When Larry Conlan began his teaching career in impoverished neighborhoods in Philadelphia, he witnessed high school students fighting, he heard about neighborhood fights and saw other bad conduct.
He was concerned about how such behavior harmed the students’ personal and academic development.
“So, I thought, ‘Hey, let’s turn this around,’” Conlan recalled. In 2012, he created an unexpected after-school program.
“I stood up in the school gymnasium with a rugby ball and said to the students, ‘Hey, do you want to play rugby?’”
He remembers that one student spoke up, “We don’t know anything about it.”
“I told them there are no pads and no helmets and no blocking and you tackle,” said Conlan, who played the game in high school.
“Nine players signed up right there,” he said.
That was the beginning of the North Philly Nomads, a club soccer team whose story is told in the new movie “The Nomads.”
This spring the club begins its ninth season playing in the high school division of Rugby Pennsylvania, which is governed by USA Rugby. The students practice after school three days a week and play games on Sundays.
The sport takes a lot of discipline, James Brunson, a school behavior specialist and head coach, wrote in an online post. Working together as part of the team helped kids mature, he wrote.
“Our main focus in this is to give these kids the opportunity to have an outlet to express themselves and grow their confidence,” he said.
Students who previously got little attention have now become leaders. They speak up in the classroom and have joined student government, Brunson wrote.
Coaches have helped players get college rugby scholarships. They’ve taken them to college games, toured campuses and met college rugby players. Coaches stay in touch with players after graduation. For example, they recently held a club celebration for one of the former players who was inducted into the Army.
When the Philadelphia Inquirer ran a front-page story on the team, movie director Brandon Eric Kamin saw it and was intrigued. He created a fictional story that became the film “The Nomads,” which recently won an award at the Philadelphia Film Festival.
Conlan has his own explanation for how the program helps young people develop in a positive way.
“Of course, it’s not going to be a change overnight,” Conlan said. “I’m not saying rugby came in and [risky behavior] stopped. But it’s like a family. We look out for each other. In rugby, you’ve got to be a team player. Like in life, if you’re not a team player, you lose.”
Wade Marbaugh contributed to this article.
