"The Rugby Mentality"

Below is an open letter from the Director of Ohio's Elite  Rugby, Chris Hopps, published in 2010:


     "In my experiences as a youth and high school rugby administrator I constantly have to correct myself against the “Rugby” mentality. This way of thinking effects many facets of running a union including the most important – expectations. Expectations of our athletes, coaches, venues, events and administrators is what allows us to rise and to fall.

The High School Athlete

If you are a high school athlete you constantly dream of state championship glory. You are brought through the ranks of youth leagues, middle school programs and finally you ascend to the senior high school arena. Some of these championship dreams are more realistic than others but they all include screaming fans, crying parents, perhaps even a school band playing wildly as you compete for the ultimate adolescent prize.

If you ask a high school rugby player their experience in a state championship it likely includes matches played in a park. An assistant coach, alumni or poor junior varsity player patrolling the sidelines as a touch judge. Your poor grandmother brought her own chair or is expected to sit on a hill while you and your teammates propel each other towards your season long goal.

In my first year within our state organization I took an unintentional but important detour. I went to the state volleyball tournament. The pageantry and opulence of the event was astounding. It was everything that such a high level of sport should be. And that started a journey that included our state bowling, wrestling and lacrosse state championships. After watching the hodgepodge of adolescent glory, and misery, I realized how far apart the expectations truly were for rugby and mainstream sports in America.

A high school state final in high school wouldn’t even match a regular season event in any of the state sanctioned sports, let alone our state playoffs. There were aspects to rival events that we had never even considered. And there it was - we were missing the event. At our best rugby had been a collection of matches played by the athletes - for the athletes. We had given no credence to fans, administrators or media.

Why should we accept an inferior product?

This critical review encouraged me to take a look at other segments that we had missed the boat on.I had always operated within rugby as a happy volunteer. This sport was advanced on the backs of volunteers and amateur philanthropists. Referee’s declined match fees, coaches donated their stipends and administrators – how could they accept payment for something they loved? We were surrounded by a rugby environment that, at the top levels, demanded professional commitment and resources, but in its compensation was amateur and volunteer.All had done there work admirably to get our organization to where it was but we were lacking the accountability that comes with compensation.

This sounds easy but in America playing rugby takes sacrifice. Sacrificing class time, work time, family time – money and influence. We got nothing for free and took nothing for granted. We had boot-strapped ourselves to where we were. I was proud of being an American rugby person and felt that I owned just a tiny little slice of this great sport here. I’m sure many feel the same way. I’d always scoffed at taking payment for rugby activities. A couple hundred dollars would be great for me, but imagine what it could buy for the club! I repeated this to myself many, many times.

It finally occurred to me that we had progressed to the point where volunteerism was impeding the growth of rugby. We needed administration, direction and accountability. We needed to reward those who had already sacrificed so much. Coaches and administrators had to be paid! This idea was so “un-rugby” that it was tough for people to wrap their heads around it.

So what does the future hold?
I continue to focus and evaluate our expectations as an administration and as rugby players in general. Rugby is great because there is so much room to achieve and to fall. It truly is the collective will of the players, coaches and administrators that can construct greatness. Without plans, blueprints or maps there are so many programs and teams that have achieved a level of professionalism that can match any varsity program of a big budget sport. Raising our expectations has helped improve the experience of all involved in this game including fans and volunteers."

Wisconsin Girls Rugby is proud to release the second half of the Fall 2012 Conference Schedule.

Oct 3rd 5pm Muskego v Oak Creek

Oct 6th 10am Vernon v DSHA
             10am MFalls v CMHS

Oct 7th 12pm Oak Creek v Fond Du Lac
             130pm Brookfield v Kettle Moraine
             3pm Brookfield v Muskego

Oct 8th 530pm Kettle M. v Wauwatosa

Oct 12th 430pm CMHS v Kettle Moraine

Oct 13th 10am MFalls v DSHA

Oct 14th 930am FDL v Vernon
               12pm Oak Creek v Brookfield

Oct 18th 445pm DSHA v Kettle Moraine

Oct 20th 10am Vernon v CMHS

Oct 21st 12pm MFalls v Oak Creek
              130pm Brookfield v Fond Du Lac
              3pm Brookdield v Wauwatosa

Oct 28th 9am-4pm State Championship Tournament. Naga-Waukee Park

New Coaches Step Up

Wisconsin Girls Rugby is proud to announce the addition of two new head coaches to the conference.  None of our teams would exist without the efforts of many volunteers, but especially the head coaches around the conference.

WGR is also looking for a new head coach for Kettle Moraine beginning in the spring of 2013.  Anyone interested in being an assistant to the current head coach this fall, before taking over the following season is encouraged to come out and learn from one of the best.

The new coach of Wauwatosa is widely respected in Wisconsin rugby and comes with a decade of experience.  Stacy Van Caster is a WGR alumn, having played for four years with Kettle Moraine and winning a state championship in the process.  Stacy went on to continue playing at UW-Milwaukee and was part of a program that grew each year she was there.  Now that WGR has been around over 15 years, more and more alumni are returning to help other girls play the game.

Taking over the Brookfield Bruisers, a mix of Brookfield East and Central student-athletes, is Neil Grintjes.  Coach Neil comes to WGR with a lot of playing experience; playing collegiately in California and then with the Milwaukee Men's Rugby Club.  He's already had a spring sesaon under his belt and embarks on his first conference season this fall.

Additionally, we have one of our WGR alumns picking up a whistle with the Wisconsin Referee Society.  Jen Humphries played with the great early Northshore teams under coach Ric Ferrara and travelled to the third national high school invitational championships in Seattle in 2001, finishing 3rd.
Coaches and players please welcome her to WGR as she refs matches around the area this fall.

Lastly, best of luck to all the new assistant coaches, refs, and volunteer helpers this fall!  wisconsingirlsrugby@gmail.com

Female Athletes Drop Out

It's a fact: starting at age 14 girls drop out of sports at twice the rate of boys. 
We read that recently and it made us think.  About all the kids we've seen give up on staying physically fit.  About all the kids who never get healthy fit.  About all the kids who don't know what it's like or who don't have the opportunity to be part of a team sport where everyone has a place. 

The research, from the Women's Sport Foundation, led us to explore their website.  It's filled with some great reseach.  If anyone needs some info for a school essay or just to gain a little insight into sports and gender issues, check it out.  That also reminded me of a tour I took to Ireland and a different attitude towards women playing sports.  We met the president of the Irish Rugby Union, on our way to pick up tickets to the English v Ireland Six Nations match.  He asked us who we coached.  When he found out we coached women's rugby he turned to us and said, "Why would you waste your time doing that?"  He wasn't joking, as we later came to understand.

On a separate tour to Ireland we encountered a few high school girls teams along the way.  There were few teams and we had a challenging time picking up games.  Their coaches and players almost all said the same thing ... we don't get much support from anyone or anything.  It was clear to us that compared to 'the states' fewer high school girls were playing sports over there.  There was a whole different attitude and it was a good lesson to all of us, to appreciate the opportunites we have over here.

$8 Million per medal ... $37 Million for gold

An interesting article quoting an Australian Study of Rugby from a while back:

"Successful high-performance programs don't lead to increased grassroots participation, contrary to the oft-asserted view, according to an Australian academic study.The finding is similar to evidence that public subsidies for American sports stadiums do not create jobs or other municipal economic benefits. The theory is plausible, but scholars are demonstrating it just doesn't work out that way."

(Editor's note:  The aussies must not have included Miller Park compared to old County Stadium in their study!)

     "In an analysis of the relationship between gross spending by Australia's equivalent of the US Olympic Committee and Olympic medals won over 1977-96, the Australian Institute of Sport was so efficient that it achieved a 'significant linear relationship', meaning incremental dollars led to more medals. The cost worked out to be $37 million per gold medal, or $8 million per medal."

"Neither spending nor performance, however, had any bearing on mass participation. 'It is time to revisit the notion that elite sporting success leads to greater mass participation as a result of the so-called "trickle-down" effect', the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport article summarizes."

Anecdotally, we sometimes think we see a different effect.  Doesn't it seem that more kids sign up for and try gymnastics or other Olympic sports shortly after the broadcast of the games?   Maybe they don't stick with it or maybe not that many kids really do try Olympic sports just because it's on TV.  We at WGR would love to see some more research on this, especially from the American sporting public. 

Fall Conference Preview 2012

As teams begin to assemble for the 2012-2013 campaign, WGR is proud to officially release the conference schedule.  With eight conference teams and two non-conference developmental teams, it's a packed schedule, with no bye-week.  The two-division trial was put on hold until more teams develop. 

The season concludes with the state championship tournament Oct 28th at Naga-Waukee Park.

Opening Week and the first half of the schedule:

Our pick for the match of the week in week one is Kettle Moraine v Menomonee Falls.  It's the second-oldest program in the state versus a team just moving up to the top division after four years.  Should be a great game!

9/6 Thursday
5:00 PM Dretzka Park DSHA Muskego


9/8/Saturday
10:30 AM UW-Fond du Lac Fond du Lac DSHA
10:00 AM Minooka CMH Oak Creek
11:30 AM Minooka CMH Wauwatosa

9/9 Sunday
1:00 pm Vernon Town Park Vernon Brookfield
12:00pm Nashotah Kettle Moraine Menomonee Falls
1:30 AM Nashotah Kettle Moraine Muskego

9/15 Saturday
9:30 AM Dretzka Park DSHA Brookfield
11:00 AM Dretzka Park DSHA Wauwatosa
10:00 AM UW-Fond du Lac Fond du Lac CMH

9/16 Sunday
12:00pm Thomas Jefferson Menomonee Falls Vernon
12:00pm Oak Creek High School Oak Creek Kettle Moraine

9/21 Friday
5:00 PM Nashotah Kettle Moraine Fond du Lac

9/23 Sunday
Noon Vernon Town Park Vernon Oak Creek
1:00 PM Minooka CMH DSHA
2:00 PM Brookfield Christian School Brookfield Menomonee Falls

9/27 Thursday
5:00 PM Naga-Waukee Kettle Moraine Vernon
5:00 PM Dretzka Park DSHA Oak Creek

9/29/2012 Saturday
10:00 AM Naga-Waukee CMH Brookfield

9/30/2012 Sunday
12:00pm UW-Fond du Lac Fond du Lac Menomonee Falls

New Law Changes 2012

The International Rugby Board announced some time ago several changes to the Laws of the Game.  Unlike some sports that merely have rules, rugby follows laws and publishes its own law book.  Maybe it's just semantics, but laws seem to hold a higher purpose and significance.

Most of the law changes for this year are obscure, minor tweeks, and won't be of much impact at the high school level.

One is a major change.  In an attempt, in our opinion, to improve the spectacle of rugby at the highest level, the scrum cadence has been shortened.  Finding there were a lot of scrum collapses, early engagements, and resets at the professional and international level, the IRB Laws altered the cadence.  Scrums were taking a long time to be played, and completed successfully and that wasn't good for television ratings!  The ammended scrum engagement law now reads:

"The referee will call “crouch” then “touch”. The front rows crouch and using their outside arm; each prop touches the point of the opposing prop’s outside shoulder. The props then withdraw their arms. The referee will then call “set” when the front rows are ready. The front rows may then engage. The “set” call is not a command but an indication that the front rows may come together when ready."

How this will be refereed at the local level remains to be seen.  Coaches and referee representatives are busy discussing the changes to ensure scrums continue to be safe at the local level.  In our own observation, and many coaches we think would agree, when refs call "crouch" under the old four-part cadence, almost all scrummagers are already crouched.  Some would say there is an unneccessary step in the cadence.  This probably serves as notice to players to "get ready" more than actually serving as a command to crouch and is more beneficial than some give credit for.  This step remains.   Perhaps serving a similar purpose as the "pause" did in the old cadence ... to focus the attention of scrummagers prior to engaging. 

We think the main difference in the cadences is that "engage" in the old system had two syllables ... most teams were taught to engage on "en", the first syllable, thinking they might gain an advantage by getting going first.  Now, with a one syllable engage call, "set", this will hopefully clean up the timing of both teams scrums and ensure teams safely engage at the same time.

Other changes of note:

1) A knock-on that goes into touch may be taken as a lineout or a scrum.  This choice gives a team that gained advantage a tactical choice and helps get more lineouts in low level games.  Hurray!


2)  Secondly, in the same situation where a knock-in goes out of bounds, the team gaining the advantage may take a quick throw-in where the knock-on went out of bounds!  Another subtle change in the law to help keep the game moving.