If passion was the only ingredient in growing the game of rugby, then here in the USA, we'd probably have a cabinet full of World Cups; growing the game however is complex and needs more.
The High School Girls rugby 7s series in Colorado has seen a 23% increase in teams starting year on year (2018 - 2019 seasons). This is a long awaited and well received uptick in growth and respect must go to those admins and coaches who have consistently and diligently recruited, trained and fostered players.
The challenges in growing the game are significant; particularly in a time where studies are revealing that sports are losing the battle with e-sports and alternative youth entertainment. The horror stories in recent years in the press, concerning athlete abuses highlight deeper issues that need addressing continuously.
So what did we do? Here's a few areas where we have seen success.
League Design and appropriate competition: tiered and flexible.
Player equity, team retention, player welfare were the cornerstones here. The season we have created, gives players the opportunity to play through to State Finals, no matter where they are on their pathway, what tier they play in, or where they live geographically. (Location, logistics, budget and coaching support are not always a personal choice so why penalize the players?).
Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 teams all comprise High School aged players. The teams and competition are adjusted so that players compete on a "level playing field" against others of similar ability. This mitigates injury risk and similar attrition linked factors, such as one sided "blow out" games. Tier 3 players will never play against Tier 1; top of Tier 2 may play Tier 1 during promotion and relegation rounds; top of Tier 3 may play bottom of Tier 2 in similar circumstances. Mobility through the league series is allowed, based on weekly standings points, which provides alternative competition options without accelerating players into an environment they cannot manage or need more time to mature into.
Appropriate Leadership: positive role models, female management. This was a tricky one. Women play an important role in the development of young people and are integral to future success (on and off field), yet the coaching community was predominantly adult male over 40 years. What was noticeably absent was female role models (athletes becoming coaches, existing coaches, businesswomen, moms etc.). Rugby is supposed to be inclusive for all, not an exclusive domain for some. So, we set about changing this with a focus on making rugby more family friendly. We actively encourage more women to get involved with High School girls' rugby to learn about the game, provide some checks and balances, empathy and where necessary maternal instinct, giving the players and the game other leadership options. As such we have noticed recently that coach accreditation courses have shifted from 90% - 100% male to 30% - 70% female or co-ed. This is a phenomenal shift in demographic and additionally, we are seeing more coaching teams or management teams with growing numbers of female leaders & coaches. A different leadership lens should be embraced, particularly when coaching young female athletes in their formative years. Some of the co-ed coaching teams are balanced 1: 1 male / female or, in some cases 2 in 3 coaches are female. A positive fall out from this is improved rugby environments - at the first 2 rounds of 2019 sevens, we have seen several hundred spectators - 4 generations from grandparents through to younger siblings, some of whom know little or nothing about rugby, just love the events and want to support the young folks at play. Family friendly competitions. Marvelous!
Removing barriers: A very simple mantra is "players want to play" and yet, if you look beneath the surface, you can often find exclusion zones or obstacles to playing. (A reason why young athletes prefer e-sports perhaps ...). We work hard to reduce or eliminate barriers and have implemented simple rules that aim to include rather than exclude scholarships for needy athletes where all or part of the season cost is funded by Rugby Colorado or the teams. Player mobility - teams can share players to boost squads, maximize playing opportunities and move between tiers in a safer fashion (a tier 2 starter, for example, can be on the bench for a tier 1 team as part of their development and still be eligible for tier 2.) Introducing hosting opportunities and giving different regions the opportunity to host the State Final - sharing the love is important and teams get a chance to showcase the game in their own environment and fund-raise for their local team. We also invite teams from other States to join individual rounds of the league series and, promote HS Girls events in their States.
Colorado is the size of New Zealand and resources can be hard to find. Host venues can be far apart which makes travel an absolute consideration in all planning ... however, some locations are beautiful; plan right and you have a few "stay-cations" in season. The mission is simple - "share the love; more playing opportunities for more players; family friendly environments."
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