Stoughton High School offers the official spring sports of Baseball, Softball, Track and Field, Boys’ Tennis, Boys’ Golf, Girls’ Soccer, and Lacrosse. With such a large array of different sports, many athletes often overlook club sports as their schedules fill up with practice and competition. Despite this, the boy’s Oregon/Stoughton co-op rugby team is hopeful about increasing the size of their team this season. The team is looking for any willing athletes excited to try a new sport.
Official outdoor rugby practice started on the first of March, but the team is still open to interested athletes as the official competition begins on the eleventh of April. Practice occurs every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 4:30 to 6:30 at Jaycee Park in Oregon.
Richard Bergemann is the head coach for the team, president of the Wisconsin Youth Hockey program, and coach for the women’s rugby team at UW-Platteville.
“I played rugby for 20 years, and then when my son got into high school, he wanted to start a team, so we started the team back in 2013. I’ve had both my boys and my daughter play rugby, and I currently coach the women’s team at the University of Platteville,” Bergemann said.
Currently, the team has 18 boys and three coaches, although Bergemann hopes to bring that number of boys up to 23 in the coming weeks and eventually expand the coaching staff.
“We don’t have any Stoughton players, so I’d love to get the word out because I really can use six good players,” Bergemann said. “I’d love to take them to state, and I think it’s very feasible with the two organizations or the two cities.”
While operations for the club run primarily through the Oregon school district, the SHS administration is excited about the team increasing student involvement and opening up new opportunities.
Andie Alexander is the Athletic Director at SHS and organizes all sporting events at the high school level.
“I’m all for people getting involved, and I get this is a niche for someone. I always want kids to get involved in something that makes them feel good, makes them feel included. I think this is a great opportunity for anyone who’s trying to find something new or be involved in something new. I am super supportive of this and want it to grow,” Alexander said.
Although some people may initially be hesitant about rugby, Bergemann is excited about getting everyone interested in the sport out to practice, no matter their skill level or knowledge of the game.
“We have a lot of rookies or new players just learning how to play rugby. [We teach them] how to tackle safely because the tackling is different compared to football to keep everybody healthy,” Bergemann said. “They don’t need any experience. We’ll teach them everything about rugby. It’s really easy to learn.”
The rugby team also offers an excellent outlet for athletes interested in practicing their skills and competing with neighboring high school teams.
“We are in the Badgerland conference, which is all the teams in Madison, Stoughton, Verona, Middleton, and Madison East,” Bergemann said.
The application process differs slightly from official school sports, but Bergemann and Alexander are adamant about making the process straightforward and accessible to anyone.
“You can always come to me, and I can email the coach over at Oregon or the Athletic Director over at Oregon. Otherwise, I do think there are signs around the district about the rugby team and some more information,” Alexander said.
Applicants register with USA Rugby before competing. You can find an application to join on ohsrugby.com or contact Bergemann at [email protected].