We are a brand new high school rugby club in Central Florida. We play other high school teams such as Brevard County, Palmetto Ridge Bears High School - Naples, and Taravella High School - Fort Lauderdale. So far we've been competing in the summer 7's season and took 3rd place in this summer's Sunshine State Games. We're currently gearing up for fall and spring 15's seasons and we need players. If you're under 19 and are interested in playing, drop us a line. We practice in Winter Park, but will take anyone in the county who would like to play. Don't know how to play rugby? No problem. Everyone starts the same way, the only way to learn is to come and see what we're all about.

Practice Schedule
Tuesdays & Thursdays / Practice @ Lake Island Park, 7:00pm

Contact:
Andrew Riley
winterparkwarriors@yahoo.com
407-488-8294

Frequently Asked Questions

History of Rugby The sport of rugby started in England in 1823, when a young boy from the rugby school named William Webb Ellis, picked up the ball during a soccer match and ran with it toward his opponent's goal. Today, rugby is played in over 90 countries, making it one of the most popular sports in the world. Likewise, rugby is on of the fastest growing sports in the United States. Until recently, rugby was known primarily as a collegiate and adult sport. But with the advent of non-contact rugby the growth of the sport is taking root in communities nationwide for youth player ages 7-19. Rugby is known as the forefather to American gridiron football. Many aspects of modern-day football are direct descendants of rugby. Rugby has a continuous flow and all players have the opportunity to run with, pass and kick the ball. These two aspects, alone, make rugby an appealing sport for today's youth. Taken from "Parents Introduction to Youth Rugby" published by USA Rugby

Why Play Rugby?
Rugby is a fun, physically demanding, mentally challenging, contact sport. Many people have asked me to describe rugby to them, and my best answer is.. "Think of a combination of football, soccer, wrestling. All in a very social atmosphere." Because American football originates from rugby, rugby most closely resembles the football Americans know and love. Rugby, on the other hand is a continuous game. There are no downs in rugby, making for a fast paced game where endurance plays a large role. Yes, wrestling. Tackling in rugby is more of a grappling skill in rugby than in football. Wrestlers often make great tacklers in rugby. Equating the tactics of rugby require more strategy and thought than most team sports. In addition, unlike football, plays must be made by the players while the player is running, catching, passing, etc. and still be flexible to respond to pressure by the defense. Perhaps what sets rugby apart from other sports is the social atmosphere. Traditionally after a match, the home team will host a social function where the two teams will get together to meet one another, sing songs, tell jokes, hand out awards, etc. We would like to transfer this to U-19 rugby in a form appropriate to the age group, i.e. post game cookouts, pizza social, or other event. We feel that socialization helps promote good sportsmanship and builds connections that can last a lifetime.

Where Is Rugby Played in Central Florida?
Currently there are two men's league rugby clubs in Orlando (Orlando Ironhorse & The Orlando Griffins.) At the time of this writing, I believe there is an effort to put together an Orlando woman's club. UCF has both woman's and men¡¦s collegiate clubs. Interest has been shown for a boy's high school level team, which is currently under development. If interest is shown for an under 14, non-contact team or high school girls team, we would be happy to facilitate the formation of such teams.

Status of the Boy's Under 19 Central Florida Team
We currently have about a half dozen, high school players coming out to practice, and we are always looking for more. Our goal is to field at least one boy's U-19 7's team to compete in tournaments around Florida in the summer of 2005. By the fall of '05, we are working to have enough players to field a full 15-player squad to play in the Florida Cup fall season. From there the goal is to develop several Central Florida teams over the next couple of years to increase local competition.

Other under 19 teams in Florida include:
Brevard (Brevard County)
Lincoln Park Academy (St. Lucie)
Palmetto Ridge Bears (Naples)
North Broward (Fort Lauderdale)
North East (Fort Lauderdale)
Taravella (Fort Lauderdale)