ESCONDIDO, Calif. (KGTV) — It was a great day at Pioneer Elementary School in Escondido as 3rd-grade students were greeted by members of the San Diego Legion rugby team. The purpose of this visit was to introduce the kids to the sport of rugby, or in this case, flag rugby.
"Obviously for a lot of them, it will be the first time they ever heard of rugby or touched a rugby ball. It's all about having a bit of fun outside," says Legion player Marcel Brache.
"The number one thing we want these kids to walk away with is to know they have an opportunity to play a new sport. For 80 to 90 percent of the kids, it's their very first time seeing a rugby ball," says Legion player Ryan James.
Most of the kids were not familiar with the game, which meant the players had to teach them the basics of rugby, and that included the equipment, the rules, and the object of the game.
"We try to simplify the drills for the kids," says James.
"If you can't explain it to someone in a short sentence, then the game is more complicated than what you made it. So for us, it's going back to the basics and having fun at the core of it."
While the game was very unfamiliar for most of the 3rd graders, they certainly had a good time and learned a thing or two.
