Alumni support to crisis calls, Memphis Inner City Rugby's impact extends beyond the field

During Memphis Inner City Rugby's first pick-up game of the new year, Executive Director Shane Young, along with about 20 players, descended upon the field. Using faint paint lines for out-of-bounds markers and fresh rugby balls, the teens played hard. The wind was harsh, and the cold weather made the athletes' breath visible as they played.

Jokes of "I haven't played rugby since last year," and whispers of memories from the last season were shared during plays.

Practices and games will look different for MICR soon, as the organization recently received $1.1 million from Shelby County to build up its field on the blighted and abandoned Vance Middle School field.

Trash is still littered throughout the field and parking lot. There is an old beat-up computer monitor on a slab of concrete, shattered glass in corners and barely visible parking lot lines. Vance Middle School was demolished in 2019, after sitting vacant since 2014.

MICR started to play and host tournaments on the fields of Vance Middle School in 2017. Young co-founded the athletic program in 2012 when he was a teacher through Teach for America Corps-Memphis.

Since the program's inception, MICR has served around 3,000 athletes with over 100 going on to collegiate programs across the country. Young said there are currently 70 former MICR athletes in collegiate programs.

Young had been at the forefront of conversations during Shelby County Commission meetings about the $1.1 million investment into the blighted field but said he is not the only power behind MICR. There are five full-time staff members and 25 coaches and mentors, 80% of whom are alumni of the program.

While he might have been in the front of the commission chambers fighting for the funding, Young said that the consistency of the program, dedicated staff and school partners have made the organization into what it is today.

"Their hard work and focus and integrity and outcomes and effectiveness is you know, their fingerprints are all over this success," Young said. "I believe, years of positive reputation favorable outcomes, effectiveness and efficiency by a nonprofit that deserves this moment. But it's certainly a culmination of, you know, a decade-plus now of great work by hundreds of different people."

After weeks in the Shelby County Commission chambers, MICR received a unanimous vote in favor of the funding from commissioners in December.

Funding for upgrades from Shelby County

In early November, Commissioners started discussing the $1.1 million for various field upgrades; the money would come from the American Rescue Plan Act funds.

The field will be used primarily for tournaments and games hosted by MICR, with occasional practices. Most of the teams practice on fields that are close to the schools the student-athletes attend.

The conversations around giving the money to MICR did not discount the work that the group does for student-athletes. Commissioners said they were mainly concerned about the upkeep and maintenance of the field, and because the property is owned by Memphis-Shelby County Schools, there were questions about who would be financially responsible for it. Commissioner Britney Thornton was also concerned that schools in her district did not have a partnership with MICR.

During a Dec. 18 meeting, commissioners amended the language to say MICR had to attempt to form formal relationships with a high school in every commission district.

Young said during the meeting that he would be able to make a formal relationship with a high school in District 10, Thornton's district, in a matter of months.

The money allocated by the commission will go towards building a structure that will house bathrooms and concessions along with benches for two rugby fields.

In the past, Young said that athletes had to be driven to nearby fast-food restaurants to use the bathroom. More recently, a rented porta-potty was placed on the field for athletes to use.

Young hopes for the field to be "an oasis where our kids feel so comfortable and safe and happy," and a place to bring more attention to Memphis in the world of rugby. Other cities around the country have reached out to MICR and asked for advice and support to bring inner-city rugby programs to their communities.

"Folks around the country hit us up in Memphis all the time...saying 'How do you guys do what you do? And can you help us learn so we can have you know, urban rugby programming for our low-income demographic and our communities,' " Young said. "(MICR) has made a real, real impact in Memphis locally at a neighborhood level, but then nationally, it's causing inspiration and people attempting to duplicate and follow the model of Memphis Inner City Rugby."

Support on and off the field

One major component of MICR and its success is the constant support it gives to current and former athletes. Social-emotional learning is a huge part of the organization's identity.

"If we can make an impact in social-emotional learning, which is the way somebody views themselves, the way somebody behaves in relationships, someone's self-confidence, their punctuality...if we can move the needle forward on those, it will make an impact in the classroom," Young said.

Young said particularly for the younger players in middle school, being able to see the success of the high school and collegiate athletes helps incentivize positive behavior in the classroom.

"(Older players) have these opportunities, and they travel the country, and (MICR) promotes them on social media. So the middle schoolers see that and it's just like a natural cycle of incentives and motivation to like, be your best," Young said. "Because our coaches are not going to let you play if your teacher is complaining about your punctuality, behavior, or you're missing three assignments."

MICR athletes who go on to play in college also receive academic mentoring and support. But college is not for everyone, Young said, so MICR provides support for athletes who choose to go on the path of entrepreneurship.

The support does not stop at just academics and athleticism, Young said that some under-reported aspects of the services they provide to students are the nutrition support and what he calls the "most complex taxi dispatching organization in Memphis."

"We still need to get kids from school to practice, from practice to home from home to games and we're not going to sit around and be one of these groups that says, 'Oh, the kids don't show up, just a down year'," Young said. "We're going to build relationships, we're gonna be legitimate entities in their lives, we're going to pick them up, drop them off, we're gonna invest real resources into that."

Student-athletes receive wraparound transportation, and for athletes who can drive, MICR helps them save up money and buy their own cars. Those who can drive also help get athletes to and from practices and games and are paid to do so. Investments in partnerships with Lyft and Uber are also big parts of how transportation is provided.

Alumni of the program also continue to help current athletes on and off the field. The majority of the coaches and mentors were past athletes, and they help students navigate college life from financial aid to career resources.

The crisis response portion of the organization is another thing MICR and Young are extremely proud of. Young said that coaches and staff are huge parts of the participants' lives, and often receive calls when students are down, heartbroken or in unsafe situations.

"When a young person needs someone like our coaches end up as that lifeline, as that phone call," Young said.

Brooke Muckerman covers Shelby County Government for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at (901) 484-6225, brooke.muckerman@commercialappeal.com and followed on X, formerly known as Twitter @BrookeMuckerman.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis Inner City Rugby gets $1.1M for field upgrades, continuing impact