With five years of success and growth with our summer program, Fort Hunt Rugby in the Spring of 2011, will start U-19/high school rugby teams for both boys and girls.
Any player age 15-18 is eligible to play.The program is not affiliated with any school; we will be Fort Hunt Rugby, and the specific name of each team will be determined by the players.
No experience required.The team’s nationally certified rugby coaches will teach all players how to play the sport, and there will be many experienced players there to assist.
This will not be a simple extracurricular, recreational sport.This will be a high school-level spring sport, competing in the Rugby Virginia league, so players will be expected to dedicate themselves to playing rugby.
Practices will begin in early March, with matches beginning in mid-April.The season will last until mid-June.Matches will be played throughout northern Virginia, likely in the Tidewater area (Hampton/Norfolk), with some matches possibly in Maryland.Be ready for a modest one-day road trip in May.
Fees for this season have not been set yet, but will be comparable to the $100/player for the summer recreational program.
Players must provide their own boots, full length game socks and rugby shorts (color TBD), and mouthguard (mandatory).The team will provide all practice equipment and team-owned game jerseys.
Volunteers: This effort will absolutely require assistance with coaching and administration. Anyone who can help will be a major hero. No prior experience withrugby is necessary.
Stay tuned to the website for more information, or you may contact John Dacey at 703-780-5859, rugby007@aol.com.
Canada 2010 Wrap-Up
...the tour report
Fort Hunt Rugby executed its first-ever tour, a five-day/four-night trip to Ottawa, Canada, 16-20 July. We took 21 16-U rugby players and 3 13-U water boys, and had an excellent rugby experience. We played in the Canadian National Capital Youth Rugby Festival, and went 2-3-0 for the weekend. We beat every club side that we played and learned a lot about rugby when we faced Canadian and English select sides. We played 240 minutes of hard rugby, and learned a lot. Our young men were extremely well behaved on and off the pitch, and were excellent ambassadors of our sport, our club, and our country.
Stand by for info on training for the Spring 2011 boys/girls high school/U-19 rugby teams and their training, starting in late February.
We will make a go/no-go weather call on practice every day by 5:00pm. We will update this page, our Facebook page, and will send an email to the club, but only if practice is canceled. If you don’t see a cancellation notice, practice is a go.
It’s hot--every player: bring water! A single-serving water bottle is not sufficient--you should bring at least 24 ounces.
Players: bring your mouthpiece to every practice and match. Tackle players: if you do not have your personally fitted mouthpiece, you will not participate in tackle training, and you will not play in any match.
Weather Note: Parents, if you see lightning/hear thunder at home, we’re seeing and hearing the same thing at practice, so we will call off practice on weather/safety grounds, and it’s time to come and pick up your player. Rest assured, we coaches will never leave a player behind--we always will wait in the parking lot with all players until everyone is picked up and accounted for.
If you do not see otherwise, always assume practice is on. Yes, we practice in the rain; this is rugby, after all.
Check out the meteorological situation at WJLA weather.
You can also get yourself a profile, sign in, and take the Rugby Ready course. It's easy, fun, has videos to watch, and is a great way to start down the patch as a coaching volunteer.
Summer 2010 Season
...this season, our fifth, is at an end
Registration for our Summer 2010 season is closed. Come back next March for Summer 2011 registration. Click here to see what registration looks like.
The FHYAA online registration system allows both PC and Mac users to register using Visa or MasterCard. If you do not want to pay by credit card, please contact alvonada@hotmail.com and we will assist you with getting your player registered. Register now!!
Every player also must register as a player with USA Rugby. Click on the link to complete this quick $10 online registration.
Important dates:
-- March and April: parents info meetings, location and times TBD
-- mid-May 2011: practices start, Tu/Wed/Th, 6:00-8:00pm, Dave Poulin Field (Collingwood Park). See Practice Info, at left.
-- late May: team meeting/parents meeting, location TBD
-- mid-June: Fort Hunt Rugby touch clinic/demonstration/scrimmage at Potomac Celtic Festival, details TBD
-- late June: matches begin, all teams
-- late July/early August: end-of-season tournament; touch plays on Saturday; tackle plays on Sunday
-- early August: end-of-season picnic, Fort Hunt Park
Boys/Girls, Touch/Tackle
FHYAA summer rugby is for both boys and girls. The 9-and-under and 11-and-under teams will only play coed touch rugby, as we have done in years past. 13-and-under, 15-and-under, and 17-and-under will play boys tackle rugby; we will have a girls tackle team as well.
Geographic Boundaries
Fort Hunt Rugby has NO GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARY RESTRICTIONS!You can play with us regardless of where you live or where you go to school. So, Mount Vernon HS, West Potomac HS, Walt Whitman MS, Carl Sandburg MS, Bishop Ireton, St. Louis, St. Agnes, Browne Academy, Gonzaga, all other schools--and home schoolers, too--come play rugby with us.
-- That being said, if you live outside Fairfax County, such as Alexandria City, Arlington, Arlington County, etc., there is a mandatory Fairfax County field usage fee of an additional $30.
Length of Season
The summer season runs from mid-May to early August (end-of-season tournament).
Fees for 2010 were:
-- $100 registration fee.
-- $5.50 Fairfax County Field Use Fee per registrant.
-- $10 for USA Rugby registration, which parents will do separately from the FHYAA registration, and is a requirement to play.
-- ($30 per player for all players who do not reside in Fairfax County.)
-- Late fee of $10 per player assessed for all registrations after 11 June.
Volunteer Opt-Out Fee
Fort Hunt Rugby is run entirelyby volunteers. See our Leaders area for more info, and your very own opportunity to step forward and help the club go. Volunteer opportunities available include:
-- Assistant Coaches
-- Trainer/Medic
-- Registrar/Compliance Officer (paperwork)
-- Match Secretary
-- Team Parent
-- Field Setup/Equipment Manager
-- Social Chairman/Social Assistant
-- Photographer/Historian
-- Referee/Assistant Referee
For 2011, rugby will assess a volunteer opt-out fee, amount TBD. Because Rugby is a relatively new sport with FHYAA, we do not to assess a volunteer opt-out fee. Our program has grown to the point where we require more parent-volunteers to fill key positions.
Knowledge of or experience in rugby is not required to be a volunteer, even an assistant coach. We ask only for your time and enthusiasm to help your players and others enjoy learning and playing rugby. Coaches and experienced players will help you out; no one will be allowed to fail.
Teams (Age Groups)
(for 2011)
-- coed 9-and-under touch: players who turn 9 years old or younger in 2011 (7, 8, 9)
-- coed 11-and-under touch: players who turn 11 years old or younger in 2011 (10, 11)
-- boys 13-and-under tackle: players who turn 13 years old or younger in 2011 (12, 13)
-- boys 15-and-under tackle: players who turn 15 years old or younger in 2011 (13, 14)
-- girls tackle: players no younger than 13 and no older than 17 in 2011 (13-17)
-- boys 17-and-under tackle: players who turn 17 years old or younger in 2011 (16, 17)
Refunds
FHYAA requires that a $25 administration fee be charged for all refunds. Total amount of refund is determined on a case-by-case basis. Contact Commissioner Andy Vonada with all refund requests.
Questions
If you have any questions, please contact Rugby Commissioner Andy Vonada at alvonada@hotmail.com, 703-360-1534 or Head Coach John Dacey at rugby007@aol.com, 703-780-5859.
Fort Hunt Rugby
Come play rugby with us!
We are a youth rugby club offering a summer (May-August) recreational/instructional season of touch and tackle rugby for boy and girl players aged 7-17, with plans for Spring 2011 to expand our program to U-19/ high school rugby for boys and girls 15-18, with the objective of permanent Fort Hunt Rugby High School/U-19 boys and girls teams in the years to come.
Fort Hunt Eagles Rugby Football Club, Summer 2010
Our purpose is to introduce kids--and parents--to the lifetime sport of Rugby Union Football, an oustanding and immensely fun sport to play and to watch that offers fitness and teaches decision making, teamwork, comraderie, controlled and focused touch and tackle contact in an environment of sportsmanship and respect for teammates, opponents, and officials.
HOT NEWS
...the latest and greatest
Congratulations to our Summer 2010 team Most Valuable Players and Runners-Up:
9-and-Under Coed Touch:
MVP: Clare O’R
Runner-Up: Jack G
11-and-Under Coed Touch:
MVP: Andrei G
Runner-Up: Patrick K
13-and-Under Boys Tackle
MVP: Andrew B
Runner-Up: Will C
15-and-Under Boys Tackle
MVP: Chris B
Runner-Up: Matt P
17-and-Under Boys Tackle
MVP: Jacob W
Runner-Up: Colin G
Girls Tackle
MVP: Efua A-O
Runner-Up: Kylee E
Fort Hunt Rugby Apparel Site is Open!
Our professional Fort Hunt Rugby apparel site is open and ready for business, year-round. Check it out, buy something cool, wear your colors, and make some money for the club.
SPRING BREAK RUGBY CLINIC
-- We will run our third annual free-of-charge spring break rugby clinic, 18-22 April 2011 at Dave Poulin Field (Collingwood Park). Returning players are welcome, as are brand-new players who want to learn about rugby before Fort Hunt Rugby Summer 2010 registration begins.
St. Patrick's Day Parade March, 2011
Fort Hunt Rugby will march in the 2011 Alexandria St. Patrick's Day parade in early March. Right now no date is scheduled--monitor club email, this announcement, or the calendar (above).
-- Tackle Players: You can’t just charge/crash into a ruck--that’s dangerous and it’s considered foul play. You must be on your feet and bind fully on a teammate or opponent and only then can you engage in the ruck. Check out these hihgly instructive IRB videos on charging into the ruck. Note that the offending/penalized players are taking a run from far back, and crashing into opposing players with a lowered shoulder, and are not binding--this is illegal contact, and is unsportsmanlike, and it won’t be tolerated.
-- Check out Great Big Sea featuring youth rugby in its "An Ordinary Day" video.
-- Check out these awesome YouTube videos:
Highlights from the August 2009 youth tackle tournament, featuring some really good video of our Fort Hunt U-15s, with some great tackling and running. (By the way, we’ve got a few DVDs of this entire game for sale--talk to Coach Dacey.)
We are on Facebook. Click here to post a message, drop a link, share some photos, etc.
Click here for a really great USA Rugby video about youth rugby.
FortHunt 2009 Rugby Volunteer of the Year, Coach Jim Woods. Jim is testament to the Fort Hunt Rugby program in that he has successfully been an assistant coach with the U-11 kids for two years now, and has never been a rugby player--it’s that easy. Congratulations, Jim, and thank you for your dedication to the kids and our program.
The Fort Hunt Rugby Store is Open!
We have a growing selection of Fort Hunt Rugby gear and gifts for you and your players. Check out our gear and gift area (left) or click here.
We’ve got jerseys, custom club balls, patches, stickers (in two sizes!) and now club pins.
All sales support the club’s finances.
And, check out our apparel site. Every time you buy, the club makes money.
Forever Strong: an Excellent Movie, That's Got Rugby In It, Too
In 2008 a movie came out about a longtime powerhouse high school rugby program in Utah--Highland--and its coach, Larry Gelwix. The movie is Forever Strong, and we strongly recommend it for all youth rugby players and parents of youth rugby players. It’s a story of an individual who learns to be a true member of a team, who eventually learns the value of giving himself over to something bigger than himself. There are really powerful themes of honor, respect, integrity and personal conduct, in a story that is easy to follow. And it’s got lots of high school rugby, too.
We recommend you rent and watch this movie, ideally both players and parents together. Click here to see its description on Netflix, or here to read about it on the Internet Movie Database. You can check it out on Amazon.com by clicking here.
TACKLING
The fundamentals of the tackle are:
Hips lower than the head
A neutral, straight back position
Head up, but not chin up in the air, or chin pressed to the chest (eyes open)
Last year the Fort Hunt Rugby family has lost a crucial part of our program. Veteran Fort Hunt Rugby Coach and dad Dave Poulin passed away unexpectedly on 25 August 2009.
Big thanks to all of the Fort Hunt Rugby players, parents and supporters who came out on 4 September at at Bethany Lutheran Church for Dave’s memorial ceremony. Big thanks to our Braddock Road mate, Steve "Izzy" Israel, for showing up as well. All of you showed what being a teammate is all about.
Contributions can be made in support of the Poulin children’s college education to: The USAA College Savings Plan, c/o 8610 Conover Place, Alexandria, VA 22308.
Click here to view a work-in-progress Picasa album featuring Coach Dave. If you have any photos for this album, please send to Coach Dacey at rugby007@aol.com.
The club is working on a memorial effort for Coach Dave: we are trying to get the Field 4 area, our training and home field ground for five years, renamed as "Dave Poulin Field." This is how we refer to it in our club communications, even as we work to make it official with Fairfax County. If you are interested in helping out, please contact John Dacey or Andy Vonada.
Big thanks to Rooga’s Sportsfor stepping up to sponsor Fort Hunt Rugby for the Summer 2009 season, and again in 2010.
Rooga’s offers a lot of the equipment basics for our rugby players, like boots, socks, mouthpieces, and rugby shorts--get there and buy something!
Big thanks to the Hollin Hall Pastry Shop for joining the Fort Hunt Rugby sponsorhip team in 2010.
What is youth rugby?...
...a great sport, for kids 7-17
Rugby is the newest Olympic sport, set for the 2016 summer Olympics. So who wouldn't want to learn about it?
Youth Rugby is a fast-paced, exciting, high-scoring sport for boys and girls, 7-17. Youth Rugby emphasizes FUN and SAFETY: running with the ball, running in support, passing, kicking, touching/tackling. No matter what position they play, every player gets to carry the ball, throughout the match. Players will pass to teammates, and teammates will pass to them, with everyone getting to score; everyone plays offense and everyone plays defense, with continuous play making things dynamic and very fast-paced. Our rugby players will have fun! Our rugby players will make tags (touch rugby) or tackles (older players), and will get tagged and tackled. Everyone gets a chance to score, probably more than once.
Our rugby players will become decision-makers, learning to think quickly about what is coming and what to do next, and how to support the team. We emphasize decision making and team skills (offense, defense, scrums, lineouts, rucks, mauls) as well as discipline, respect, and sportsmanship. Winning is fun, a lot more fun than losing, but it’s not the main point of our program. Our program's primary objective is for kids to have fun learning about and playing rugby.
And scoring? Let’s not forget scoring--who doesn’t like that? Lots of scoring for all players, regardless of size, speed, or skill level.
Youth rugby is a great way to stay in shape or get in shape for your fall sport. Your player will leave the Fort Hunt Rugby summer program more fit and ready to go for the fall, regardless of the sport. Players will stay active this summer, with three practices per week, with matches on Saturdays.
Our program does place a deep emphasis on physical fitness, and we will not undertake exercises or drills for the purpose of fitness. Since most players are rugby novices, we choose to emphasize individual and game skill development, with the drills and matches we undertake providing ample opportunities for exercise. Players who commit themselves to the team and the program will exit the season in August more fit than they began (the same is true for all volunteer coaches!).
Parents: You probably have seen rugby on TV--well, it’s not quite like that, but we mimic it, adjusting for the physical and emotional/cognitive abilities of younger players. The Laws (rules) of rugby apply, with modifications in the interest of safety and in consideration of players’ age, size, strength, and skill level. There are significant modifications to the Laws for touch rugby, and also major modifications to the tackle Laws to ease younger players into full-contact rugby, specifically with respect to scrums and individual tackling.
Fort Hunt Rugby has two coaches who have USA Rugby national certifications: Commissioner Andy Vonada and Head Coach John Dacey. Safety is our first priority. We enter our fifth season with a only three injuries for the entire program's history.
Kids, tell your parents you want to play rugby this summer. Stay active, stay fit, stay busy. Make new friends, learn a new sport, a sport you can play your entire life. Become a rugby player!
Youth Rugby In Our Region
...since 2000, and growing
Youth rugby has been part of the northern Virginia youth sports scene since 2000 (and several years before that in Maryland), having been sponsored by Southwestern Youth Association (SYA, in Centreville), Springfield Youth Club (SYC), with Alexandria and Winchester entering the league in 2003.
Since then, Chantilly Youth Association (CYA), Vienna Youth, Inc (VYI), Braddock Road Youth Club (BRYC), Fairfax Police Youth Club (FPYC), Warrenton, and Fort Hunt Youth Athletic Association (FHYAA) have joined, bringing the number of northern Virginia teams to nine and more than doubling the previous total.
The goal of the Fort Hunt Rugby program is an enduring Fort Hunt Rugby Football Club (RFC), an organization that fields each summer at least one viable, competitive team in each age group (9-and-Under and 11-U coed touch, 13-U/15-U/17-U boys tackle and girls tackle).
For Spring 2011 we will create U-19 Fort Hunt Rugby high school (ages 14-18) teams for both boys and girls that will participate in the spring (February-June) Rugby Virginia season. Contact John Dacey at rugby007@aol.com or 703-780-5859 if you want to play, or if you want to volunteer to assist with the first year of Fort Hunt high school rugby.
Contact Us...
...we're here to help you.
For more information, please contact the FHYAA Youth Rugby Commissioner, Andrew Vonada at alvonada@hotmail.com, 703-360-1534, or head coach John Dacey at rugby007@aol.com, 703-780-5859.
and dad Dave Poulin passed away unexpectedly on 25 August 2009. 
