Rockford Ravens take aim at high schoolers as it pushes to grow rugby around Rockford area
These days you may see more of the Rockford Ravens Rugby Club out and about, and that's because the program is pushing to grow its sport around the Rockford area, especially at the high school age.
The Ravens held another clinic (now the fourth one) on Wednesday for all ages, especially targeting high schoolers, as they look to build up the youth and high school programs around the area. There will be another one next week.
The IHSA considers rugby one of its "emerging sports" that it needs to keep an eye on, and could someday become a sanctioned sport.
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There is some work still to be done around the Rockford area if there will be teams ready to play. Hononegah currently has a girls club team, but that is the only complete high school rugby squad in the area.
"We've had a lot of interest from that age group, but not a lot of commitments," said Zach Tuneberg, a Rockford Ravens board member, and team member, who is helping to drum up more interest around the area. "So we're trying to show everybody how much fun it can be. This is such a big football area, it can tough for rugby sometimes. But we're finding ways to show everybody what it's all about."
So they have held multiple clinics to help show everyone how easy, and how much fun, rugby can be. There was another one on Wednesday at the UW Health Sports Factory in Rockford, and there will be another one there next Wednesday from 6-8 p.m. These clinics are free and are open to all age groups.
“It’s a different kind of fun than other sports," Sophia Zambrano, 12, said of the clinic, as she participated on Wednesday.
The clinics include drills run by members of the Rockford Ravens, as well as scrimmages when there are enough players, and plenty of hands-on instruction by plenty of experienced players.
"Rugby is not the most popular sport around here, so we're just trying to let people see how much fun it can be, and show everybody what the game is all about," said one of the Rockford Ravens coaches, Eric Hipp, also a former player. "There's just a great team atmosphere in rugby, and it has a great community. We just want to keep building on that."
The Ravens will also have a recruiting table at the Rockford IceHogs home game at 7 p.m. Saturday as the local AHL hockey team celebrates First Responder's Night at the BMO Harris Bank Center.
Practices for the Rockford Ravens men's and women's teams are held Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30-7 p.m. at Kieselburg County Forest Preserve in Roscoe, and anyone is welcome to watch or participate any day. The spring seasons kick off early next month.
Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on Twitter at @JayTaft. Sign up for the Rockford High School newsletter at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a wide variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears to youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star, and for over 30 years all together.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford Ravens hold rugby clinics for area youth, high schoolers
