Charger has the best numbers in the state. / Photo courtesy Charger Rugby Club
Indiana has been able to get its girls’ high school teams playing, and the spring is all about rebuilding. There will be a final tournament at the end of the “season,” but it won’t be a culmination of the spring so much as an opportunity for those who want to compete for a title to do so.
“Our high school commissioners – youth went the same way – decided that all the matches are friendlies this year,” Rugby Indiana Executive Director Wayne Eells said. “It’s about getting as many teams playing as possible. There’s open subs, so go rotate your kids. Play 7s, 10s, 15s – whatever you have to do. Only have 11 players? We’ll play down. Did you take a couple of injuries during the game? We’ll lend you players.”
Eells praised the commissioner-level coaches for taking a development stance on the season, because those discussions can often fixate on the state championships and playoff pathways. There will be a final tournament for those teams that have the numbers and desire to compete for a state title, and teams have to declare their intent by May 1. Then it’ll be a blind draw.
“Everyone took a deep breath: Just play,” Eells said of the generally warm reception to the season’s tone. “Put on a jersey and play so you can put your rugby program back on the field and use this as a rebuilding year.”
The “just play” mindset is a comfort, but Eells asserted that it’s been a difficult year. The girls were able to play touch 7s in the fall [read more], but when it came time to assemble for the spring, teams folded and others combined. Eells estimated that numbers are 50-60% of 2019.
“We were hoping to be closer to 75% but a lot of sports are down in the state,” Eells said. “North Central has 26 girls when they normally have 70. Pike has no program. Some of that is because schools are just starting to get to 50% of students in person, so if you’re not in school for classes, then you’re not in school for sports.”
Eells indicated that the Chargers out of Carroll is the only program that has two full girls’ high school sides. Westfield folded into Carmel, which can now field two sides, and joins North Central, Penn and Warsaw in a single division, which makes scheduling easier.
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“I’m worried for all of them but there’s only so much we can do at the Rugby Indiana level,” Eells said. “We can offer the games, but we can’t force a school district to do anything. There were teams that had the numbers to play but had problems with their schools [and Return to Play].”
Eells said that girls’ middle schools took the biggest hit. Only four of the 12 teams returned, setting progress back six years. A new program, Center Grove, has emerged, but notables like Broad Ripple, Noblesville and Westfield are all absent.
“The other side of this is that Covid has been very politicized the last one-and-a-half years now by both parties leading in government,” Eells said of barriers to participation. “And it has not given a good middle ground for the reality of what Covid really is. So, we have all kinds of people with all kinds of opinions, ranging from those who believe Covid is the world’s biggest hoax to those who think it’s the end of the world. And these people are coaches are refs.”
Teams are limited to one match per week, since Covid-19 symptoms often surface after five days. Youth teams have one play day per week, and since their matches are shorter, they can play multiple matches in one day. Rugby Indiana recently changed its Covid-19 protocols to align with the state’s recommendations, not mandates, for masks and social distancing. The teams are playing tackle and adhering to World Rugby symptom checks before practices and games, but there’s nothing to enforce regarding spectators.
Indiana does have one advantage over other states that are returning to play all at once. Fall and winter sports took place in their regularly designated seasons, so there isn’t a massive pinch for field space that’s been seen elsewhere.
“There’s an adage for coaches and referees in rugby: If at the end of the season, no one’s seriously injured, no one’s died, and the kids are playing rugby and having fun, then you’ve won,” Eells said of how he’d gauge success this year. “It’s highly simplified, but for the kids, that’s the reality.
“So we’re already in the middle of the season, and I can say it’s a success,” he continued. “You can look at artificial metrics on things – like numbers – but I can’t control who signs up or what schools are saying about what you can do with recruitment on school grounds. With all the different county protocols, there’s only so much we can work around. Coming through the pandemic, we’re only down a year, and the kids are playing and having fun, they have their sports and the socializing and all the benefits that come with that.”
Eells is waiting until the end of the season to makes these calls, because this past year has taught everyone that Covid-19 is the wild card. There’s no guarantee that the pandemic is reliably under control or that the government will react a certain way if there is a resurgence in infections.
“If we can have the [final] tournament, then great, but we’re not out of April yet,” Eells said. “But I’m hoping this season might change some people’s point of view of on what success is. At our core: Did we play? Did the kids get opportunities? Even if there are bad numbers, there’s still success.”
The final tournament is scheduled for the Saturday and Monday of Memorial Day Weekend, with no games Sunday in honor of the Indy 500. Moose Rugby Grounds (Elkhart, Ind.) is hosting, and its gate-controlled entry will be useful if spectator restrictions resume.
“There’s optimism that rugby is being played right now, but it doesn’t take away pain of seeing clubs struggle,” Eells said. “We’re set back 10 years, but it feels like that for everyone – for people in their jobs. So it’s bittersweet seeing teams plays, because you know it’s not easy for everyone.”
Rugby Indiana doesn’t run summer programming; however, talks have begun with Bart Bottoroff and the Moose Rugby Grounds regarding a possible Midwest 7s series for the girls. Eells pointed to the active Wisconsin 7s scene and that adding a stop in Indiana and other active states (Iowa? Ohio?) could form the base for a nice circuit in 2022. To be continued.
And then the regularly scheduled fall season would resume, and Eells anticipates tackle 7s. With that said, Eells is hopeful that not everything returns to normal. He’s rallying around the positive notes that are coming out of this rebuilding season. Perhaps teams will enjoy the less pressurized build-up to the spring and play games without fear of post-season implications. What could that mean for deeper development of the roster, and beyond?