Youth rugby tournament Saturday at Pine Banks
Max Rudzinsky, 11, at last year's jamboree.
The Mystic River Youth Rugby team will host several clubs in the Fourth Annual New England Youth Rugby Jamboree, a round robin tournament beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday at Pine Banks Park.
The coed Mystic River squad - which has mainly Malden and Melrose youths aged 6 to 14 - will host the jamboree for the second time, and head coach David Rudzinsky looks forward to the action.
"The competition will be pretty good," he said. "And we've got some really good players and some fast kids."
They'll square off against teams from Boston, Danvers, Newburyport, Worcester, and Springfield in non-contact matches, on three fields according to age groups. The divisions will be children aged 6 to 8, 9 to 11, and 12 to 14. Mystic River's 16 to 19-year-olds will play a full contact match at 2:30.
Rudzinksy said the 42 players in the Mystic River program enjoy the sport at all age levels, especially because everyone carries the ball.
"Everyone gets a chance to score," he said. "Everyone plays offense and everyone plays defense."
The Mystic River youth program runs from mid-June through July, culminating in the jamboree tournament. The youths play scrimmages every Tuesday and Thursday night during the session, honing their skills in a sport entirely new to many players.
"Some kids have never seen a rugby ball before," Rudzinsky said. "Then we get them into a flag game by the end of the first night."
Saturday's tournament is free and open to the public. Anyone interested in the youth rugby program should contact Dave Rudzinsky at drudzinsky@hologic.com.
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