NOLA Gold Helps Drive Growth in HS Teams, Numbers in Louisiana
NOLA Gold Helps Drive Growth in HS Teams, Numbers in Louisiana
Good news from Louisiana HS rugby as a league-wide preseason scrimmage held this month saw an increased number of players and teams.
A region hit badly by COVID, Louisiana had dropped to about four teams in boys high school rugby. This preseason scrimmage day saw seven teams participate:
Jesuit New Orleans
Brother Martin
St. Paul
East Jefferson
Warren Easton
Hammond
Archbishop Shaw
Hammond HS, in the home of Southeast Louisiana Univerversity, which has a robust D2 collegiate team, is a nice addition to this group. A magnet school, Hammond helps the league branch out from its New Orleans center. But that's not all. Covington HS has reportedly received over three-dozen signups for their new team (helped along by a rugby connection on the football team coaching staff), which will offer a nice crosstown rival for St. Paul HS in the same town. Baton Rouge has had a burgeoning middle school club going, and those kids are now entering high school, so there's a club building there.
Much of this growth has been fueled by the NOLA Gold MLR team. The new members of the ownership group have prioritized youth outreach, starting "Vision '31" to build community engagement, high performance, and sustainable growth in the game in the state. The goal is to have 20 high school programs by 2031. This year they could have as many as 12.
"This isn’t just a plan; it’s our commitment to lead rugby’s growth in America," said Thierry Daupin, NOLA Gold chairman. "We’ve poured our hearts into creating a 70-page game plan that captures years of dedication, collaboration, and ambition. Vision 31 represents a turning point—not just for NOLA Gold but for the sport itself."
Much of the work has been taken on by Ryan Fitzgerald, the team GM who is also in charge of the player pathway as a whole. NOLA Gold had a strong season in 2024 in terms of won-loss (10-6 in the regular season) and attendance, but also in ranking 1st in the league survery for team culture and also for player welfare.
"I''ve always enjoyed finding the American players and developing them," said Fitzgerald. "So we're targeting the high school league right now."
Fitzgerald has reached out to specific high schools and visited them working to get them to start a team. Once he gets a positive response, he works within the Louisiana rugby community to find someone who can be the Head Coach, and then starts to assign NOLA Gold players to help as assistant coaches. With their pro rugby commitments, the NOLA Gold players aren't necessarily able to be with the HS teams on game day, but they can work with the kids and share their knowledge, while the Head Coach makes sure game day goes well.
"We are looking at this as a local thing but also at the national level," said Fitzgerald. "Looking at high school kids who are 17 or 18; they will be 24 or 25 when the World Cup comes to the USA. They will be in their prime."
While the new teams will potentially have to ease into competition, it was very useful for many players to get a taste of the sport during the preseason event. And the overall growth is a very encouraging development in a state that has produced plenty of high-level talent before.
The full league season kicks off January 18 with Jesuit New Orlenas facing off against Brother Martin, and East Jefferson playing Archbishop Shaw.
