Marin Highlanders Youth Rugby

Background
The Marin Youth Rugby Program was started in 2005 with four coaches, fourteen kids and a modest goal of introducing the county's kids to one of the most fun games on Earth.  Today, the program is fully integrated with the high school Highlanders organization, providing rugby instruction to more than 100 youths ages eight to eighteen.  The history of rugby in Marin is illustrious: our predecessor club won the National High School Rugby Championships in 1981 and 1982 -- a team that included three of the Youth Rugby Program founders.  The purpose of the club is to not only introduce youths, adolescents and teens to the game, but to do so in a safe manner and provide a seamless graduation of the sport from grade school to varsity levels.  Ultimately, many of our players go on to play varsity sports in college and beyond, providing them with  a community of sport for years into adulthood.
 
Teams
The Highlander's Youth program fields three age-graded teams: Under 10, Under 12 and Junior High.  Each team's coaching is specifically tailored to the varying skills, size and ability of the players.  Under 10 participants learn the sport with fun activities at a once-per-week practice and a low-key introduction to rugby skill sets.  The emphasis on fun is carried through a small number of Touch Rugby games against other Youth programs around the Bay Area.  Contact, including tackling, is introduced gradually and under close supervision.

Under 12 participants graduate to full contact, including tackling, scrums and rucking/mauling.  This introduction is framed with safety foremost, and the players get a chance to practice once a week and play a managed, small-scale version of full rugby against other Youth programs around the Bay.  The Junior High program brings a heightened competitive schedule of up to ten games against other local teams, as well as a first introduction to full 15-a-side games.  Junior High players have a twice-per-week commitment at playing fields in Central Marin and will travel to games across the Bay.
 
Safety and Equipment
Our commitment to player safety is paramount.  To that end, our coaches must be certified in coaching skills and safety awareness through an intensive workshop and home-study program administered through USA Rugby.  USA Rugby also mandates that each player, at every level, is "CIPP Registered."  We practice and play on some of the most outstanding fields available in Marin, and coaching tactics and theory are designed to maximize safe play.  The equipment needs are absolutely minimal: your registration fees provide most game uniform basics, practice uniforms are simply what your child would wear for soccer practice, and there is only one piece of mandatory equipment for kids older than ten: a molded mouthpiece.
 
Contact Information
This website is a good starting point, but if you have any additional questions or concerns, you can always contact our coaches directly:
Gordon Wright, Junior High Head Coach: 415.561.6266
Kevin Rowell, U12 Head Coach: 415.999.5395
Sean Silviera, U10 Head Coach: 510-867-4179
For recorded information, a good resource is the Club Hotline, which has specific extentions pertinent to each team: 415.339.7444