The Players Are Already There. Why Aren’t Rugby Clubs Going to Meet Them?

Every rugby club seems to have the same conversation. “We need more players.”

We need younger players. We need more depth. We need more women. We need guys who will stick around. We need new blood. We need the next generation to keep the club going.

Fair enough. But here’s the question I keep coming back to:

How many club rugby programs are actually introducing themselves to the high school and college rugby programs in their own backyard?

Not sending a social media follow. Not hoping a graduating senior happens to find the club on Instagram. Actually showing up. Because if recruiting is a problem, groups of rugby players are already graduating from high school and college every single year. They know the sport. They understand the culture. They own boots. Many of them love rugby. And then, somehow, we lose them.

We Have a Pipeline, We Just Don't Treat It Like One

Think about the normal progression in almost every other sport.

A kid plays youth sports, moves into high school, perhaps continues into college, and then finds an adult recreational league, coaching opportunity, or another way to stay involved. Rugby should have an enormous advantage here because club rugby actually offers something pretty unique:

You don't have to stop playing just because school ended.

A 22 year-old college graduate can move to a new city on Monday and potentially have 30 new friends by Tuesday night simply by showing up to rugby training.

That's one of the greatest selling points our sport has. But does the graduating player know that? More importantly, does he or she know you?

Why Aren't Clubs Walking Into High School Practices?

Imagine a local men's or women's club contacting a high school coach in March and saying:

"Could two of our players stop by practice for 15 minutes? We aren't trying to recruit kids away from your program. We just want your seniors to know there is a place for them in rugby after graduation."

That's it. Bring a couple of shirts. Introduce the club. Invite the seniors to a summer touch session. Explain when practices are. Give them a QR code.

Tell them college bound players that if they're home over Christmas or summer break, they're welcome at training. Most importantly, shake their hands. Now those players know someone.

That matters.

The exact same thing can happen with college programs. Instead of waiting for college seniors to graduate, disappear, start careers and eventually Google "rugby near me," why aren't adult clubs introducing themselves before graduation?

Recruiting Should Start With Relationships

There is another benefit that may be even more important. A relationship between an adult club and a high school program shouldn't just be about taking graduating players.

It should go both directions.

Adult clubs have experienced players who can help at practices, referee youth matches, assist with clinics, attend fundraisers & mentor young players.

College players can help coach high school programs. High school players can help with youth rugby. Youth families become supporters of high school and college rugby.

High school graduates feed college and adult clubs. College graduates feed adult clubs. Adult players eventually become coaches, referees, administrators, donors & rugby parents.

That's not recruiting. That's an ecosystem.

And rugby needs more of it.

Stop Making Players Find Us

We sometimes make joining rugby unnecessarily difficult. Imagine being a 19 year-old who played high school rugby but isn't playing in college.

Where do you go? Which club fits you? Can you just show up? How good do you have to be? How much does it cost? When is practice? Will everyone already know each other?

Those seem like small questions to people who have been around rugby for 20 years. They aren't small questions to someone walking into a club for the first time. The easiest recruiting strategy in the world is having someone say: “Hey, I'm Dan. I play with XYZ Rugby. When you're done here, come train with us. I'll be there.” Now the player isn't walking into a group of strangers.

They're meeting Dan.

Every Club Could Have a Recruiting Map

This doesn't need to be complicated. Every adult club could identify the rugby programs within an hour of them:

• Youth programs

• High school boys programs

• High school girls programs

• College men's programs

• College women's programs

Then assign somebody from the club to each program. Not to constantly bother the coach. To build a relationship. Attend a match. Share their posts. Invite the coach to a club event.

Offer players to help with a clinic. Invite graduating seniors to training. Invite college players home for the summer. And once or twice a year, physically show up and introduce the club. If you have five feeder programs around you and 10 graduating players from each, that's 50 rugby players entering a transition point every year.

You don't need all 50. What if five joined? What if three stayed? Do that every year. Suddenly recruiting doesn't look quite as impossible.

And High School Programs Should Be Doing the Same Thing Downward

This isn't only an adult-club problem. High school programs should know every youth rugby program in their area. Youth programs should be visiting elementary and middle schools.

College programs should know the high school programs around them. Adult clubs should know the colleges and high schools.

We spend an incredible amount of energy trying to convince people who have never played rugby to try the sport.

We absolutely need to keep doing that. But perhaps we should spend a little more energy making sure the people who already love rugby don't accidentally leave it.

The Handoff Matters

Rugby talks constantly about growing the game. Growing the game isn't just creating a new player. It's keeping one. A 17 year-old shouldn't finish his final high school match without knowing where he can play next.

A college senior shouldn't graduate without knowing the local men's or women's clubs. A youth player shouldn't age out without a high school coach knowing his or her name. We shouldn't leave those transitions to chance. Because the next generation of club rugby players isn't hiding somewhere.

They're playing rugby right now. Maybe recruiting starts with something incredibly simple.

Go introduce yourself.