One of the more rewarding things about seeing young women play rugby is how much they grow from the experience. Certainly rugby can't take all the credit ... parents, friends, family, teachers, jobs, sports ... they all play a significant factor in one's personal growth. Nonetheless we at WFGR have been around the girls game long enough to see, repeatedly, so many young women graduate their teams with an incredible gift of confidence. It's a trend and an incredibly positive one. Having to tackle other girls, to let loose completely on the pitch, to run full speed into an opponent; it takes so much character and teamwork that girls leave these programs as different people.
No one here at our offices knows personally the young lady in the interview below. We do know she is one of the most athletic, talented players, and captains to play in WGR. When we see this impressive interview, we see a confident, well-spoken, and classy representative of the qualities we strive to teach through WGR. As a senior in high school, this is a more impressive response to some tough questions than those you see from a lot of pro athletes on television. Great job Peyton. Wonderful interview.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Waukesha Youth Rugby Celebrates Another Year
Waukesha Youth rugby celebrated another successful summer program this past August. Run through the Waukesha Park and Rec Dept., this is the longest-running youth rugby summer program in the state. It would not have been possible without the help of many volunteers, including some current high school girls players who helped with the coaching.
We'll let the pictures speak for themselves .... it was a GREAT summer activity:
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Who Coaches in WGR?
Where have coaches come from in WGR?
-Seven head coaches have come from Marquette University Men's Rugby Football Club. At least five different assistant coaches have come from that program as well.
-Five different coaches have come from the Marquette University Women's Rugby Football Club.
-Four different coaches have come from UW-Whitewater Women's Rugby.
-There are currently eight female asst. coaches in the league, and they are all alumni of WGR.
-We've had ten female head coaches over the course of WGR history. Six are alumni of WGR.
-Four asst. coaches never played rugby. They knew how to coach, understood sports and how to work with young people, and they learned rugby the rugby along the way.
-Five coaches have had significant referee experience.
-Eight coaches have had significant experience at other levels, including boys, men, women, collegiate, selectside, national.
-Three coaches have had an accent :)
-Seven head coaches have come from Marquette University Men's Rugby Football Club. At least five different assistant coaches have come from that program as well.
-Five different coaches have come from the Marquette University Women's Rugby Football Club.
-Four different coaches have come from UW-Whitewater Women's Rugby.
-There are currently eight female asst. coaches in the league, and they are all alumni of WGR.
-We've had ten female head coaches over the course of WGR history. Six are alumni of WGR.
-Four asst. coaches never played rugby. They knew how to coach, understood sports and how to work with young people, and they learned rugby the rugby along the way.
-Five coaches have had significant referee experience.
-Eight coaches have had significant experience at other levels, including boys, men, women, collegiate, selectside, national.
-Three coaches have had an accent :)
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Girls Coach Needed
A plea from Fond Du Lac, as they look for some help with a great group of young athletes:
"FDL Rugby inc. is looking for a high school girls coach. The FDL Sirens have 35 plus players but no coach. FDLRI will pay for any travel, dues and anything else the coach needs. FDLRI has all the equipment and facilities that a coach needs with great parent support. They start practice Thursday but the coach wont need to start until next week. The team also has a recruiting table at the schools student sign up days this Wednesday and Thursday which should increase the players on the team by at least 10. Any questions please contact Dale Klitzke. If a coach can't be found then they will have to cancel the season."
Brad S Casetta Sr.
President-Wisconsin Rugby Referee Society
Please go to the Fond Du Lac Rugby website for contact information and scheduling info.
Editorial:
The staff here at Wisconsin Girls Rugby can't refrain from commenting on this one. Over the last decade, we've seen many requests for coaching help in the girls league go without ever being answered. It's frustrating and disappointing. We've had teams fail to begin, even though a group of girls sign up and want to play. Worse is when existing teams fold not because of lack of interest from players.
During these same years, probably a dozen boys high school teams in the area have been created and coaches have stepped up to answer the call ... every single time.
This disparity comes across as unfair, really, to a group of young athletes hungry to learn and play. So, why doesn't the rugby community step up better? Why the difference?
We have coaches in WGR who have coached both boys and girls. There certainly is a difference. Coaching young adults, in general, can be incredibly trying of one's patience. But it's also incredibly rewarding and inspiring. That's why coaches coach.
One of the nice things about coaching girls is that they don't have to unlearn a football tackle. Girls generally don't spear tackle or hurl their head at a tucked ball ball like a football player taught to tackle with their "helmet to the ball" to create a fumble. That certainly makes the game safer and more like the flowing, skilled rugby games that can be seen at high levels of the game.
Girls don't try to carry a rugby ball like a football player would either, tucking it under one arm where it can't be passed or controlled.
In my time coaching boys, I remember doing some attacking and defense drills, marveling at the intensity level. I'd taken over an experienced team with 11 returning starters. Practice was undoubtedly more physically intense than one of the girls practices that year. I thought the boys were really getting it.
Come game time it was a different story. Right from kickoff, the boys quickly reverted back to football technique and did whatever they wanted. The mental and technical aspects of the game weren't applied well. That was consistently true throughout my time coaching high school boys.
Girls teams on the other hand consistently applied the lessons of practice far better come game time. Even with far less experienced players, they were more successful and skilled in much less time. They listened and soaked up all aspects of the game incredibly well.
Surely, this is anecdotal, but i know many others in WGR and at the collegiate level who would agree.
part ii of our office's commentary coming in a day or two
"FDL Rugby inc. is looking for a high school girls coach. The FDL Sirens have 35 plus players but no coach. FDLRI will pay for any travel, dues and anything else the coach needs. FDLRI has all the equipment and facilities that a coach needs with great parent support. They start practice Thursday but the coach wont need to start until next week. The team also has a recruiting table at the schools student sign up days this Wednesday and Thursday which should increase the players on the team by at least 10. Any questions please contact Dale Klitzke. If a coach can't be found then they will have to cancel the season."
Brad S Casetta Sr.
President-Wisconsin Rugby Referee Society
Please go to the Fond Du Lac Rugby website for contact information and scheduling info.
Editorial:
The staff here at Wisconsin Girls Rugby can't refrain from commenting on this one. Over the last decade, we've seen many requests for coaching help in the girls league go without ever being answered. It's frustrating and disappointing. We've had teams fail to begin, even though a group of girls sign up and want to play. Worse is when existing teams fold not because of lack of interest from players.
During these same years, probably a dozen boys high school teams in the area have been created and coaches have stepped up to answer the call ... every single time.
This disparity comes across as unfair, really, to a group of young athletes hungry to learn and play. So, why doesn't the rugby community step up better? Why the difference?
We have coaches in WGR who have coached both boys and girls. There certainly is a difference. Coaching young adults, in general, can be incredibly trying of one's patience. But it's also incredibly rewarding and inspiring. That's why coaches coach.
One of the nice things about coaching girls is that they don't have to unlearn a football tackle. Girls generally don't spear tackle or hurl their head at a tucked ball ball like a football player taught to tackle with their "helmet to the ball" to create a fumble. That certainly makes the game safer and more like the flowing, skilled rugby games that can be seen at high levels of the game.
Girls don't try to carry a rugby ball like a football player would either, tucking it under one arm where it can't be passed or controlled.
In my time coaching boys, I remember doing some attacking and defense drills, marveling at the intensity level. I'd taken over an experienced team with 11 returning starters. Practice was undoubtedly more physically intense than one of the girls practices that year. I thought the boys were really getting it.
Come game time it was a different story. Right from kickoff, the boys quickly reverted back to football technique and did whatever they wanted. The mental and technical aspects of the game weren't applied well. That was consistently true throughout my time coaching high school boys.
Girls teams on the other hand consistently applied the lessons of practice far better come game time. Even with far less experienced players, they were more successful and skilled in much less time. They listened and soaked up all aspects of the game incredibly well.
Surely, this is anecdotal, but i know many others in WGR and at the collegiate level who would agree.
part ii of our office's commentary coming in a day or two
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Division I Schedule Released
Wisconsin Girls Rugby is proud to release the 2011 Division I Conference Schedule. The competition will culminate at the 4th Annual State Championship Tournament on Sunday Oct 30th at Naga-waukee Park.
Wisconsin's 2011 Division I competition features:
Divine Savior Holy Angels High School, Kettle Moraine, Brookfield, Catholic Memorial High School, and Vernon.
A few notes on the upcoming competition:
-The two teams that make the Division I State Final earn Wisconsin's two seeds to the Midwest Regional Championship in the spring of 2012.
-Divison I teams will all field a second, developmental team in matches played shortly after the first.
-The season opener features Wisconsin's oldest rivalry, now in it's 11th year. It's also a repeat of last year's state championship, as KM faces DSHA.
-The other opener is a repeat of the 2010 3rd Place title match, as well as a Founder's Cup challenge match to boot. with Catholic Memorial facing crosstown rival Brookfield.
-Vernon welcomes Lindsey Fickau, a WGR and Vernon alumn, as their new head coach.
Week 1
9/9/11 Fri CMHS v Brookfield Minooka 5:00pm
9/9/11 Fri DSHA v KM Dretzka 5:00pm
Week 2
9/16/11 Fri KMv CMHS Naga-Waukee 4:30pm
9/18/11 Sun Brookfield v Vernon BCHS/Minooka 12:00pm
Week 3
9/23/11 Fri DSHA v Brookfield Dretzka 5:00pm
9/24/11 Sat Vernon v CMHS Vernon Town Hall 9:30am
Week 4
10/1/11 Sat CMHS v DSHA Minooka 10:00am
10/2/11 Sun KM v Vernon Naga-Waukee 1:00pm
Week 5
10/8/11 Sat Vernon v DSHA Vernon Town Hall 10:00am
10/9/11 Sun Brookfield v KM BCHS/Minooka 1:00pm
Wisconsin's 2011 Division I competition features:
Divine Savior Holy Angels High School, Kettle Moraine, Brookfield, Catholic Memorial High School, and Vernon.
A few notes on the upcoming competition:
-The two teams that make the Division I State Final earn Wisconsin's two seeds to the Midwest Regional Championship in the spring of 2012.
-Divison I teams will all field a second, developmental team in matches played shortly after the first.
-The season opener features Wisconsin's oldest rivalry, now in it's 11th year. It's also a repeat of last year's state championship, as KM faces DSHA.
-The other opener is a repeat of the 2010 3rd Place title match, as well as a Founder's Cup challenge match to boot. with Catholic Memorial facing crosstown rival Brookfield.
-Vernon welcomes Lindsey Fickau, a WGR and Vernon alumn, as their new head coach.
Week 1
9/9/11 Fri CMHS v Brookfield Minooka 5:00pm
9/9/11 Fri DSHA v KM Dretzka 5:00pm
Week 2
9/16/11 Fri KMv CMHS Naga-Waukee 4:30pm
9/18/11 Sun Brookfield v Vernon BCHS/Minooka 12:00pm
Week 3
9/23/11 Fri DSHA v Brookfield Dretzka 5:00pm
9/24/11 Sat Vernon v CMHS Vernon Town Hall 9:30am
Week 4
10/1/11 Sat CMHS v DSHA Minooka 10:00am
10/2/11 Sun KM v Vernon Naga-Waukee 1:00pm
Week 5
10/8/11 Sat Vernon v DSHA Vernon Town Hall 10:00am
10/9/11 Sun Brookfield v KM BCHS/Minooka 1:00pm
Monday, August 8, 2011
Division II Schedule Released
Wisconsin Girls Rugby is proud to announce the Division Two Fall Conference Schedule. With the season about a month away, teams will begin gearing up over the next few weeks.
The Division Two competition will culminate with the State Championship Tournament on Sunday Oct 30th, 2011 at Naga-Waukee Park in Delafield.
The Division Two conference includes: Menomonee Falls (last year's conference champ), Oak Creek, Fond Du Lac, Muskego, and Wauwatosa.
A few notes on the competitors:
This will be Wauwatosa's first conference campaign, after playing a successful developmental spring season.
Menomonee Falls earned promotion to division one last year after their defeat of Vernon for 5th place at last years state tournament. They elected to remain in the division two competition.
Oak Creek consistently fielded two sides all last year, and looks poised for a strong season.
The Division Two competition will culminate with the State Championship Tournament on Sunday Oct 30th, 2011 at Naga-Waukee Park in Delafield.
The Division Two conference includes: Menomonee Falls (last year's conference champ), Oak Creek, Fond Du Lac, Muskego, and Wauwatosa.
A few notes on the competitors:
This will be Wauwatosa's first conference campaign, after playing a successful developmental spring season.
Menomonee Falls earned promotion to division one last year after their defeat of Vernon for 5th place at last years state tournament. They elected to remain in the division two competition.
Oak Creek consistently fielded two sides all last year, and looks poised for a strong season.
Date-Day-Division-Home-Visitor-Field-Time
Week 1
9/11/11 Sunday ii Oak Creek Muskego Oak Creek 11:00am
9/11/11 Sunday ii Oak Creek Wauwatosa Oak Creek Noon
9/11/11 Sunday ii Fond du Lac Menomonee F UW FDL Noon
Week 2
9/18/11 Sunday ii Wauwatosa Oak Creek Longfellow MS Noon
9/18/11 Sunday ii Oak Creek Fond du Lac LFMS 1:00pm
9/18/11 Sunday ii Muskego Menomonee F Bluhm Park Noon
Week 3
9/25/11 Sunday ii Oak Creek TBD Oak Creek Noon
9/25/11 Sunday ii Fond du Lac Muskego UW FDL Noon
9/25/11 Sunday ii Menomonee F Wauwatosa Menomonee F 1:00pm
Week 4
10/2/11 Sunday ii Oak Creek Fond du Lac Menomonee F Noon
10/2/11 Sunday ii Menomonee F Oak Creek Menomonee F 1:00pm
10/2/11 Sunday ii Wauwatosa Muskego LFMS 1:00pm
Week 5
10/9/11 Sunday ii Oak Creek Menomonee F Oak Creek Noon
10/9/11 Sunday ii Oak Creek Muskego Oak Creek 11:00am
10/9/11 Sunday ii Fond du Lac Wauwatosa UW FDL Noon
Thursday, August 4, 2011
The Late Hit Problem in Girls Rugby
This is a reprint from an article that struck a chord with a lot of coaches. For the full article, including reader comments, please check out the Goffonrugby Column at Rugby Magazine's website.
GoffonRugby: The Late-Hit Problem in Girls Rugby
written by Alex Goff, May 11, 2011
"Dirty and dangerous play is bad, even if you don’t mean it.
For some years now, I have noticed a problem within girls high school rugby.
[M]y time at the latest U19 Girls Championships, plus discussions with other coaches has shown me this is a bigger problem than just mine.
It is: hitting a try-scorer after she has scored.
This happens much more often in girls rugby than in any other aspect of the game. Generally it goes like this: a player has a breakaway, and dives in at the corner. A girl is chasing said player, and just after the ball is touched down, the defender comes flying in. She comes in knees first and strikes the scorer in the back, the neck, and the head.
At this year’s nationals I saw it happen frequently, and also saw a player touching the ball down (and not sliding) while a defender ran by her and smacked her knee-to-knee.
This rarely, if ever, gets penalized
Why doesn’t it get penalized? I think referees often can’t imagine young girls can be dirty players. Others have suggested the refs have simply registered the try and turned their backs. What gets missed is, this is incredibly dangerous play. Even if it’s a mistake, it’s dangerous. Flying into an unprotected player a she scores a try, and driving two knees into her back, neck or head is very dangerous and should be stopped.
Why does this happen in girls rugby more than others? I think for a few reasons (and remember, I coached girls HS rugby for seven years;):
1. Defenders like to be seen trying, even when it’s hopeless. The best way to be seen doing this is to run desperately (but hopelessly) at a player about to score. Then, to protect themselves, they try to slide on their shins. They are not interested in making a real tackle to prevent a try;
2. Coaches are busy teaching many aspects of the game. They don’t go into the minutia of how it’s illegal to kick a ball out of someone’s hands, or how to legally and effectively tackle to prevent a try;
3. Girls are generally not fighters. In a men’s or boys game, and even in an older women’s game, if someone hit late after a try, there’d be a crowd of angry teammates looking to exact some retribution. Some chest-thumping can be useful. Girls, generally, don’t do that. They gather around their fallen teammate to help her, but don’t seek revenge.
How can we stop it? We can stop it by having refs look for it, and having them penalize teams. A few penalties at midfield, and a few yellow cards can go a very long way to discouraging such dangerous play. One 15-minute session from a coach on avoiding late hits can do a lot, too."
So, have any of you players, coaches, and supporters noticed this or is Goff being overprotective of girls playing rugby?
GoffonRugby: The Late-Hit Problem in Girls Rugby
written by Alex Goff, May 11, 2011
"Dirty and dangerous play is bad, even if you don’t mean it.
For some years now, I have noticed a problem within girls high school rugby.
[M]y time at the latest U19 Girls Championships, plus discussions with other coaches has shown me this is a bigger problem than just mine.
It is: hitting a try-scorer after she has scored.
This happens much more often in girls rugby than in any other aspect of the game. Generally it goes like this: a player has a breakaway, and dives in at the corner. A girl is chasing said player, and just after the ball is touched down, the defender comes flying in. She comes in knees first and strikes the scorer in the back, the neck, and the head.
At this year’s nationals I saw it happen frequently, and also saw a player touching the ball down (and not sliding) while a defender ran by her and smacked her knee-to-knee.
This rarely, if ever, gets penalized
Why doesn’t it get penalized? I think referees often can’t imagine young girls can be dirty players. Others have suggested the refs have simply registered the try and turned their backs. What gets missed is, this is incredibly dangerous play. Even if it’s a mistake, it’s dangerous. Flying into an unprotected player a she scores a try, and driving two knees into her back, neck or head is very dangerous and should be stopped.
Why does this happen in girls rugby more than others? I think for a few reasons (and remember, I coached girls HS rugby for seven years;):
1. Defenders like to be seen trying, even when it’s hopeless. The best way to be seen doing this is to run desperately (but hopelessly) at a player about to score. Then, to protect themselves, they try to slide on their shins. They are not interested in making a real tackle to prevent a try;
2. Coaches are busy teaching many aspects of the game. They don’t go into the minutia of how it’s illegal to kick a ball out of someone’s hands, or how to legally and effectively tackle to prevent a try;
3. Girls are generally not fighters. In a men’s or boys game, and even in an older women’s game, if someone hit late after a try, there’d be a crowd of angry teammates looking to exact some retribution. Some chest-thumping can be useful. Girls, generally, don’t do that. They gather around their fallen teammate to help her, but don’t seek revenge.
How can we stop it? We can stop it by having refs look for it, and having them penalize teams. A few penalties at midfield, and a few yellow cards can go a very long way to discouraging such dangerous play. One 15-minute session from a coach on avoiding late hits can do a lot, too."
So, have any of you players, coaches, and supporters noticed this or is Goff being overprotective of girls playing rugby?
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