PERRYSBURG – "Once a rugger, always a rugger."
That is how one local rugby coach describes his club rugby team.
Phil Gutkoski has been coaching youth sports for nearly 20 years. He has coached his sons’
"traditional" sports like baseball, soccer, wrestling, etc., but in 2005 he turned to rugby.

At the time, Gutkoski knew nothing of the game. He didn’t know how to play and more importantly he didn’t
know the rules.
His goal was to start a club rugby team, which is now called the Perrysburg Rugby Club, because he wanted
his eldest son Tyler to have something fun to do while attending college.
Through the use of books and videos, Gutkoski educated himself on the game, and with the help of former
Bowling Green State University club rugby player Jeff McVey, the club was started.
The coaching of the club team is strictly volunteer work and has no affiliation with Perrysburg High
School, Gutkoski said.
"The only affiliation is that almost all of my players come from Perrysburg High School," he
added.
"I like not being a part of the high school," Gutkoski continued. "It gives some kids, who
may not be eligible for school sports, a chance to be active. That’s only a handful, but it keeps some
of the kids off the streets."
What started with around 18 kids in 2005, the club has now grown into something much bigger.
In 2010 the team carried 56 players on its roster, and with no possibility of any player being cut, this
made it tough to get everyone playing time.
This past season Gutkoski saw the team’s numbers fall to 42 players. When there are only 15 players on
the field at a time playing time is still hard to come by.
"The kids loved it when I started it in ’05," Gutkoski said. "They just kept coming
back."
As a solution the club now consists of an "A" team and a "B" team, which essentially
serves as a varsity and a junior varsity.
Due to the low numbers of high school club rugby teams in the area, Perrysburg competes in the Michigan
Youth Rugby Association and is part of the Southern Detroit Division.
The MYRA consists of all high school teams in Michigan, along with Perrysburg and three other Ohio teams;
Anthony Wayne, Findlay and St. John’s.
"Travel prohibits us from joining any leagues other than the MYRA," Gutkoski said. "There
are leagues in Cleveland but it’s not realistic to be driving to Cleveland on a school night in the
middle of the week for a game."
Gutkoski said one of his goals is to eventually have enough teams in the area to be able to start their
own league.
In order to do that, he is trying to spread the popularity of rugby by going to some physical education
classes and speaking to the younger, junior high kids at Perrysburg.
Also, USA Rugby, which is the national parent organization, is pushing to make rugby more popular among
younger kids by introducing the sport at a younger age.
Gutkoski hopes that with the inclusion of rugby in the 2016 summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the sport
will see some more growth.
With seven full seasons under his belt, Gutkoski has sent around 40-50 kids to play rugby collegiately,
including son Tyler who played at Ohio State University.
Gutkoski’s second son, Alexander who graduated from Perrysburg in 2007 also played for his father, but
that hasn’t stopped his dad from continuing to coach the team he started.
"Both (of my) boys are gone, but I don’t want (the game) to die because I want the kids to have
something to do," Gutkoski said. A lot of the kids say it’s one of the coolest things they’ve ever
done in high school and they just love it."
Gutkoski has also had success with his teams, not just sending individuals to college.
In 2007 the club won the state championship for Division II and this past season they were state
runners-up after losing in the Division II finals to Kenowa Hills.
"Success to me is having the kids wanting to come out and play," Gutkoski said. "It isn’t
about accolades or winning records, it’s about kids and giving the experience in their high school
years.
"The camaraderie of rugby players is lifelong. It’s just awesome. Once a rugger, always a
rugger."