Metro East Youth Rugby Club
The Metro East Youth Rugby club was founded in 2021 with the goal of bringing youth rugby to the area and building a strong grass roots rugby program. St. Louis has a strong rugby community with multiple Men's and Women's senior club teams, University programs including a perennial national champion, with Lindenwood University and 2022 D2 Champion Principia College, and high schools adopting the sport.
Over the past few years we have seen success with our Mayhem rookie rugby program that has helped teach rugby to kids from the age of 5-12. We will continue on with this program as it has been a fun way to teach the game to kids of all ages. As some of our young players have grown with the program there has been a push to develop a competitive team. The Trailblazers, our first contact competitive team, will start this year! This will be a 12U team, as defined by Rugby Illinois, and will compete with St. Louis teams and at the end of the season in the state championship in Chicago.
This program has seen success due to partnerships we have developed. The city of Edwardsville has been a great host for our program and we continue to practice at one of the nicest facilities in the area, Plummer Park. We also work with local coaches who have a life time of experience and are eager to teach the next generation of ruggers.
Rookie Rugby
Children of all ages and abilities can easily pick up the game and begin playing right away. The rules are simple, the game is easy to learn, and minimal equipment is required. Rookie Rugby is designed with the American athlete in mind. It is a fun and safe team game that develops a range of ball handling, running and evasion skills. Rugby is a highly social sport with plenty of interaction between team members. Players will learn how to work well as a team and will think about how decisions that are made will benefit not just themselves, but also their peers.
Middle School Rugby
Middle school rugby has flourished in Illinois since 2009 and continues to grow rapidly. Middle school clubs play a competitive season in the spring with two age/grade-based divisions culminating in the state championships. The U13 division is a coed division for boys and girls who turn 12 on or after July 1 prior to the fall and spring seasons, primarily 5th and 6th grade players.
Rules variations:
Size 4 ball
70m x 50m pitch (or 1/2 full size)
No lifting lineouts
Uncontested scrums
25 minute halves
Questions, contact us! mayhemyouthrugby@gmail.com