How a Small Community in West Virginia Built a Rugby Program

02.05.2026HS Girls, Youth

West Virginia Warhounds girls in action in Pennsylvania. Photo Genevieve Eddy.

Author: Alex Goff

Rugby hotbeds all have a different story as to how they got started, although usually there is a passionate rugby Kool-Aid drinker involved … except when there’s not.

Out in Doddridge County, West Virginia rugby is doing pretty well, thank you. Now, you might start thinking about the major population centers of West Virginia … Charleston, Morgantown (where WVU is), Parkersburg, Wheeling (where Wheeling University is) … and you might think that’s where Doddridge County is.

West Virginia Warhounds girls in action in Pennsylvania. — Photo Genevieve Eddy.

It’s not.

Doddridge County has a population of about 8,000. Nearby Harrison County is all the way up to 65,000, but, yeah, it’s not a densely-populated area. And yet .. rugby.

The start, says Jon Snider who runs the West Virginia Warhounds program, was “kind of wonky.”

It all started because of the series of Celtic Festivals that circulate through the state every spring and summer. It’s a wild celebration of sheep herding, pipe bands, and Highland games, al wonderful things. But different towns do try to set themselves apart and find something that’s a little bit different, but still related to the Celtic theme. For the Mountain State Scottish & Celtic Gathering, Snider needed something special, “and I thought … what about rugby?”

Warhounds kids play flag rugby during the summer.

Snider is Program Director for Doddridge County Park and oversees recreation opportunities for the area. Rugby, he figured, had a strong Celtic connection, and would be fun for the kids.

So they started with a group of nine middle-school girls. From a little demo they moved on to competing in Rugby Pennsylvania’s 7s competition. In 2021 they started their High School girls team. They, of course, needed coaching help and that’s where Ray Bezjak came in. The Coach at Fairmont State has been hugely important, but not the only help the program has received.

Fueled by a ball donation from the US Rugby Foundation, they continued to grow.

“Rugby is perfect for the people of West Virginia,” said Snider, citing the game’s physicality and slightly off-the-beaten-path culture.

This is exactly the sort of initiative the US Rugby Foundation helps with ball donations, new program grants, and their tent program. Support what the Foundation does. Donate here>>

This year they expect to have 60 to 70 players, and are launching a Boys HS team for the first time. It has been an astonishing run of growth for such a small region.

“We’re drawing from the high schools in Harrison County and Doddridge County and combined those schools have about 1,000 students,” Snider said. “But the response has been really good. We may have three middle-school teams this year and our high school girls have done well.”

In the fall the high school girls played some 7s in Ohio, but the central focus of all of their competitions has been in Pennsylvania. The Warhounds play against Rugby PA opposition, and the high school girls and boys will play against D2 competition this spring.

“Similar to what we’ve done with other states, we’re happy to give them a place to find some competition,” said Rugby PA Executive Director Dylan Hamilton. “Teams in PA seem pretty happy to play them and while I think it would be great to see more teams pop up in West Virginia, it’s good they can play with us.”

But none of this would have happened without Snider’s attention to it. Having never played a minute of rugby, he has embraced the sport with great enthusiasm, and sees in the sport a chance for young people to have fun, travel a little bit, and expand their horizons. More and more young student-athletes are trying the sport.

“We are starting to get some really legit athletes,” said Snider. And they are getting attention. When members of the Exeter Chiefs program in England visited America, they ran a summer camp for kids in Doddridge County. It was a huge success, and the coaches even visited the local Peewee Football team to teach rugby tackling techniques.

They got their first rugby recruit, with Jayden Powers going from the girls HS team to Frostburg State University, a NIRA NCAA Varsity program.

This is a wonderful success story, so far, but the Warhounds need more help. Chiefly, they need more competition. Teams are welcome to reach out to play them. In the end, though, the lesson here is that you don’t need a massive population center to build a successful rugby program from youth on up. In just a few years, they have created something out of nothing, thanks to enthusiasm, passion, and support from local authorities, the US Rugby Foundation, and the rugby community.

Check out more about the West Virginia Warhounds by going here>>