How Do We Improve American Rugby? You Can Help
How Do We Improve American Rugby? You Can Help
American rugby's move forward depends heavily on the continued improvement of coaches and referees, and the United States Rugby Foundation is helping.
The USRF provides grants for coaches and referees to complete USA Rugby coaching and referee clinics as well as coaching and referees courses and exchanges with international academies.
In 2021, USRFC awarded 19 of these grants, which was an almost four-fold increase from 2020.
Donate to the US Rugby Foundation to Support Training Grants Here>>
Western Washington University Director of Rugby went to Canterbury, New Zealand for the Crusaders course.
“The Crusaders’ success is a product of their belief in themselves and the Crusader Culture, Me/We," said Horne in a USRF testimonial. "I found it interesting to see the professionals making the same skill breakdowns that my college level players make, just not as often. The Coach’s strategy is to ask ‘how do we get better?’ Never right or wrong, good or bad!”
The US Rugby Foundation offered 11 grants to eligible applicants to take part in the Crusaders International Academy at a special discounted rate. The price, originally $1,100 per coach, was cut by 50% thanks to Foundation grants. The foundation identified coaches throughout the 10 USRF geographic regions.
"The Crusaders course gave me invaluable exposure to world-class professional coaches and the global rugby network," said Katie Dowty, who is the Head Coach of the NIRA D1 champion Dartmouth women's program. "They were an open book on how they build team culture, their coaching methods, and how they keep evolving their vision to stay on top. Much of the knowledge I was able to apply immediately to my own coaching, and I look forward to building upon the network of connections the course provided."
If you give to the US Rugby Foundation to support this program, your gift will be matched thanks to a general pledge from donor Mike Girton. Former rugby player Girton will match up to $500,000 in gifts to the Foundation, so any gift you give can be doubled in value.
