Crusaders Youth Rugby Program Information
When does it start?
The Youth spring/summer program generally kicks off in earnest in early May, once our fields are dry, usable and ready. We cannot control the weather but that generally means we start up around the May 10-17. Your coach will be in contact with you closer to the time with a start date.
When does it finish?
The Youth spring/summer program formally finishes in late August with the provincial club championships. Players can elect/opt-in participated in the Fall 7s season, our S&C program, Advanced Skills indoor program and spring Preseason Training – and then we start up the next spring/summer program season.
How do I register?
You can register for our program by visiting our Registration page.
Youth Program Annual Schedule
The Cru Youth program offers excellent programming year-round. With your registration, you are registered member from the date of registration until April 30 the next year and insured and sanctioned to participate in all Cru programming. Your registration fee includes the spring/summer program; however the optional programming attracts additional fees to cover club costs. As we approach these programs, we’ll keep you informed on specific details/dates etc.:
- Spring/Summer program: May through August
- Fall 7s: September – October (U14s, optional)
- S&C Program: November – March (U14s, optional)
- Advanced Skills (indoor): January – mid-April (optional)
- Preseason Training: April (optional)
What do I need?
Not much! Shorts, socks, mouthguard and soccer-style cleats/boots. Club branded socks and unisex shorts are mandatory for all matches. Delivery from the online club shop is usually very quick (1-2 days) and stock is replenished often; cleats are available at any SportChek, National Sports or SoccerWorld in Oakville. Girls, there are girls’ shorts available – you can still purchase the unisex shorts if you’d prefer.
The club will provide you with a Crusaders jersey on game days only (we retain our jerseys as club-owned kit as jersey numbers are positional in rugby). You will need to attend practices in a training top, t-shirt etc. – some are available on the clubshop but really anything comfortable will do.
You will need a mouthguard and will not be allowed to participate in any activities involving contact without it. Custom mouthguard fittings are recommended but certainly not necessary. Off-the-shelf mouthguards are available at Canadian Tire, SportChek, National Sports and other shops.
Meet the Coaches Day
Our coaches and program directors will be available at the clubhouse to meet parents and players to discuss the upcoming season and answer any questions. It’s also a good opportunity to get your shorts size right by trying on some samples before you order online, and there will also be custom mouthguard fittings available. Free Muldoon’s coffee will be served and if you come early, there may be donuts and muffins left!
How will I be communicated with?
The club uses TeamSnap, a team scheduling tool/app, to provide schedules and updates to all parents/players. You will receive an invitation to TeamSnap close to the beginning of the season. We should have all our match dates available by mid-April.
When will I practice?
As above, the specific schedule will be posted to TeamSnap but more general scheduling information for each age group is available on our website and in our club calendar also on the website.
Who do I contact with Questions/Concerns?
Your Head Coach is usually the place to start, depending on which age/program your athlete is participating in:
U14 Boys: u14.boys@crusadersrugby.ca
U14 Girls: u14.girls@crusadersrugby.ca
You can also reach out to our Youth Director.
What Competitions do We Play In?
The U14s and U12s primarily participate in tournaments played at other clubs and facilities, typically around the GTA but sometimes further afield. They are typically scheduled on Saturday mornings but occasionally occur on Sundays. They’re great events that bring together clubs, players and parents from all around the province. U16s and U18s play in the Ontario Junior leagues with matches against competition primarily in the GTA but extending to Belleville in the east, London in the West and Peterborough/Lindsay in the north-east, and Collingwood in the north-west. The club strongly believes that we need to travel to play the highest level of rugby in the province.
What if I have to miss a practice or tournament?
That’s FINE! We all have busy lives, vacations, and other things to juggle… Your coaches will reach out for confirmation of your availability via TeamSnap for scheduled league games and other matches, so we can plan those properly. Please help them by indicating your availability in TeamSnap as soon as practically possible. Practices: it’s fine if you need to miss and don’t need to communicate that.
Representative Rugby
Many Cru junior players participate in rugby at representative levels from 16 years-old: the Niagara Rugby Union (NRU) 15s and 7s teams, Rugby Ontario 15s and 7s, and Canada 15s and 7s. There are a lot of opportunities in rugby outside of club rugby and it can be difficult to navigate. If you’re interested in how to get on the radar or if/how you should pursue a selection for a representative side and/or how to approach universities and college recruiters, please talk to your coach or your rugby director – they can offer guidance and advice.
What about Safety and Injuries?
The club has a team of very capable and trained athletic therapists at all our practices and games. If a player sustains an injury they will be referred to the ATs by the coaches to assess, treat, advise and manage any protocols related to ensuring the player is healed up and safe before continuing to participate. Concussion protocols are stringently followed and all our coaches are trained in concussion management. Our AT Team Lead, Dana Flatt, a very experienced sports therapist, is available at athletic.therapy@crusadersrugby.ca for player/parent advice. Generally, when we travel to away matches/tournaments, the host club will provide ATs.
High School Volunteer Hours
Everyone in Ontario needs 40 hours of volunteer time to graduate from High School – and you can earn them at the club! We need volunteer camp counsellors, volunteer assistant coaches (for the Minis), grounds help, facilities help and much more. It’s easy to get started. If you want to volunteer and earn your hours, signup here.
I’m a Parent and Willing to Help: Do you need volunteers? How can I help?
You most definitely can! We always need organizing, coaching, managing and other forms of help from parents. Our most pressing need is for team managers and assistant coaches to assist the head coaches at the Junior level. Don’t worry if you’re not experienced we can help with that. The club is almost exclusively run by volunteers (mostly current and previous parents) and it’s a lot of work for volunteers to manage these big age groups with no assistance.
If you think you can help on the field as a coaching assistant, off the field with some team management or can help organize social events for your team or parents, we’d be thrilled for the help. But we also need photographers, mowers, videographers, and more – there are hundreds of ways you can chip in.
If you’re able to help, let us know by signing up here or talk to your coach, our Youth Director at any time and we can help get you involved.
You’re a Member – this is YOUR Club!
Your athlete/teenager may be registered in our Junior program but Cru is a FAMILY CLUB and we consider the entire family to be “members”. We really hope you’ll treat the club as your second home, make use our beautiful grounds, have a drink at the bar or on the deck, invite your friends to the club, hang out in the patio area, attend matches, join the socials/events, bring a picnic, whatever! We’re a sports club and people do primarily come here to play rugby but there’s a massive social and community element to it that we really hope you’ll join – it’s the essence of what makes a rugby club different from soccer, lacrosse, football and many other clubs.
If you’re new to the club, it may seem that everyone knows each other. Some have been with the club for decades but the majority of us were introduced to the club when we enrolled our kids in U6, U8, U10 years ago, or even when we personally joined as U6s, U8, U10s and learned the sport. People are friendly and the place belongs to you as much as anyone else. Please jump in!
Club Culture – It’s Important
We pride ourselves on being a community club in the truest sense. We’re not a professionally-run, paid staff, paid coaches kind of sports club but a place where everyone chips in and makes things happen for the whole community. We have a few paid staff to support us and help us organize our events, socials, fundraisers etc. but at the core of it, the club runs on volunteer fuel and we sincerely hope you’ll be part of it. Our fields are mowed, sowed and cared for by volunteers, the bins are emptied by volunteers, the clubhouse cleaned by volunteers and more. Please help however you can!
On-Field and Sideline Conduct
The club expects the highest standards of sportsmanship and respect from our players and everyone participating on the sidelines. Junior rugby starts to get competitive and it can be easy to get carried away. If there’s disrespectful, aggressive, overly-competitive or unpleasant behaviour exhibited by other players or parents, it ruins the experience for our athletes and ultimately will leave the sport or possibly sports altogether. Further, we don’t tolerate referee abuse, coach abuse or any other form of behaviour that may be more tolerated in other sports.
Rugby has a long tradition of respectfulness towards other players, our coaches, referees and spectators – and, as a club, we can’t tolerate transgressions. Please see our Code of Conduct online and help us keep things fun for everyone!
Our Other Divisions: Minis, Junior and Senior
The club, in addition to Juniors, runs two other divisions: Minis for (U6-U10), Junior (U16, U18) and Senior (19+).
Our Minis division is one of the largest in North America. We operate 4 co-ed age groups that progress from flag rugby through a form of modified rugby league and finally progresses into contact for U12s. It’s awesome to scan the various tournaments across the positive and see our black and gold hoops kids all over the place! These kids are the future of our junior boys and girls program and we work hard to introduce them to rugby to impart a love of rugby and the club. The club also offers Summer Day Camps intended to introduce younger kids to rugby and the club, and well as offer additional options to our registered minis.
Our Junior division is the largest and arguably most successful junior program in North America. We operate six age/gender age groups U14 Boys, U14 Girls, U16 Boys, U16 Girls, U18 Boys and U18 Girls. Again, the quality and standard of rugby is outstanding – and it’s always great to watch our intra-provincial league matches. We often host inbound touring teams from UK and other overseas schools, regional teams and more – those games are always big events and allow our juniors to measure themselves against international competition.
Our 150-strong Seniors run three men’s teams and one women’s team in the competitive provincial leagues. The standard of rugby is excellent and we encourage you to come to watch their matches. Stay tuned for match and schedule announcements and bring the family to the club for our home games! Cru has fierce on-field rivalries with many other clubs (Balmy Beach Club, Burlington, Brantford, Oshawa, Barrie, Toronto Scottish and others) and a lot of great friendships off the field.
Club Pathway to University and Senior Club Rugby
One of the important initiatives for our club has been do a better job of retaining our highly-skilled and numerous junior players as they graduate from U18 and many head off to university/college etc., often to continue their rugby journeys there. The club has really focused on ensuring those graduating juniors have a place to play highly competitive rugby with excellent coaching in the summer, and that there’s more continuity and connectedness between our senior programs and U18s.
The results have been very positive: the club now has a massive cohort of U19-U23 university-aged players at the club – more than 45% of our 150 senior players. So if you’re a U18, expect to be occasionally training (and more) with the seniors – we want you to play senior rugby at the club and we’ll be doing all we can, short of blatant coercion, to get you enthusiastic about Cru senior rugby!
Parents/Adults: Give Touch Rugby a Try!
The club offers two recreational touch, non-contact programs for adults: Mens Touch rugby and Ladies Touch rugby. These are low stress, active, fun and purely recreational non-contact sessions intended for those who’d like to just be active, throw a ball around and have some fun on Tuesday evenings during the summer. There are often post-game socials on the clubhouse deck or in the beer garden, and there’s even the occasional group dinner at the club. It’s great fun and perfect for dads, mums and beginners of all kinds. It’s NEVER too late to start. Most of the participants are 35-50 years-old. Give it a go – you’ll have a blast!
Our Alumni
One of the unique aspects of rugby is how connected ex-players, coaches and community members remain to their clubs. Cru has an extensive alumni group including national/Canada players, professional players, coaches and players that spent their best rugby years playing for the club. After national and professional careers are over, many will come back to coach or play for the club again at the Senior level. The alumni are an incredibly important part of the fabric, history and lore of the club and continue to make a massive contribution to it long after they’ve stopped playing or coaching.
Follow Us on Social Media
Please follow us on your favourite social media app Facebook, Instagram, YouTube to stay informed and in the loop on upcoming events, club happenings etc. We’ll also do our best to communicate regularly via TeamSnap and regular emails.
Share Your Photos of the Season with Us!
If you have any really good photos of your team, players, club or matches please send your best as attachments to an email to photos@crusadersrugby.ca – and we’ll share the Google Photos library with you. (Please just send your best hi-res photos, not hundreds!)
Please reach out to us at any time if you have questions, feedback or concerns. Please also feel free to contact our other directors – we’re all very actively engaged with the club and happy to help at any time.
Have a great season and enjoy all that the Crusaders Rugby Club has to offer!
Go CRU!