OUR HISTORY...
The McHenry County Lions Rugby Club (formerly Crystal Lake Lions) was founded in the Spring of 2014. Two old college teammates from SIU decided to give back to a sport they truly love. Mike Rickerson and Steve Euker started the club literally over night. Being contacted by David Hall the President of IYRA (Illinois Youth Rugby Association) in February, the two decided to get it started and within four weeks they had a handful of interested boys and secured a practice field at Lippold Park in Crystal Lake, IL. With a little more recruiting they picked up a few more boys and enrolled in the Middle School league.
The first few games the team played in was very successful. We teamed up with the club from Lake Forest and ended up winning a few. Half way through the season the Lake Forest club was able to expand their roster to a full squad, so we teamed up with the Arlington Stallions the rest of the season. The Lions players had a great time and we actually had two players selected to the all-stars side, which is called select-side in rugby.
Coaches Steve and Mike had some help in their first season with a gentlemen named Bill Eaton that recently moved to Crystal Lake from Boston. Bill was an excellent addition to our coaching staff, because he was a forward in his playing days. He has great knowledge and respect for the game, and we look forward to his help with building our club to a competitive side for every level we compete.
In 2015, Coaches Mike and Steve both completed the required coaching course through USA Rugby. If your club is going to be in the tackle league, they are required to have at least one Level 200 coach, this past summer 2016, 3 additional coaches completed this course, so we now have 5!
Coach Mike played for 15 years, while making the select-side at both the local level CARFU (Chicago Area Rugby Football Union) and the Midwest level, which is only one step from the national team. Coach Steve played for a few years and is now pursuing the rugby passion as a certified CARFU C1 Rugby Referee, refereeing both men's and women's club side and high school matches.
The McHenry County Lions have an outstanding foundation to be a successful club for years to come.
The McHenry County Lions Rugby Club (formerly Crystal Lake Lions) was founded in the Spring of 2014. Two old college teammates from SIU decided to give back to a sport they truly love. Mike Rickerson and Steve Euker started the club literally over night. Being contacted by David Hall the President of IYRA (Illinois Youth Rugby Association) in February, the two decided to get it started and within four weeks they had a handful of interested boys and secured a practice field at Lippold Park in Crystal Lake, IL. With a little more recruiting they picked up a few more boys and enrolled in the Middle School league.
The first few games the team played in was very successful. We teamed up with the club from Lake Forest and ended up winning a few. Half way through the season the Lake Forest club was able to expand their roster to a full squad, so we teamed up with the Arlington Stallions the rest of the season. The Lions players had a great time and we actually had two players selected to the all-stars side, which is called select-side in rugby.
Coaches Steve and Mike had some help in their first season with a gentlemen named Bill Eaton that recently moved to Crystal Lake from Boston. Bill was an excellent addition to our coaching staff, because he was a forward in his playing days. He has great knowledge and respect for the game, and we look forward to his help with building our club to a competitive side for every level we compete.
In 2015, Coaches Mike and Steve both completed the required coaching course through USA Rugby. If your club is going to be in the tackle league, they are required to have at least one Level 200 coach, this past summer 2016, 3 additional coaches completed this course, so we now have 5!
Coach Mike played for 15 years, while making the select-side at both the local level CARFU (Chicago Area Rugby Football Union) and the Midwest level, which is only one step from the national team. Coach Steve played for a few years and is now pursuing the rugby passion as a certified CARFU C1 Rugby Referee, refereeing both men's and women's club side and high school matches.
The McHenry County Lions have an outstanding foundation to be a successful club for years to come.
