A Message From John McKelvie

Four years ago, as I walked down a hallway in my high school and noticed a flyer for the local rugby club, there was no way I could have foreseen the incredible impact that this sport has had on my life. Despite my relative inexperience with organized sports, I began going to practices to understand what the hype was all about. A few weeks later in the midst of my first game, the gears in my brain suddenly clicked and I began seeing the game in an entirely new way. While it appears to the average spectator to be a jumbled mess of thirty athletes crashing around on the field, I came to realize that the choreography of the game, the intense physical aspect of play, and the camaraderie between teammates was the reason that this “mess” was the second most popular sport in the world.

Two years after that first bumbling, confusing game, I was the captain of the local under-19 club, and there was nothing else in the world that brought me as much joy as sprinting across the rugby pitch, breaking tackles, kicking goals, and bringing together kids of every athletic ability to play this incredible game. One of the reasons that this game is so widely popular is the fact that there is a position for every size, speed, and mind. My parents were understandably nervous when it came to their son playing a sport renowned for its physicality, but the contact in this game, unlike football, is heavily regulated and coaches teach techniques to specifically reduce the chance of injuries. While bumps and bruises are commonplace, more serious injuries are very uncommon in the high school level of rugby. In my own experience, I have known both boys and girls who have maintained injuries, yet found nothing more exciting than the idea of returning to the pitch.

While playing at the high school level provides extraordinary fun and experience with a global sport, I found that travelling to other states and countries was an even greater method for making long-lasting friendships and further understanding the endless strategies of the game. For the past two summers I have participated in the Vermont Select-Side Tour to Ottawa, Canada where we played in the National Capital’s Cup Rugby Festival. Not only did I meet other rugby players from around the state of Vermont, but our team was able play against provincial Canadian teams who had been together for years. Not only did we did we enjoy our stay in Canada, but we proved to the Canadian teams that US rugby was a force to be reckoned with.

Graduating from high school, I was worried that I would not be able to continue with my rugby aspirations in college and beyond. From what I had heard, if a university had a rugby team at all then it was small, under-funded, and did not participate in leagues with other schools. Fortunately, this notion was sadly mistaken and I found a large and established rugby program as I arrived at college. In the past week I participated in my first-ever college rugby game and found it as thrilling and intense as any rugby I have every played in the past. I hope that I will be able to contribute to this team for the next four years and when I eventually graduate, I look forward to finding a local men’s rugby club wherever I live.

I expect that in the next several years, as rugby gains a greater foot-hold in the hearts and minds of American sports fans, the presence of the sport in our country will increase exponentially. In just the past few years, the number of boys and girls teams in Vermont has multiplied dramatically, and it will only get better from there. This amazing game has demonstrably altered the course of my life, and I encourage all those who show an interest to call a coach or player, and ask how rugby has changed their lives. Not only will rugby introduce you to a new sport, but it will provide life-long relationships and the chances to travel abroad and share knowledge with players in many other countries throughout the world.

Further reading material for kids, parents, and coaches:

Rugby for Dummies, Mathew Brown
Rugby Coaching the New Zealand Way, Rodney Butt
Rugger Practice and Tactics – A Manual of Rugby Football Technique, H.F. MacDonald