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Sports

Program Introducing Rugby to Montville Youth

Program introduces youth to the game.

For as far back as anyone can remember baseball and softball were the sports of choice during the summer months, but now there's a new game in town.

On Saturday at Somerville school Ridgewood hosted Montville, Black River and Tri-Town for the first ever Ridgewood Rugby Tournament, in which boys and girls aged 5 to 14 packed the field to compete in games of "Flag Rugby."

"We started the program six years ago as kind of an intramural activity," said Ridgewood Rays President Ed Simpson. "But now we have 80 kids from Ridgewood alone that are in the program and because of that we've been able to join leagues where the kids can now meet and compete against fellow rugby players from all over New Jersey."

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Perhaps none of this would have been possible without Craig Chapman, the director of the Montville Wanderers program. Chapman, who started the program in 2000, first got the idea for youth Rugby while on a trip to Ireland.

"I was on a Rugby tour where I met some guys who had created programs of their own and they gave me a lot of great advice of how to get started," said Chapman adding, "I've always loved the game of Rugby for its competitive spirit and camaraderie on and off the field, so I thought why not introduce it to people who may have otherwise never gotten the chance to play."

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As Rugby's somewhat foreign as it is on this side of the globe, the youth leagues work to introduce the basic rules and tactics to their up-and-coming athletes.

There are four different age groups, beginning with kindergarten and first-graders, who compete in the Owls division. There, they develop basic techniques of passing, running and place kicking while also learning the primary concepts of the game such as passing back, off sides and scoring.

From there, the kids can advance all the way up to the Eagles division where seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders compete as they develop the understanding of team strategy for both offensive and defensive game play.

Since tackling is prohibited, girls and boys alike are able to compete on the same team.

"I've loved Rugby for as long as I can remember," Chapman said. "And that's really our main goal here, just have people fall in love with Rugby one community at a time."

If you or someone you know is interested in playing Rugby, contact the Wanderers at http://www.montvillerugby.com or the the Rays at http://www.ridgewoodrugby.com.

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