Strive Rugby Program has Launched
A national fellowship recruiting, training, and deploying leaders to build sustainable and impactful youth rugby organizations.
American rugby's growth is bottlenecked by a single missing ingredient: full-time, professional leadership at the local level.
People Build Programs
Who We Are
Strive Rugby trains and deploys full-timeleaders to launch and sustain Tier 1 youth rugby programs across the nation.
What We Do
Three years, eight site exchange visits per year in Tier 1 hubs, an intensive curriculum covering systems, operations, programming, and fundraising for sustainability.
Why We Exist
Fewer than six Tier 1 youth rugby programs exist nationwide. The bottleneck is leadership, and leadership requires runway, training, and community.
The Fellow Journey
Identify & Recruit
Apply, select, announce the cohort.
Train & Design
16-week immersion at a Tier 1 hub + launch city.
Build & Launch
Systems, partnerships, first programs go live.
Institutionalize
Hit thresholds, plan succession, hand off.
The Athlete Journey
No barriers. No prior rugby experience needed. Strive brings excellent rugby programs directly to the school setting - ensuring access for those who may never encounter the sport.
Rugby doesn’t stop. Fall fixtures, winter training, spring competitions, summer camps. Professional programming keeps players engaged and improving every season.
Rugby as the hook. Tutoring, mentorship, and leadership development happen on and off the pitch. Players see the connection between sport and success in school.
Rugby opens doors. Program alumni leverage scholarships, play at D3/D2 schools, or go Pro. One hundred percent of program graduates access a post-secondary pathway.
Programs are built around people and relationships. Coaching staff invests in player welfare beyond rugby - mental health, college prep, life skills, and mentorship.
International travel opportunities. Leadership at scale. Exposure to rugby culture and elite competition. Players see themselves as part of something bigger.
The Fellowship
Mission
Train talented leaders to build excellent, sustainable youth rugby programs designed to create profound impact.
Vision
A future where every American city has a thriving, professional-led youth rugby program, built by leaders trained to last.
Choose how you help build sustainable youth rugby: give, partner, lead, or join.
Donor
Fund the pilot. About $500K per market secures a three-year fellow investment, managed and deployed by the US Rugby Foundation.
Partner
Schools, facilities, community allies, and corporate or philanthropic partners who help build a program on the ground.
BACKED BY THE US RUGBY FOUNDATION
Strive Rugby is a Foundation program — financed and run on its systems, not a startup asking for trust it hasn't earned. Every local gift flows through a 501(c)(3) public charity operating since 1963, is restricted entirely to this market, and is tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. US Rugby Foundation holds, manages, and deploys the capital including structuring local match and co-investment. Learn more about the US Rugby Foundation at usrugbyfoundation.org.