Rugby season is finally here with the start of practice for Aspetuck Valley Rugby Club. “With pre-season indoor training and three teams this year there will be a big group so we have split the practice times to separate the teams”, states the new High School level team coach, Rogan Carroll. “We need a good four weeks to bring any new boys up to speed with the fundamentals”.
Aspetuck Valley Rugby Club was established last year through the Boys and Girls Club with two teams; Under 13 and Under 15, drawing players from Westport, Newtown, Redding, Easton, Weston, Wilton, and Bethel. With only a handful of the boys having ever played before, let alone touching a rugby ball, their first season was a huge success with many wins against vastly more established clubs.
Coached by dads with loads of playing experience the boys quickly got used to the accents of Australia, New Zealand, England and Scotland, as well as the American dads who grew up playing rugby in California, New York and Connecticut. All coaches are certified by USA Rugby and have the appropriate skill and safety knowledge foremost when coaching the boys. Americans tend to think of Rugby as ‘Football without the pads’, but the truth is, it is more of a mix between soccer and football. Tackling and other physical contact takes a different form when done without pads.
With such a success in the first season, this Spring will see the introduction of a Regional High School level team, open for Freshman to Seniors. As one of the coaches states, “Rugby is a sport where everyone gets to touch the ball, all ability levels are accepted as there is a vast range of skill sets required in a team of 15, and there is a such a great level of camaraderie, more than any other sport. Rugby is also now widely recognized as a legitimate College sport. If your son is looking for a fun skillful sport to play, then come and join us, everyone gets to play and everyone gets to touch the ball.”
“We have a good CT based 8 game roster starting in March for the High School team, and about 10 games for the U13 and U15 teams”, explains Carroll. Sign up and spread the word for Aspetuck Valley Rugby. For more information and to register visit the clubs website www. AspetuckValleyRugby.org
Did you know that Rugby will be introduced into the nextOlympics? Did you know it is played in 1000 colleges across the country and that there are over 2500 rugby clubs in the US? It’s a great sport: Play Rugby!
