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

Youth Rugby is the fastest growing sports in the United States.  We're pleased to offer our Summer Program once again!

In 2021 when SYA Rugby returned to play we incorporated several changes along with our governing body, Rugby Virginia. The first change was that Virginia tag programs began to incorporate the rule set from the Federation of International Touch (FIT Rugby).  After some growing pains, as players (and coaches) became accustomed to the new rules it was found that these rules provided an opportunity to learn , be safe, and maintain a fast paced, exciting game.  Most importantly, it was fun!

The second change over previous years is embracing 5th - 8th grade Tag.  Virginia Rugby learned what we already knew, with our experiments with offering tag at those ages in the past two years:  Players who love Rugby but aren’t ready for a contact sport need a place to play.  Rugby programs from around the region will be embracing 5-8 Tag providing for more competition across the board, with FULL support from Rugby Virginia. 

SYA is also always looking for opportunities to develop new youth coaches!

Practices during the Summer season:

• Location: Will be communicated once Fairfax assigns fields.
• Date/Time: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 5:45-7:00pm (this time might change slightly once fields are assigned)
  • Conditioning begins May 31st for Tackle (5th-8th grade tag players are welcome to join).
  • Tag will start a couple of weeks later (more information to come)
  • We also understand many players might still be finishing up Spring season, so do not worry about that negatively impacting your child's ability to get playing time when the season begins.​​​​​​
• Who’s it for: tag rugby (current grades K-8) and tackle (current grades 5-9)
• Description: This is for boys and girls alike and we encourage everyone to bring friends to try it out!
• All practices and most games are at the same locations for both tag and tackle during the summer. Perfect for families with multiple players.

Coed TAG rugby is offered for boys and girls in rising 1st-8th grade (school year 2022-2023)

Coed TACKLE rugby is offered for boys and girls in rising 5th grade through 9th grade (school year 2022-2023)

Both TAG and TACKLE rugby will be broken up into appropriate age bands so children are only competing against children of similar ages.

Practices are held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at the same field for all age groups and games are on Saturdays (every once in a while, we might have a game on Sunday due to referee availability) against other area clubs.  Details will be provided by coaches each week with game times.  Locations will be published before the beginning of the season.  We play all over the Northern VA area including Springfield, Alexandria, Leesburg, Culpeper, and DC.  

Older age tackle groups such as 5th/6th grade might also have OPTIONAL opportunities to play in regional championship matches in Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.  Those travel expenses (car, hotel, food, etc) will be the responsibility of the parent, but if costs are an issue, ask. We might be able to help.  Entrance fees for the travel matches will be paid for by the club.

Fees for Tag are $95 for the summer session.  Tackle is $125.  Those fees will also entitle you to a jersey you can keep.  Once signed up there will be an additional registration needed through USA Rugby (all rugby players must be registered through USA Rugby regardless of age or type of rugby played) and will run approximately $100.  Equipment other than jerseys will need to be bought individually.  Luckily, the only equipment needed are mouthpiece, rugby shorts, rugby socks, and cleats without a toe cleat.  All are easily obtained via Amazon or other rugby equipment retailers.

SYA is the only non-profit, youth organization offering rugby to families in Centreville, Chantilly, Clifton, and Fairfax!  Needs-based scholarships are available.

Your family's safety remains our primary concern. We are proceeding with seasonal play this spring and summer and will be following all CDC, VA, and Fairfax County guidelines. If during the season, any of these above entities change their policy on competitive play, SYA will continue our sport play with modifications to adhere to the policy change.  We want to give all our players an opportunity to be outside, exercise, and interact with their teammates and friends. Since this is an ever-changing situation we are all experiencing, SYA is working hard with our volunteers to continue to provide all our players with a sports outlet. 

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.

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.

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