Youth Rugby for your Son or daughter

REDHAWKS YOUTH RUGBY FOR YOUR SON OR DAUGHTER
Did you know that rugby is the fastest growing sport in the United States?  Did you know that playing rugby helps your son or daughter become a more well-rounded athlete, improving skills and conditioning for other sports?  Did you know the rate of injuries in rugby is generally comparable to that of basketball and soccer?  Did you know there are several local rugby clubs with grade based teams from pre-kindergarten through high school?  Did you know that many of your neighbors play on one of the best youth rugby teams in the region—The Raleigh Redhawks Youth Rugby Club—and that its current President, Dave Krosner, is also one of your neighbors?  Finally, do you or your kids have any idea how fun rugby is to play and watch?

The Raleigh Redhawks invite girls and boys of all ages to register for the upcoming Winter/Spring season.  You can find more information about registration and about the club and the upcoming season at www.redhawksrugby.com.  Generally, evening practices commence in early January and run through the middle of May.  Most games at the younger levels occur in Raleigh and Cary, and the older levels also have games in Charlotte, Chapel Hill and other locations.  Kids on teams below 5th grade play two-hand touch rugby (non-contact), and kids on teams from 5th grade up play tackle rugby.

So, what makes rugby so great?  First, anyone can play—no experience is necessary.  The Redhawks’ coaches have decades of experience and are able to quickly teach the kids the game.  Second, the game requires athletes of all different sizes and speed.  Unlike other sports—where to succeed at the highest levels you may need to be extremely tall or fast or big—in rugby there are positions for players who are tall, short, fast, agile, big, or small.  In fact, some of the best players on the Redhawks are small and fast.  Third, the game is continuous—there are no designated offensive and defensive players—rather, like soccer, each player is essentially on offense when you have the ball and defense when you do not.  In rugby, every single player in every single game will run with the ball, pass and catch the ball, make tackles, be tackled, and have the opportunity to score!  Fourth, Rugby provides great cardiovascular exercise, and studies have shown that the average player in a high school rugby game will run five miles during the course of the game.

Rugby also teaches valuable life lessons.  Players learn to establish and strive for team and individual goals, to face and overcome adversity, to put their team ahead of themselves, to work through problems, and to be great sportsmen.  Unlike other sports, rugby has a long and steep tradition of camaraderie among players of competing teams.  During its almost 200 year history, rugby games from school boys through international matches, always end with the host team feeding the visiting team.  By the time most rugby players stop playing the game, they have developed innumerable friendships often around the globe.

There is also the opportunity to play rugby at progressively higher levels and internationally.  There are opportunities to play on state, regional and national all-star and all-American teams.  The very best players will have the chance to compete for a spot on the U.S. national team—The Eagles—who compete in the Olympics, the Rugby World Cup and other international events.  The Redhawks boast two players who have competed overseas—one, a 10th grader, is currently attending boarding school and playing in Wales and another, a 9th grader, spent his summer playing in New Zealand.  One of your neighbors played for the USA Rugby South All-Star team this past summer and competed against the high school national teams from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, and Uruguay. Finally, since rugby is played at virtually every U.S. college, kids with the desire to play a sport in college can achieve that through rugby.
For more information about the Raleigh Redhawks Youth Rugby Club, please visit our website (www.redhawksrugby.com) or contact our President, Dave Krosner (919.412.6030).