Starting a new NonContact Rugby Youth Program 1212007

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Starting a new Non-Contact Rugby Youth
Program12/1/2007

• Patrick Walsh
• Potomac Rugby Union Youth League

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Preamble - This works

• PRUYL 25 clubs formed since 1996
• Mostly rec and parks organizations
• North South Divisions
• 39 teams each in season ending tournament
• 1800 in T-shirt sales
• High School age programs leagues have sprung
  from these youth programs
• Spalding, Mt. St. Joe, MIAA
• There are now kids from these programs in
• High School programs
• College programs
• US Eagles

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Preamble - This works

• Anne Arundel Youth Rugby (AAYR)
• 6 clubs in one county
• Summer schedule is all within the county
• Longest trip to away game is 30 minutes
• Working for county recognition/coordination

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DECIDE TO DO IT !!!

• If you decide, it will happen.
• It just takes one person
• Others will follow when you decide.
• Dont worry about
• Who is going to help
• Where the kids will come from
• If there is a field available
• How the money will work

JUST DECIDE, DECIDE, DECIDE
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Your decision makes it easy for you

• Just tell others that youve decided
• Let them know that their help is welcome
• Ask them to pass on the information to others
• Then move on
• Dont wait for a response
• If theyre going to help, theyll get back to you
• Others will seek you out

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League or Individual Program ?

• A league means multiple programs
• Whatever you do, be sure that the person down the
  road can duplicate your success pattern
• Can the next organization raise funds the same
  way you can?
• How do successful organizations function in your
  community?
• How much does soccer charge?
• If you use sponsors, will they be there next year?

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Work With an Existing Organization

• Plan on working with an existing community youth
  organization
• Their name already is known in the community
• They already have a structure
• They already have fields
• They already have families and kids
• The local newspapers already know them and may
  give them priority when announcing sign-ups

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Make a List of Youth Organizations

• Determine the existing youth organizations in
  your immediate community
• A list of potential yess makes it easier to live
  with a no
• Find out which organizations already control
  appropriate fields
• Determine what sports/seasons they already
  support
• Allows you to talk about complementing their
  sports

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Have a Referral

• Talk to a county person about the rec and park
  programs in your area
• Ask him/her if its ok to say that you spoke to
  him/her when you contact an organization
• Can you get a person already part of the
  organization to team with you?
• You become the outside expert rather than being
  the salesman

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Contact Organization Well Before Season Starts

• Gives time for a natural progression of talks
• They have other priorities
• If the first organization says no, then you have
  time to contact others
• If you contact them in fall, football is their
  focus
• BUT, they are processing your request

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Pick a Non-Competitive Season

• This eliminates any perceived threat from
  existing sports in your organization
• Summer?
• Fields used less
• Less kids playing other sports
• Less rugby activity occurring at the adult level
• More coaching potential available
• More evening light, so lit fields not needed

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Board of Directors Meeting

• If youve been invited, then the answer is yes!
• Bring rugby material
• Rugby Magazine (careful of some articles)
• Videos 101 Greatest Tries, NCR Video
• Local newspaper articles, if any
• Better if your presentation is later in the whole
  BOD meeting
• You get a flavor of what the members
  personalities are and what their interests and
  concerns are

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Board of Directors Meeting

• After being introduced, give some personal
  information
• If you have a family, where you work, where you
  live, your levels of rugby experience
• Explain that your purpose there is to answer
  their questions about rugby
• Their questions mean that they are interested
• They are looking for confirmation that they were
  correct in inviting you
• Make their dreamyours

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Board of Directors Meeting

• Focus on answering their questions
• Once you answer a question, stop talking
• If youre wondering if youve been talking too
  long, the answer is yes!
• Wait for their next question
• Appear relaxed/confident in the silence, do not
  provide filler
• Dont think that you need to show them everything
  that you brought
• The material is only there if it helps to answer
  questions from the BOD

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Board of Directors Meeting

• Relate rugby to the other sports that the
  organization is involved with
• Explain that new families will join their
  organization because of rugby
• These new families, with their kids, will end up
  joining the other sports that are offered
• Dont ask for the sale!!
• The BOD is in control
• Theyll decide when theyve heard enough, thank
  you, then excuse you for the vote

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Communications

• After the BOD says yes
• Prepare an announcement of this new sport thru
  the existing communication channels that the
  organization uses w/ BOD cooperation
• Organization Newsletters
• Local Community Newspapers
• Include ages, boys and/or girls, season
• Besides announcement info, include background
  info for the media files
• Other youth, hs, college, mens/womens clubs in
  area
• Include contact information
• Name, phone numbers, e-mail addresses

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Communications

• Associate your activities with the other sports
  in your youth organization
• Have your signups with other sports signups
• Have info booth at football dinner/season end
  events
• Tell the local rugby clubs that this new youth
  club is now in existence
• Go to one of their meetings
• Ask them to send e-mails to their members/old
  boys
• Ask them to spread the word around

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Communications

• Announce to the whole rugby world
• Rugby Magazine
• USA Rugby
• Your LAU and TU
• If youre the tenth youth rugby organization in
  your area, say so
• Write an article to Rugby Magazine on how you did
  it
• This should all be information, not preaching
• Dont tell others that they must do this, just
  let them know that it can be done

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Delegate, Delegate, DelegateAdministration

• Use the mother organization
• Treasurer, Public Relations
• Local athletic supplier contacts
• Voice mail, newsletters
• Have signups with other sports
• Get parents to help with
• Drills, marking the field, after game party
• Phone trees
• JUST ASK!!!
• If you disappeared tomorrow, would the program
  continue? If you go on vacation???

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Equipment Who pays? Club or Family?

• Cones for drills and field marking
• Paint
• Goal post pads and goal posts
• Shirts
• Rugby Balls
• Trophies
• Kicking Tee (short cones work
• Pinnies
• Soccer shoes
• Shorts
• Team shirts
• 5th quarter

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Coaches Youll Get Them

• Existing rugby players/coaches/administrators
• Parents who coach other sports
• Parents who want to work with their kids
• And are willing to learn
• Be sure to get background checks
• For any adults working regularly w/ the kids

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Start w/ Parents Practices

• Let the first practice be for the parents
• Explain demonstrate the game
• Pass the ball around, Demo a coed scrum
  (hooker?), Explain mauls, rucks, lineouts
• Explain how it works with the tackle game, then
  how non-contact rugby adapts the same principles
• Relate to other sports
• Basketball, soccer, lacrosse, football
• Include the history of rugby

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Its All in the Family Practices

• Have initial practices with all of the kids and
  coaches together
• The older kids will help the younger
• New coaches can watch experienced coaches
• First practices can be simple
• Pick up the ball, run, put it down
• Fall down, w/o ball, then w/ ball
• Pass ball in a circle

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The kids will come.

• gt 95 will be from non-rugby families
• First practice could be short of players
• But kids will bring friends each practice
• gt 95 of those friends will stay

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Be Patient Practices

• Different kids will learn at different rates
• Many may have never played a sport before
• And the parents are ecstatic that theyre trying
  rugby
• Youll see the kids hit a plateau of
  understanding and skillthen

• SUDDENLY, they get it right

• WHAT THE HECK MADE THEM SEE THE LIGHT?

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Be Patient - Practices

• Kids will have challenges
• Dont change the game, do some coaching
• Teach kids to be running when receiving passes
• Gut passes, spread support, mauls, tag zone
• Assure that guidelines being followed
• Defenders 1 meter away
• Tagger to neutral position

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Relate Rugby to other sports Practices

• Find out what other sports the kids know
• Technique
• Relate spreading out the offense, zone defense, 2
  on 1 offense, quick feet w/ relaxed hands
• Formations
• Scrums and football offensive/defensive lines
• Sumo wrestling and the karate kid
• Demonstrate coed head and shoulder positioning
  with assurance
• Existing skills
• Kickers, for goal and territory
• Read their foot stroke

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How are you doing? Analysis

• Examine your program growth
• Year by year
• Examine your league growth
• Individual club growth
• Boys/girls numbers in each growth
• Ask the parents/kids how they feel about the
  program
• If some clubs start tackle, see how that affects
  growth