In 2006 we had 11 players, 18 in 2007, and 53 in 2008.  The summer of 2009 saw 76 registered players, our best season so far.

 

 

It’s reasonable that we can field full touch teams at U-9, U-11, and tackle teams at U-13 and U-15. It’s possible we’ll have enough players to field a U-17 tackle team.  This is feasible for the summer of 2010.

 

For the end-of-season tournament, it’s reasonable that we field full sides for U-9 through U-15, playing in the Saturday touch tournament and the Sunday tackle tournament. Our goal is a full day of competition, playing all of our scheduled games with full sides of our own players. Experience has shown that the teams that manage to keep all of the players by the end of the day usually win by attrition.

 

 

 

 

 

U-19/High School Rugby: We are taking baby steps toward a U-19/high school rugby team for the spring 2010 season.  We have established relationships with FPYC (Fairfax) and SYC (Springfield) for training and matches, and our dedicated U-19 players are welcome to attend (details will come via club emails). This is bigger and much more complex than our summer season, and will entail practicing and competing in the Rugby Virginia high school league.

 

Eventually, we may form a West Potomac High School or a wider Fort Hunt U-19 rugby club, made up on players from West Potomac HS, Mount Vernon HS, Browne Academy, any player 14-18 in the area.  This will be up to the players who come forward to create the club, and it also will depend on the adult leadership that is available to form the program and make it go.

 

This will take an absolute minimum of 20 dedicated players, ideally 25 or more (games are 15-a-side).

 

Competing as a U-19/high school team means committing to a full spring season, with practices beginning in early March, and the season running through the end of May. This means players will have to choose between rugby, lacrosse, baseball, soccer, and other spring sports/activities.

 

Stand by and monitor this site for more information.

 

Parents: get ready to help out.

 

Summer 2010: 100+ players is reasonable.  If every registered player brings one friend, we’ll have over 150 players.  We should look to field a competitive team at the U-11, U-13, U-15 and U-17 levels in the end of season tournament.

 

Tour:  We may just take a U-16 (13, 14, 15) team on tour to Ottawa, Canada in July 2010.  We have tentatively been invited to a youth rugby tournament there, and are thinking of going.  This would be a trip of approximately five days, with probably a friendly match and a two-day tournament. More info as it develops.

 

 

The immediate goal is the growth of the Fort Hunt Youth summer program, with 100+ kids each year, and fielding full, competitive sides in all age groups.

 

We want girls to play, too, with their own touch sides and tackle sides for the older girls.

 

We want the U-19 high school side to grow and improve, and to become competitive.

 

We want Fort Hunt Rugby to be a common name in our neighborhood and community, and for our opponents to know that we are up and coming, and are looking to compete.

 

We want to win hardware in the end of season tournament.

 

We want to go on tour, to someplace really cool and fun.

 

We want a full stable of Fort Hunt Rugby gear, to include pins, stickers, t-shirts, jerseys, jackets/hoodies, caps, warmups, etc. All of these will be ongoing fundraisers for the club.

 

 

 

If the high school club succeeds, somewhere down the road we may have occasion to split some of it off into a genuine high school club, maybe the West Potomac Rugby Football Club, for example. Or a Mount Vernon High School rugby club. There are many possibilities.

 

Eventually, the next big step we can take is a formal Fort Hunt Rugby U-19 tour. We can tour in the US, Canada, or go further abroad. The current vision is a one-week U-19 tour, probably in late June, right after school gets out and the U-19 season is over. We’d look to play 4-5 matches in 7-10 days.

 

This would be a proper rugby tour, with club tour crested blazers, club ties, pins, warm-ups, custom tour jerseys, custom tour kit bags, formal rugby receptions, gift exchanges, the whole bit. This is not a pipe dream, not at all, but will take planning and more than anything, player and parent dedication. This is a reasonable goal by 2014, maybe even 2012, if our program grows and is solid.