Rugby Program Information

SYA Rugby – A fun, positive sports experience for boys & girls

Now in our NINTH year, the SYA Youth Rugby Program offers both non-contact and tackle versions of the sport. The competitive summer season provides fast-paced excitement during the summer months as our tackle & tag teams prepare for the Rugby Virginia State Tournament. Our “Fall Fun League” features Sunday-only play as our fall season with a fun end-of-the season tournament.

Practices during the summer season:

Location: Poplar Tree Park
Date/Time: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 6-7:30pm
Who’s it for: tag rugby (current grades K-4, rising 1st-5th) and tackle (current grades 5-8, rising 6th-9th)
Description: This is for boys and girls alike and we encourage everyone to bring friends to try it out!

SYA and CYA are the only non-profit, youth organization offering rugby to families in Centreville, Chantilly, Clifton, and Fairfax! Needs-based scholarships are available. Registration is open for kids in kindergarten through 8th grade (current school year, 2018-2019).

SYA Welcomes CYA Families: In a bit of a departure from traditional rivalries, SYA and CYA have formed a joint sports venture to enable families in Centreville, Clifton, and Chantilly to participate in the game of rugby. CYA hasn’t had a rugby program in a couple of years yet many kids have expressed an interest in playing. Our family-friendly program works for each community as practices are conveniently located on fields between Centreville & Chantilly. Bonus for families with multiple children: all practices are held at the same time/location.

Be on the leading edge of the fastest-growing team sport in the US over the last five years, try rugby, and bring it back to CYA! #GrowingTheGame

Kinders


Kinders & 1st-2nd Grade “Tag”	3rd-4th Grade “Tag”
Co-ed teams are formed for two-hand touch games that introduce the game of rugby using a number of fun, age-appropriate games and activities. The biggest challenge at these grade group(s) is eye-hand-coordination (catching) and avoiding the “swarm” mentality (you’ll know it when you see it!).	These co-ed, two-hand touch teams start to be more competitive as kids have developed better coordination, body control and the mentality of team-based sports. The biggest challenge at this grade group is spatial awareness (field IQ) and communication (teamwork). This is where rugby starts to excel in youth development as these are focuses on the game. SYA has offered non-contact Tag teams at older age groups, please contact us if interested (we are short coaches & players!)
Tackle Rugby
Now in our fifth year offering tackle rugby, we're excited to continue to grow our program at the 5th-6th and 7th-8th grade levels (current grade). The focus of early season practices are safely initiating contact, keeping the head protected, and letting players become comfortable to gain the confidence required for playing. Fall sports benefit tremendously from players that participate each summer.

two handed

The two-hand touch variety of the game, called “Tag”, is sevens-style rugby for boys and girls in elementary school. Two-hand touch is a fun and exciting form of non-contact rugby that requires no prior knowledge of the game – just a willingness to learn and have fun! Making its debut in the 2016 Summer Olympics, Rugby Seven’s is a high-scoring game that emphasizes teamwork, communication and mutual support.

boys and girls

The tackle rugby program is for boys and girls currently in 5th-8th grade who are ready for the more physical, traditional form of the game. At SYA, we teach the “shoulder leverage tackle” method, a technique which takes the head out of the tackle and is rapidly being adopted by football programs to teach better tackling and help avoid injury. (Learn more…)

Playing either version of the sport is an exciting opportunity for boys and girls to get outside and stay active, be exposed to a seriously fun activity in a competitive environment, develop abilities that will carry over to other sports, and develop positive character attributes. Compared to other sports, rugby emphasizes technique and teamwork over power and individual abilities.

Library school

Is the next Big Thing already here? In preparation for the 2017-2018 school year, approximately 100 FCPS PE teachers participated in rugby-based training to bring the great sport to their classrooms. The PE teachers, representing elementary, middle, high school and special needs schools across the county, went through a series of fun, rugby-based activities that showed the progression of skills development and gave them an idea of which activities to incorporate in their curriculum. (Learn More…)

Brace yourselves, #RugbyIsComing