Rugby season may be over for the spring, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a rugby-filled summer! There are many ways to continue to build her love for rugby and we’re here to highlight just a few!

1. Find a Summer Camp
Summer camps are great ways to keep girls active during non-school months. As a parent, you are likely aware of many options in your community. Rugby summer programs are popping up everywhere and range from week-long camps to multi-week options. You may even find rugby integrated in multi-sport camps at your local YMCA, Parks and Recreation, or other community centers. Check out the Girls Rugby Summer Camp offerings below. Not finding a camp in your community? Look into your State Rugby Organization or community organizations and camp providers.

Girls Rugby Summer Camps in Colorado, Connecticut, Ohio and Oregon/SW Washington

2. Pass with Her
Cultivating her love for rugby means giving time. A few minutes in the backyard or at the local park passing the ball with your daughter will keep that rugby spark burning. Give her the chance to teach you a few things about the game and help her refine her skills of passing, running with the ball, and kicking. Create fun games and competitions that keep her motivated such as step back passes. Pass from a certain distance and work to step back after every successful pass. Try different types of kicks such as kicking from the ground, punting, or even drop kicks. Spending this time with her will bond you both in rugby and help you be an important contributor for her love of the game. 

3. Rugby on TV
Summer is a busy time for rugby worldwide, giving us a myriad of online games to watch. As the National Men’s teams from around the world prepare for the Rugby World Cup in Japan this fall, there are tons of warm-up matches that you can stream online. Watching rugby on TV is not always the easiest feat in the US, but if you can find some games to watch, it will certainly be a treat. Watching a game on TV allows your daughter to see the game for how it is supposed to look. Try to make it educational by having her pick out the things she knows such as the shapes of offense and defense, scoring tries, offside, etc. Try to link these moments to her games and skills as a way to continue her education of the game. 

Watching games in the US is easiest with FloRugby, a streaming partner of USA Rugby. There is a small monthly fee and their schedule is posted online so you can plan what you want to view together.

Additional matches can be easily found on YouTube by searching for specific countries or events. We recommend keeping your searches specific to get the matches you want. For example, “Women’s Sevens Rugby” or “USA Rugby matches” or “HSBC Women’s Sevens Glendale, CO”

4. Watch a Live Game
Just as the international scene is bustling, so is your local community! Summer is typically the season of Rugby Sevens, where your local teams play a smaller-sided version that you see in the Olympic Games. Sevens is typically played in tournament formats, allowing you to watch multiple games within a couple hours. These days are great family days where you can take out the blankets and lawn chairs and have a day at the park watching some rugby. 

You can find schedules online by checking out your local rugby unions or getting on Google and searching “Rugby matches in Colorado this summer” for example. We recommend bringing her rugby ball with her as she might meet some players keen to show her some skills or offer up an autograph!

5. Host a Rugby Party
Take your backyard rugby game up a notch by hosting a rugby party for your daughter and her friends! A handful of kids, a rugby ball, and some snacks makes for a fantastic afternoon! Have your daughter come up with the games by selecting her favorites from last season. We recommend Sharks and Minnows, Stars and Stripes, Tiger Tail Relay, and Rugby Freeze Tag, just to name a few of our favorites! You could include other fun rugby activities such as arts and crafts where they draw themselves as a rugby player, rugby trivia or quizzes to test their knowledge, or something else you choose! 

You don’t need a ton of kids, even six would make for a great time! Your daughter will love sharing her rugby knowledge with her friends and you may even recruit some new ruggers for the next season! 

Unsure what to do for the party? Contact your Girls Rugby coach or a local contact who can help you build out a plan for the day. 

Keep it simple – your daughter will love every bit of rugby she can get her hands on. Passing for 10 minutes in the backyard could make her entire summer. So what are you waiting for? Help cultivate her love of the game and make rugby just for her!