Is High School Rugby Growing? If Yes, Why?
Is High School Rugby Growing? If Yes, Why?
Does it seem like we will see growth in high school rugby participation in the winter-spring season of 2024-25?
Maybe. The signed all seem to be there.
USA Youth & High School released an update on membership earlier this month, noting that registrations are up 11% from the fall of 2023 and up 18% among girls. But that's not the only indication. As we here at GRR World Headquarters have been assembling our master schedule for boys HS, we've noticed something ...
New teams; several new teams. Most of these new teams are single-school teams, and not all of them are private schools by any stretch. North Carolina, Louisiana, South Carolina, Northern California, Texas, and Southern California all have new teams, as well as teams that had kind of fallen off in terms of numbers, but have resurfaced with renewed enthusiasm.
We're seeing that story potentially in other states, too.
Take a look at what is happening in Louisiana, where some added energy from the NOLA Gold MLR team has the league potentially doubling in size. Some of the newer school teams we're seeing include Covington HS and Hammon HS in Louisiana, Chattanooga in Tennessee, South Tech in Florida, Great Hearts, Martin, and Cathedral in Texas, Edison in SoCal, and Stratford in South Carolina,
In addition we're seeing teams that were new last year or the year before get a little stronger. That goes for the likes of Loyola and Orange Lutheran in SoCal, and St. Ignatius in NorCal (now a school-supported team after just one season of competition).
Now it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Cardinal Gibbons is no longer playing in Florida and that's because the Archdiocese of Miami has decided not to support any sports that are not in the Florida HS Athletic Association. Of course that undercuts any efforts to get a new sport into the FHSAA. SUn Valley was a hoped-for new team in North Carolina's school season, but wasn't able to get the numbers for this year. But overall, we're seeing struggling teams come back and new teams in just about every league that is starting in January and February.
How does this happen? Well anyone who tells you it's just one factor is not correct. There are several factors driving growth in high school rugby. Here, in no particular order, are the factors we've seen that might be driving this growth:
1. The US Rugby Foundation's High School Grant Program executed through US Youth & HS. Donations to the US Rugby Foundation (usrugbyfoundation.org) help support a number of initiatives. One of these is grants to new and up-and-coming rugby programs. It's a great way to help grow the sport and we've seen the likes of East Jefferson High in Louisiana, Great Hearts in Texas, Loyola HS in Southern California, Orange Lutheran in Southern California, and St. Ignatius in San Francisco all grow and flourish thanks to this program.
2. An ongoing movement for elite young rugby players to coach at the high school level. throughout California and Utah especially, but elsewhere also, we're seeing younger coaches who understand about running a serious program but also just enjoy coaching at the high school level. These coaches often have international, professional, or elite college experience.
In addition, with MLR teams sending their players to help with high school teams, that pipeline might grow still further.
3. Choices the players make. Whether this is because of concern about concussions in football, or the desire to get more field time in a contact sport, or the feeling that with more and more money in football, elite placement is getting more and more out of reach, more young people are choosing to try rugby.
4. The Maher-Sedrick effect. It is real and it keeps going. Everywhere coaches are telling us that in girls and also boys rugby, the success and exposure of the USA women's team has energized interest in rugby.
Whatever it is, the key to making it all pay off is the work of coaches and referees to make sure the games happen and are fun to play in. All that other stuff will then take care of itself.
