Sports

Coach Creates Opportunities Through Scrums and Mauls

Coach Dan Zeroth has helped create a new culture and outlet for boys and girls involved with the Falls Rugby Club.

Being a head coach on any team — at any level — is a big responsibility and presents a unique set of challenges. However, the job is made all the more difficult when you coach a sport most of the team has never played.

For the past three years, Dan Zeroth has been doing just that as head coach of the boys and girls rugby clubs in Menomonee Falls. Zeroth is a fitness and athletics activities coordinator with the .

Zeroth got hooked on rugby years ago as a senior at Kettle Moraine High School and has played at the collegiate and club level ever since. Three years ago, he left his rugby coaching position at Nicolet High School to introduce the sport to young athletes in the Menomonee Falls area.

Find out what's happening in Menomonee Fallswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

After three years, Zeroth has helped create more than just another outlet for kids to stay in shape — he’s helped build a whole new culture among the youth who are involved with the team. Simply giving kids an opportunity to participate is at the core of Zeroth’s mission.

“I’m giving kids the tools to play a sport for the rest of their lives,” Zeroth said. “Rugby is appealing to athletes that don’t want to get yelled at by a coach and be required to have a structured workout plan that lasts the entire year.”

Find out what's happening in Menomonee Fallswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Participation is the Top Priority

And both the girls and boys rugby programs are a melting pot of athletes of different talent levels, and different schools. Players throw aside conference and community rivalries and come together from Falls, Sussex, Brookfield and Germantown to form the boys and girls clubs. Talent levels range from those who have never played a sport to the three-year offensive lineman on the football team who just wants to get a chance to carry the ball.

“Unfortunately there are some sports that if you aren’t in the funnel from early on, you’re not going to get on a team once you reach high school,” Zeroth said. “Club rugby is a chance for kids to get on a team, and learn a sport they can play at some level the rest of their lives.”

It’s that opportunity to participate that drives Zeroth. In addition to rugby, he’s developed a recreation volleyball league for girls, which has already proven to be wildly popular among athletes that just want to get a taste of the action. He’s also put together a flag rugby program for younger children in the area.

Unlike more popular sports in high school where practices and workouts are a requirement, players on club and recreational sports will get only what they put back into the team.

“They are all taking personal responsibility for making the team as successful as they can,” Zeroth said.

But You Can Still be a Winner

For the girls’ rugby team, success was something they discovered in a big way during the fall season. The girls won the and were never scored on by their opponents the entire season.

“Though they never practiced the best or had the greatest workouts, they could flip the switch when it was game time,” Zeroth said. “Those girls are probably the favorite team I have ever coached, but I say that about every team.”

One of the key players leading the team to state was Lizzy Selestow, who had never picked up a rugby ball before joining the team.

“I joined because I figured it was something fun to do. I’ve learned everything about the sport since joining. I had no knowledge of rugby,” Selestow. “I think what I enjoy most is being with the team, and being with these girls is what made it fun.”

Terms like Garryowen, knock-on, maul and ruck are foreign to most American sports fans’ ears. However, they are old hat to those who love the sport of rugby. That sense of insider knowledge has helped create a tight-knit group among kids on the same club teams as well as on opposing teams.

“After matches the two teams head out for post-game meals together, and players are seeking each other out and connecting on Facebook,” Zeroth said. “When I was growing up, you wouldn’t do that with your rivals.”

Zeroth said coaching high school athletes has been a “hoot and a holler,” and he has tried his best to be a mentor for the kids as well as their Rugby 101 instructor.

“I try to be a mentor, and give them advice that I would love to have had when I was their age,” Zeroth said.

Zeroth hopes the rugby program will continue to expand in the future. Though he knows it will never take the place of baseball in Menomonee Falls, he hopes it will always fill a niche for kids that just want to get on the field and be a part of a team.

“The goal is to get about 30 or 40 kids out for both teams each year,” Zeroth said. “Once you get out and play, it’s a life-changing experience.”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here