Students have long hoped for more sports options than provided. Boys volleyball has been mentioned along with field hockey, and more recently, girls and boys rugby. Physics teacher Joseph Martin has been leading the rugby charge, but the possibility has been narrowed down to a girls team due to a lack of interest in a boys rugby team. Martin has been a lifelong fan of rugby and has long had the idea to bring the sport to SPA.

The idea has recently caught steam, even leading to an informational meeting Jan. 30. Biology teacher Rachel Yost-Dubrow has also volunteered to be a part of the team as an assistant coach if it materializes.

Junior Raina Heidkamp is one of the potential rugby players and expressed interest in the idea. “Me and my friend thought it would be fun, and I just hope it exists this spring,” she said.

Martin is very enthusiastic about the idea, but is cautious about being too confident in the team coming to fruition. “I’d say it’s still a long shot at this point,” he said. “I’ve liked to just put the ideas of rugby into the world, and from there, it just sparked with some students showing they’re
actually interested,” he said. “The hope is that we have a team this spring, but we will just have to see how much interest there actually is.”

Yost-Dubrow is also excited about the potential team but has much less of a connection to the sport
than Martin does. “I’ve agreed to be an assistant coach, but I have no experience whatsoever with rugby,” she said.

For the team to be able to play other local teams, they need seven players. For the team to be an official school sport, the team will need to recruit a larger group of girls. With help from Martin, the girls who are interested in participating in the rugby team are able to practice and learn more on Sundays at Mattocks Park.

Martin can be reached at joemartin@spa.edu for more details of the girls rugby team.