Waterford's Newest Sport, Rugby [VIDEO]

Waterford students, for the second year, have a new sport they can play: rugby. But unlike last year, where it was just men, this year there’s a girls team.

“It is a great way to get my aggression out,” Waterford High School student Katelyn Losacano said. “It is either that or on my sister.”

The rugby team began with a few dedicated students and Waterford High School teacher Steve Amino, who has played the sport for years. It is run with no money from the town, relying on donations and students to pay their own way to games.

“It is a great sport,” rugby president and Waterford High School senior John Angelis said. “I just love the intensity. There is nothing like it.”

The Story

In 2011, then-juniors Angelis and and several seniors pushed for Waterford to have a rugby team. They were joined by Amino, who has played and loved the sport for years.

“The kids needed something, and I just love playing,” Amino said. “There’s a special fraternity that exists in this sport.”

The team played last year, finishing third in their division, an impressive feat for a group of students who had never played before, Amino said. This year, the team had more than 30 male students sign up, and now have enough girls to fill a seven-person girls team, he said.

“The girls will probably play a game or two,” Amino said. “I was surprised by the turnout we got.”

No Town/School Involvement

While most of the players on the team are from Waterford, it is a New London County team, and some New London and Norwich students play, Amino said. The team plays other clubs in the state, and the games should begin soon, he said.

The team practices three days a week at Waterford Beach in the spring. They receive no money from the town or the high school.

Amino did try to get the school to sponsor the sport, but the school district had neither the money or the information to make that happen, Waterford Athleltic Director David Sousa said. The sport is not yet recognized by the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, he said.

“It reaches a good group of kids, and the kids really enjoy it,” Sousa said. “But it is not something we wanted to be out in front in. There were too many variable we didn’t have control over.”

The school district has been faced with tight budgets recently, with the Board of Education , Sousa said. It isn’t the right time to add another sport, meaning adding additional costs, he said.

Also, rugby is a physical sport, he said. If people know what they are doing, it is okay, but many of these students have never played before and there is some concern in that, Sousa said.

“I wouldn’t say we are necessarily against it or anything like that,” he said. “But you have to be careful.”

Other sports like lacrosse have started like rugby, and eventually become school sports, he said. If enough interest is shown, it could head that way, he said.