Utah Moves Forward With HS Fall 7s

Utah Youth Rugby (UYR) is forging ahead with its high school fall 7s season and, barring any pandemic or player registration delays, will kick off on Oct. 3. The five-week series evolved after a relatively successful summer 7s test run, which provided useful insight into improvements and also showed that the rugby community was willing to work together in pursuit of a safe playing environment.

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When Covid-19 canceled the spring 15s season, the State Governing Body (SGB) knew players would be hungry for some summer rugby. So UYR President Owen Powers tracked the myriad of authorities imposing Return to Play restrictions, called the health department and state officials for direction and clarifications, and provided regular advisories to the membership. UYR found a means to be compliant through a shortened 7s season and modified rules.

“We knew that if we immediately played 15s, then two teams coming together for one game would be way over the 50-person limit [for group gatherings] with the coaches, trainers, administrators at one field,” UYR Girls Commissioner Christine Yee said. “So we knew right off the bat: No 15s. Playing 7s was more manageable and allowed fewer people at the field.”

UYR set up a system where a pool of three teams had a tournament facility to itself for two hours before the next group of three teams cycled in for their matches. There were no handshakes, hugs or socials between teams. Spectators were prohibited (but that restriction wasn’t 100% enforceable). All of the sanitation and ball swap practices were in place, as were the symptom and temperature checks.

“There were no scrums – free kick instead – and no rucks,” Yee said of contact-reducing measures. “So if you’re the tackler, you could still pop up and poach the ball, but if others [offensive players] were there to support, then you had to back off.

“We were worried that people wouldn’t want to play but as soon as we said, ‘Can you do this,’ the coaches were quick to say, ‘Yes, let’s go,’” Yee continued. “While modified rules weren’t popular, the kids just wanted to play and make it happen.”

Yee was pleasantly surprised by the summer turnout. Certain populations were absent, but rising college freshmen, who might normally sit out for fear of injury before joining a new team, relished the opportunity to salute their high school careers.

“When we opened back up, people were on vacation or they were living in multi-generational households and didn’t want to take that risk [of infection],” Yee said. “Some teams weren’t able to field squads, but there was a lot of love from the community. ‘We’ll take your kids and they can practice with us and play with us on Saturday.’ In the past we had been really strict on rosters and now it’s, ‘Let’s get kids playing if it’s in your comfort level.’”

Yee, who has been coaching Brighton High School for six years, and her players benefitted from the collaborations and teamed up with Wasatch during the summer.

“They have a great coach who does a really good job of building up players,” Yee lauded former Eagle and former UYR board member Patrick Whalen. “He has high turnover at his school but he trains them up freshman year and by the time they’re seniors, they’re fantastic players. So my kids got to have the experience with them.”

Brighton’s Malia Isaacs, whom Yee dubbed the best player in the state, was of particular influence on both the Brighton and Wasatch squads, helping to mentor the younger, lesser-experienced girls.

There was an adjustment period, as it took some time for everyone to understand the Covid-19 version of the game. But once a Q&A between UYR, the refs, coaches and community occurred, some clarity began to form on the pitch. All told, the boys were able to complete five of six tournament dates, and the girls did four of five. During that final leg, two players who were asymptomatic but not practicing tested positive for Covid-19. The UYR board took a step back to re-evaluate and ended the season early.

While there is no real silver lining in Covid-19’s impact on rugby, Yee did leave the summer with an intensified appreciation for the bonds that rugby builds. The summer provided hope that an even better fall 7s season could evolve.

“Everyone was so grateful to play that people were willing to work together and do things they normally wouldn’t want to do,” Yee said. “And coaches have been really good about monitoring their teams. The fear is that kids don’t want to report being sick or be blamed for the shutdown of the league. Coaches are doing a good job of saying, ‘This is important. This is what we can do to take care of each other.’

“I’m hoping we can continue on that path because we want to play a full season,” Yee continued. “If you want to play we need to take care of each other, wear masks when not playing, coaches wear masks, do temperature and symptoms checks. If you’re not feeling well, then stay home. Before, there was this pressure for athletes that if they feel sick, they play anyway because, ‘The team needs me.’ It’s the opposite now. The conversation is, ‘Take care of yourself.’”

UYR has moved the fall 7s series to the Regional Athletic Center in Salt Lake City and that will provide much more space for social distancing. The jury is still out regarding spectators. The membership wants full-contact 7s and feels confident about doing it safely. The SGB is observing the path of football, which is currently in full pads and playing regular rules.

“If football is doing [full contact] and they’re not getting any big Covid cases spreading, then we should be able to play rugby. So that’s where we’re learning right now: traditional 7s,” Yee said. “But we monitor things all the time. Things change weekly with Covid.”

The 7s season was supposed to kick off this Saturday but both the girls’ and boys’ tournaments have been pushed back to Oct. 3. There have been issues nationwide with Sportlomo, the new registration system since USA Rugby’s reorganization, and the delay will allow teams to build a little consistency before game day.

Yee indicated that United, Brighton, Wasatch and South Davis have registered teams, and expects Provo and the Majestics to play. Kearns might combine with South Davis as well.

“I would love to get through without a Covid case,” Yee said of season goals. “You have to pay attention to what is going on in the schools. As a teacher, I know what happens in my class, but you can only do so much. Once students are out the door, they can jump in someone’s car without a mask and go play with kids at another school. We want to see a full season.”

Yee is also thinking expansion of the girls’ game specifically.

“I would love if we at the beginning or end of the season hold a little girls’ camp,” Yee said. “A mom had wanted to start a Girls Inc. [program] but it didn’t get off the ground because there weren’t enough girls. I’ve been talking with Utah Warriors’ Brandon Sparks, who has been talking with Girls Inc., and he suggested going in stages. This year maybe it’s 1-4 weeks’ long, where they learn the fundamentals and then play games at the end for a competitive aspect. After that, maybe there are 1-4 camps, and then we start a little league of girls playing.”

For more information on the fall 7s season and beyond, visit Utah Youth Rugby.