PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — The Pelican Rugby club has been around since 1977, but over the last year, the club has started a youth rugby program.
The St. Pete Pelicans are geared toward kids between the ages of 7 and 15.
WATCH: St. Pete Pelicans looking to grow youth rugby in Tampa Bay
“Rugby embraced me very well,” Pelicans head coach Aidan Stotts said. “I think it embraces every kid very well. We have kids from every different background, different lifestyles out here.”
Stotts leads the youth team practices on Tuesday and Thursday at Davis Common Park in Pinellas County.
Rugby might not be a top sport for kids just yet, but Stotts is determined to change that.
“You have all the different aspects of the sport in rugby,” he explained. “You can’t find a better sport to tackle in. You’re tackling with no pads; it transfers over to football tremendously. I think everyone who plays football out here has gotten better at tackling.”
“It might help in tackling in football and double legs in wrestling,” Lawson Holley, 10, added.
“It helps engage our brains, and focus on ourselves and not others, and stay disciplined,” Darrell Watkins, 11, said.
Stotts first started playing rugby in college. But now, he wants to spread his love for the sport.
“I love watching the kids come out here and learning a sport that I obviously love,” Stotts said. “I’ve seen the numbers grow each year.”
“He helps us get confidence and pushes us hard and helps us work hard,” Holley said.
That hard work is already paying off.
“We teach kids very quickly within the first weeks how to play,” Stotts said. “This season, we won a (12U) state championship with kids who only played for one or two years; we learned the game very well.”
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