Faith Family Academy First Regular Season Rugby Game Debuts with Fanfare!
Faith Family Academy is the only School in the Oak Cliff Area that Offers the Sport to its Students!
On Wednesday, January 18, Faith Family Academy’s (FFA) boys high school rugby program began its inaugural 2023 Season to great fanfare from the players and spectators! FFA’s Eagles took the pitch and competed against the Jesuit Rangers as Jeff Robertson, Director of Rugby and Boys Rugby Head Coach, directed the team on lineouts, mauls, rucks and scrums during play. Faith Family is the only school in Oak Cliff, and the immediate surrounding area, that offers the sport for boys and girls from kindergarten through high school.
“We are so excited that the rugby season has started,” said coach Robertson. “The values that rugby teaches are in line with Faith Family’s winning culture such as camaraderie, passion, humility, respect, determination, commitment and teamwork. This is due to the format of the game: in rugby, every single player on the field has a role to play, and one can't play this role alone.”
The Faith Family Academy Rugby Club will compete against local school clubs, including Great Hearts Irving and Cristo Rey Dallas College Prep, as well as multi-school clubs Dallas Youth Rugby, North Texas Rugby Football, Allen Eagle Rugby, Plano Rugby, Alliance Rugby, Panther City Rugby and Celina Rugby.
Coach Robertson spent much of his early childhood on the sidelines of Lake Highlands Park, home of Dallas Rugby Club, where his father also played. He rediscovered rugby his senior year of high school, playing for the Dallas Harlequins Colts and competing in the 2006 USA Rugby National Playoffs hosted by Dartmouth College. Coach Robertson continued his rugby playing career while attending the University of North Texas (UNT), where he also served one term as recruiting director and two terms as club president. Since graduating from UNT, coach Robertson has been an active member of Dallas Rugby Club as a player and administrator, serving as club president since 2019. During his time as president, Dallas Rugby has become the largest adult rugby club in the U.S., with four men’s sides and a women’s side, and has grown its youth program from a handful of kids to nearly 100 last season.
About Faith Family Academy
Faith Family Academy is an open enrollment charter school district in Dallas, Texas, with a mission to educate, empower, and inspire every child for lifelong success. With a focus on college, career, and military readiness, Faith Family Academy is an “A” rated district by the Texas Education Agency and serves almost 3,000 students on two campuses in Dallas (Oak Cliff) and Waxahachie, Texas. Signature Programs including EXPLORE360® Adventure Learning, Navy JROTC, championship-caliber Athletics, Two-Way Dual Language, Dual Enrollment College Credit, and Visual and Performing Arts are just a few ways Faith Family Academy puts students first to extend public education beyond the classroom.
About Rugby
Rugby is known worldwide for its fast-paced, physical play and is the fastest growing team sport in America. Rugby combines the physicality of football or wrestling with the continuous play of soccer. Each player on the field must be able to catch, pass, run, and tackle, and do so throughout the course of a match. While traditionally an “amateur” sport in America, recent participation growth has been spurred by the addition of Rugby to the 2016 Summer Olympics and the founding in 2017 of Major League Rugby, a North American-based professional league, including a new franchise, the Dallas Jackals.
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