Frequently Asked Questions

Huns Youth & High School Rugby has both contact and non-contact variations. Both are coached by experienced, certified coaches and the safety of the players is always the most important part of every part of practice and games. 

Rugby is one of the fastest growing sports in the US and recently joint the Olympics. It is a team sport where players play both offense and defense utilizing individual skills in passing, kicking, teamwork, and (when old enough) tackling against an opponent in a game of possession, territory, and scoring in continuous play against an opponent. Rugby is played in over 120 countries by 9.1 million people worldwide, including 2.4 million women and girls. Worldwide, rugby has 405 millions fans, including 45 million in the United States. .  Want more detail? There are plenty of excellent websites for you to explore.

Rugby is a great way to introduce children to team sports or challenge your athletic teen. As rugby is a free flow sport, like basketball or soccer, there are opportunities for all players to be involved in the action throughout the game. Additionally, rugby play involves all players in all aspects of play with minimal specialize roles at the youth levels or in free play. This allows every player to fully participate and not find themselves limited to positional roles too early in their exploration of team sports.

The best way to find out is to come and check it out. We typically have numerous Try Rugby events in the Fall and you can come out any time during the season (typically January - April). 

Rugby focuses on both aerobic and anerobic fitness throughout practice and matches, improving the overall fitness of any athlete. By including split second decision making, rugby is a great sport to sharpen both the body and mind. 

We follow the same Progression of Play endorsed by our organizing body Rugby Texas and USA Rugby.  Every group below 10U is non-contact. At 10U tackle below the waistline is introduced. 12U and 14U allow tackles below the arm pits and restrict contact in other ways (no sling tackles, fending is illegal or restricted) depending on the age.  When tackling starts varies from country to country, but we have found this progression enables our ruggers to safely make the transition while addressing the desire of some players to tackle and the reticence of others to make the transition.

Huns Youth Rugby is a part of the Huns Rugby Football Club which you can learn more about here. It is led by trained and certified volunteers to administrate, coach, and support the efforts by doing things like answer this question. ;)  We also have coaches, volunteers, and support from the Austin Valkyries WRFC.  We are passionate members of the Huns and larger Rugby Community who want to give our kids (and the friends (and their friend's friends (and people who stumble across this website))) a chance to experience rugby both on the  field and through its global community. If you would like to be a part of our community or see a way you can help, do not hesitate to contact us at youth@hunsrugby.com.

That you can learn all about here. In short they are a 3 Division Men's Rugby Club founded in 1972 that has won a National Championship and have a strong community of previous players who are now parents of young ruggers thanks to this program.

As with many (but certainly not all) good ideas, it began talking with old rugby friends over a beer. In the backyard of an aging hooker, a few ruggers took stock of their young progeny and the need to get them off their screens on the weeks. A quick count of young ruggers in a certain age band quickly led to the notion of getting them out at the Rugby Ranch on Saturday mornings to play some rugby, BBQ some lunch, and maybe watch some rugby while the kids played on a donated play set of questionable veracity.  

It wasn't long until friends wanted to bring friends, a Facebook post was made, some research into USA rugby youth support (thanks for early ball donations!), and in 2015 our idea culminated in our first official Huns Youth Rugby Season. We have been growing ever since (small COVID hiccup aside) and so has youth rugby in the rest of Texas. We can now say it is officially a "Thing."

Community. Culture. Rugby. 

We love volunteers and the more we have, the easier the whole thing runs. With multiple coaches and parent volunteers for each age bracket, no one needs to feel guilty when they mess a Saturday for grandma's birthday party. Don't know rugby? We can always use help with the social, adminstration, and HYR leadership. Just email use at youth@hunsrugby.com.

First time? Bring a water bottle and the same weather appropriate cloths you would were to a soccer practice.  If just have tennis shoes, no need to buy cleats just to check us out that first time.

Coming to Practice? You just need some cleats, a mouthpiece, water bottle, and a desire to have fun! We start in January so it can sometimes be colder when we start but it warms up fast when you are running around in Texas. We recommend layers and don't let that chilly trip out to the car discourage you. Trust us when we say the coats, hats, and sweatshirts often get shed soon after warm-ups.

During COVID, we developed a the BYOWB practice of most team sports, so don't forget the water bottle!

Forget your Mouthpiece? Don't panic, but do know the coaches won't let you participate in any contact drills?

Right here of course!

We use the Sports Engine App for rostering, scheduling, and communication. We automatically add the parent who registered the player but if you want to add more guardians - for security reasons - you have to do this.  But it is easy(ish):

From the registering parent's account: Open the SE phone app > Teams > Your Team > Roster > Your Child > Click edit/pencil icon > Add Guardian.   

Let us know if you have any issues and we will update this answer.