in playing the game there will be no demand for the sport in the HS systems. Promoting and developing the sport at the youth level is obviously the key to future success.

Another relevant fact about soccer: although the sport is played in the schools, HS competition is generally much less serious than club - the real development of players is done in the clubs. Consequently, when players are recruited into the only 'varsity' model that matters, college, they are recruited from their clubs.

[thumb up]

leksan, are you a scientist?

[Truth]

None of you are doing any hands on work to grow rugby in either High Schools or College. You are a bunch of gadfly clowns. STFU and step away from your keyboard.

[right and wrong]

Leksan,

The Lamo team is a good example of what your saying not working.

There has now been 20 years of Lamo rugby. The team is still treated second class, strike that, third class by the local HS administrations, athletic directors and football coaches. Nice support your getting as tax payers, huh? Nice fields they're letting you use!

There's nothing wrong with having a thousand kids playing, or having been doing so for 20 years, but it won't create the situation youth/HS needs until rugby is a school sport. For teams like Lamo, its time to ask for the order.

We need to change the objective. Its time to get in the sports-education system.

[Flynn Hagerty]

Perhaps the Lamo coaches need to do a better job convincing parents to mobilize and get their voices heard by the school board. Saying that the school board is currently giving Lamo rugby the kiss-off is an indictment against the varsity system, if anything. Why bother trying to ingratiate yourself to people who don't want you regardless of what you do? It's not like Lamo is unsuccessful nor has it got a bad reputation in terms of behavior.

If you have a hundred kids in a school system playing rugby, you should get a hearing at the very least. If you have zero kids in a school system playing rugby, it'll be taken as seriously as if someone asked for ultimate frisbee to be made a varsity sport.

The focus is on getting kids playing rugby. Soccer got into the school system because literally half the kids in the country were playing it and there was no way school boards could deny it. Rugby hasn't got anywhere near that type of coverage yet; there's school districts where more kids play cricket than rugby.

[Leksan]

Certainly Lamo's weeknight access to all-weather fields is a challenge, but that is not the point (nor is it holding down the growth of the club). The point is that the rugby community is making consistent progress growing the game at the youth level - where it matters most. Some programs are developing around school based teams and some are growing around clubs. The most dramatic growth in youth rugby is happening via clubs. Danville Oaks Rugby Club is a good example. Though not affiliated with the schools they have extraordinary access to fields and all required resources and they are growing rapidly.

The KOT was a great display of the progress being made getting kids involved in rugby. There were hundreds of kids, volunteer coaches and refs, parents and fans enjoying the color and excitement of youth rugby. The future looks bright.

[Flynn Hagerty]

Sacto's kick off tournament is a great advertisement for successful youth rugby.

I loved going there to start a season off, even if it got DAMN cold on a couple of occasions. Getting tackled in 35 degree weather on mudfields was not fun.

[Leksan]

There were more little, little kids there then ever before. It was great to see. And the weather played along.