Bruce McLane

Many people say that the key to successful growth in the USA is to get children playing the game at an early age, what steps is Play Rugby USA taking to make that happen?

I agree, arguably in the long term developing the grassroots of the game is the only sustainable way of ensuring successful growth of rugby in the USA. Play Rugby USA is primarily an educational-focused youth development program, so we're dedicated to getting rugby into after school programs and PE curriculums of schools and youth organizations. Rather than building a community-based or club program which can be challenging in urban areas, we're taking the game to the students as a tool for them to develop character, fitness and academic improvement. Therefore, we have developed various curriculums, training programs and coaching structures to support the incorporation of the game into America's educational infrastructure.

So what's new with the program?

Hah, tough one - well the program evolves day to day given we have five people currently in the office pushing things forward. However, perhaps the exciting 'hot off the press' development is the "Play Rugby Club - Online" www.playrugbyclub.com This is a free online educational tool for youth, parents and teachers to learn about rugby, share their knowledge and experiences and connect with peers online. Anyone interested in rugby or with information to share should check this out and become part of a growing community working together to promote the game to youth throughout the country and even internationally. Promoting the educational and developmental benefits of the game is huge to ensuring the game becomes a systemic part of the educational infrastructure in America in the future. We welcome everyone to join us in developing appropriate content, curriculum materials, discussions and multi-media and connect with other like-minded people to promote this great game!

How do you plan on taking this model to a national or regional level?

Other than the online initiatives, there are two main ways we plan to scale up the program 'on the ground' starting in September this year. The first is through us setting up and replicating Rugby Leadership Academies under our Non Profit organization; Play Rugby, Inc. These are urban after school sports education programs co-located through a partnership with a school or youth organization. We deliver our various curriculum to their students including character development, fitness and nutrition, online learning and homework help. The Academies also act as the hub for the local PRUSA program outreach, delivering services to other local schools and youth organizations in their area.

The second way is through a licensed affiliate program we have developed and are currently piloting in San Francisco and Portland Oregon with SFGG Rugby Club and Rugby Oregon, respectively. This licensing program is intended to enable other clubs and rugby organizations to replicate our program in a defined territory, giving them the opportunity to generate hundreds of grassroots players in their area in addition to revenue to support their organization's development efforts.

What clubs are you currently working with and how are you working with them to make this happen?

Locally, we have established strong relationships with Old Blue, NYAC and New York Manhattan in regards to sourcing coaches and volunteers. This spring, Christian started a program in Westchester for a number of NYAC parent¹s and the junior team won the Mayor¹s Cup tournament on May 31st. We also helped Ridgewood and Hudson Valley establish their youth programs and provide various clinics and camps around the area to support such programs. Finally, San Fran Golden Gate Rugby Club and Rugby Oregon have recently started an affiliate programs with us. Clearly, there are many more to work with!

You have done remarkably well getting full recognition by NYC Public schools, how important is it to have the school administration on board with what you are trying to achieve?

Extremely important, in fact it's really the most important thing we can do other than running a great program. Schools have to believe in the difference rugby can make and in many instances justify supporting it over something else. After some time advocating our program to various groups, this winter we had a very successful partnership with the NYC Dept of Education ŒCHAMPS¹ after school program a middle school initiative aimed at keeping students engaged with physical education after school when it¹s a high risk time for them. The PE teachers elected to coach rugby from numerous other options and fortunately 17 teachers signed up. Play Rugby provided a training course, the curriculum, equipment, 10 hours of mentoring (co-coaching) to help them along the way and the 10 week season culminated with 2 tournaments in the Bronx and Brooklyn, with the teams coached by the teachers. It was a terrific effort from all involved and the teachers did a tremendous job embracing a sport they had never coached before.

You have also gotten a foothold into the private and Catholic schools, how do the administrations in these institutions take to the program?

The private schools have been very open to our program. Our major triumphs have been through running PE classes which have then lead to after school programs. We have 6 sites currently working with us, including Lycee Francais, United Nations School, Trinity and Epiphany. The parent¹s have also been very supportive, especially at Epiphany.

How can someone or a club who is interested in using the Play Rugby USA curriculum or coaching the program get started in their area of the country?

In terms of setting up an actual PRUSA program for schools and youth organizations in their area the person or organization should review our affiliate / rep program online at www.playrugbyusa.com or contact us to discuss what is required to establish a Rugby Leadership Academy with Play Rugby, Inc.

With regard to using the curriculum there are various tools available to clubs that we have developed. The first is the PE Curriculum which was developed in partnership with USA Rugby with the support of a group of Physical Education professors. This is available directly on the USA Rugby website: http://www.usarugby.org/goto/Physical_Education. Our fun, introductory and character development curriculum "Give Rugby a Try" is available on DVD through the World Rugby Shop site: http://www.worldrugbyshop.com/departments-dvds-and-books-rugby-dvds-give-rugby-a-try-developing-youth-through-rugby-dvd.html Unlike a regular DVD it contains the entire curriculum in printable form in addition to digitized animation and video designed to help coaches (including first time coaches) understand the types of games at their disposal and how to deliver them.

What type of relationship do you have with established youth programs such as the Morris RFC and Union RFC out of NJ, and if none are you trying to build relationships with other clubs trying to build youth rugby programs?

We worked with Morris RFC in the production of our DVD and have run various clinics with Ridgewood & Connecticut Yankees youth teams. We believe there is a great opportunity to work more closely with such clubs, especially those such as Morris that have done an amazing job developing the game in New Jersey. Given the school-focused approach of our program, it is pretty complimentary to youth rugby clubs and therefore we intend to build our relationship with more clubs in the future.

If you could look ahead three years from now, what would be the ideal projection of what Play Rugby USA will be accomplishing throughout the country at that time?

Great question. Of course it would be largely dependent on funding. However, my three year goals would include having 10 Rugby Leadership Academies up and running in urban areas throughout the country, 20 affiliate locations, 7.500+ students engaged weekly in PRUSA programs and at least another 50,000+ introduced to the game through PRUSA clinics, camps, and PE programs. We would want an engaged online community with 100+ schools participating in our online 'PenPal' program and even a couple of program 'graduates' on the age-grade national teams. There are of course many more important youth development goals in relation to student behavior, ability, awareness, knowledge & attitude for instance. Lastly, behind the scenes we would have secured appropriate funding from foundations, individuals, corporations and public sources to support and further enrich the programs and their future growth.