K-12 PATHWAYS
MICR leverages the power of rugby to close the opportunity gap, create a relentlessly supportive community, and drive upward mobility for students living in underresourced communities. Our K-12 pathways engage students in middle and high school, providing community, support, and athletic, academic, and social-emotional development.
Scroll through the page to learn more about our K-12 Pathways, or click the links below!
Year-Round Middle and High School Rugby
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Serving 350+ student-athletes playing for 13 teams across Memphis
Offering 1,100+ programming hours ranging from leadership workshops, games, practices, academic support, and outing trips to celebrate our student-athletes’ hard work
MICR provides, at no cost to the families, nutrition at every practice, game, and non-rugby events
Even when the season is over, MICR brings fitness, nutrition, sexual education, and career exploration workshops for all student-athletes interested
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Sports are a powerful social and economic tool to fight systemic inequality and build a community of inclusion and belonging, often breaking educational, financial, and personal barriers
Forcing the community to deal with issues around gender, poverty, and social exclusion
Skills and lessons learned through sports can be applied to more than just the sport, such as problem-solving, teamwork, healthy communication, and respect
Rugby is a low-cost sport, where all you need is a pair of shorts, a shirt, a mouthguard, and cleats to play
You can play rugby on any patch of grass, no formal field set up needed
Rugby cares about body positivity and inclusivity by designing jersey sizes for all body types, encouraging everyone to try the sport
Being a globally recognized sport gives players access to communities all over the world, further fostering a sense of belonging for players, no matter where they are in the world
This is not just a sport for men and boys but a sport for women and girls expanding opportunity across genders
The city of Memphis has a poverty rate of 22.6%, and a child poverty rate of 36.3%.
Between 50%-100% of student-athletes at all our partner schools receive free/reduced lunches, indicating that families are 130% below or at the poverty line
Due to high poverty rates in historically marginalized areas, there is a lack of access to healthy food options, producing food deserts in our communities, such as North and South Memphis, Whitehaven, and Orange Mound
How We Do It?
It’s in our DNA
Our DNA is Relational, Responsive, and Relentless
Click one of the boxes below to learn more:
RELATIONAL
Being relational is how coaches create a safe space and begin to create healthy stress response patterns for their student-athletes. For all of us, learning, growing, and thriving depend on first being able to achieve healthy, resilient reactions to stress.
Coach-in-Training Program
MICR’s Coach-in-Training program brings high school students to serve as ‘coaches in training’ for middle school teams
In 2025, MICR hired 8 High School Juniors/Seniors to develop their professional and leadership skills while getting paid to do it.
Alumni Coaches
From 2025-2026, 51% of MICR staff are Alumni. That includes coaches and full-time staff. We try our very best to keep the majority of our staff alumni because they understand the values and purpose of MICR the most. This trend creates an opportunity for our alumni to work for MICR and build a career helping others just as those before them have.
Rugby Mentoring
Under the leadership of MICR Board Member and All-Time Leading Try Scorer for the USA Women’s Eagles, Naya Tapper, MICR is proud to have launched a holistic rugby mentoring program to support our students and alumni who elect to pursue rugby after high school. From fitness and nutrition to position-specific skills and from navigating a PWI as a person of color to balancing academics and athletics, 12 MICR alumni had the privilege of meeting 1-on-1 with US Olympians throughout their journey and learning from the very best athletes in our country.
Community Investment
MICR is committed to investing in our communities.
Our rugby programs are situated in underresourced neighborhoods in Memphis, and we partner with schools and community partners to meet the needs of community members - our players, alumni, families, and beyond.
MICR’s home field, which is currently under construction (anticipated grand opening in Spring/Summer 2026!), is similarly an investment in Memphis communities, part of neighborhood development and aiming to be a safe space for Memphis youth.
RESPONSIVE
We teach our coaches to be responsive to each student-athlete’s needs, understanding that they are all different. They know that the development of core social, emotional, and behavioral skills requires this level of individualized attention.
“My coaches helped me improve not just as a player, but as a person as well.” - MICR High School Player, Fall 2025
Trauma-Informed Coaching
Every season, MICR partners with Through The Game to provide coaches with the toolkit needed to support our student-athletes best. TTG teaches social-emotional learning that coaches could use in their personal lives, but also use to develop their student-athletes’ ability to regulate their emotions in their everyday lives. In doing this, everything is rooted in relationships.
Community & School Partners
Community and school partners are crucial to our ability to meet the needs of our alumni, players, and their families.
Part of this is our coaches’ presence in schools, enabling them to be part of a network of support for our players and see what our players need—-as athletes, as students, and as people.
Our partnerships with other organizations also enable us to be responsive to our players’ needs. For example, A Step Ahead Foundation delivers workshops each year to our players and alumni, and Memphis Rox regularly hosts MICR teams for workshops and fitness sessions.
“I love that they [MICR coaches] visit the kids at school! I see the visible difference that it makes for them to have someone who is invested in their life on and off the field.” - Educator at a partner school, Fall 2025
Jay Uiberall Leadership Series
The Jay Uiberall Leadership Sessions (JULS), or Jay Uiberall Senior Pathways Workshop Series, are a set of workshops throughout the school year where MICR student leaders develop key skills that will guide them well into adulthood alongside new and enriching experiences that complement those skills. This series and partnership act as a crucial ‘bridge’ from K-12 to alumni support due to its positive impact on retention, leadership, communication skills, and engagement for participants. Similarly, students view the program as a special and rewarding experience that can be earned through attendance and performance in the classroom and on the field. In 2026, 100% of high school senior participants believed that the program helped them with their relationships and leadership beyond the rugby field.
Academic Support & Accountability
To support our Juniors and Seniors in High School, MICR partners with Sylvamo and Memphis Rox to host College workshops aimed at helping student-athletes either figure out their plans for college or career paths out of High School, such as trade school. Additionally, our coaches separate 30 minutes of practice and dedicate time to school lunches to check grades as a way to maintain academic support and accountability.
RELENTLESS
We understand that none of this work is easy, but we must be relentlessly consistent, as humanly possible, by being where we say we’ll be, taking accountability when we're wrong, and staying in the young person’s life for years.
Open Doors
Our rugby programs are open to all - regardless of players’ gender, skill level, athletic background, or resources.
Because our mission is to close the opportunity gap. No try-out accepting of all students at all our MICR teams
Transportation Support
MICR ensures that all its student-athletes can make it to every practice, game, workshop, and all-star opportunities through our ride-share program. We offer free ride assistance to all who need it because we understand that transportation is a barrier our student-athletes and their families sometimes face. In 2024-2025, MICR invested over $50, 000 in transportation support through Uber and Lyft for our student-athletes.
Competitive Rugby Opportunities
All-Star Opportunities aimed at elevating competition and bridging communities around the country
On October 9th, 2021, the 1st Inaugural Premier Rugby Sevens Championship was held in Memphis, TN, with a few of our Alumni rostered on multiple teams
URCs - Annual competition against other major urban rugby communities around the country, such as Chicago, Washington D.C., and New Orleans.
West Tennessee is a budding Rugby community where the majority of rugby players develop through MICR’s pathways
Employment Opportunities
MICR is dedicated to keeping doors open to alumni at MICR. This can be mentoring, coaching, or working in day-to-day operations, or fundraising for the future of the program. We are a revolving door of opportunity, whether with our organization or with our partners, because our connections are their connections.
MEET THE TEAMS
East Memphis Pathway
area they are in
which teams/grades
CITs
South Memphis Pathway
area / teams/grades
based out of Soulsville HS . . .
FPA Pathway
Based out of the Whitehaven community! Rugby has been a huge part of FPA culture as one of the few contact sports to be introduced at the high school level for girls and boys. The girls’ and boys team have a rich history of winning.
Meet the Freedom Prep Pathway
Coach KD, Coach Akayla, Coach Eniyia
Coach KD
MICR and FPA Alum
Played D3 club Rugby at Bowdoin College
4th Season Coaching High School Rugby
Favorite Rugby Positions are Fly Half and Full Back
Favorite Pro team is the Irish Rugby Football Union
Coach Akayla
MICR and FPA Alum
Facts about yourself…
Coach Eniyia
MICR and FPA Alum
Facts about yourself…
Freedom Prep Eagles Deep Dive
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There are 33 rostered high school girls for the Fall 2025 7s season.
We are restarting our FPA boys program in Fall 2026, so stay tuned for more Eagle action.
In short, the Whitehaven pathway is positively affecting 33 children ranging from ages 12-18, and the hopes for more as we expand this pathway to middle school girls and boys, and high school boys.
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Meet the Soulsville Pathway
Coach Kavion, Coach Ethan, Coach Morgan (Left Side) & Coach TJ, Coach Kamiya, and Coach Savannah (Right Side)
Soulsville Tornados Deep Dive
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There are 26 High School boys and 16 High School girls for a total of 36 active players in the Fall 2025 7s season.
Additionally, we have middle school programs like Soulsville Middle and Bellevue Middle, who has been adopted to this pathway. In combination, we are serving 28 young student-athletes.
In short, the South Memphis pathway is positively affecting 64 children ranging from ages 12-18.
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OUR IMPACT
350+ players per year —- 200+ high school students and 150+ middle school students
93% of players report that they believe playing rugby will increase their chances of attending college.
$0 cost to families — MICR covers all costs for participants, a per-season average of $1200 per high school player and $700 per middle school player
130% return on investment — Slingshot Memphis assessed that MICR creates $2.30 of poverty-fighting impact for every $1.00 invested
What Our Players Say
“Rugby pushes me to be resilient and a leader in all aspects of my life.”
“MICR provides amazing coaches and a good community of people to learn from.”
“Rugby means something more than a sport, it means family.”
“Rugby has improved my mental health and was a driving factor to maintain my grades and a motivation to get through the day.”
“My coaches do a good job of making every player feel accomplished while also giving constructive criticism.”
What MICR Parents and Guardians Say
“MICR is always supportive of the kids and I love that. My daughter was shy and in her shell before rugby. Teaming with MICR, she had made new friends and become more and more interactive with others.”
“MICR mentors and molds each child and helps each child reach their ultimate potential as well as holds them accountable for their growth in needed areas of their lives.”
“My son has done a complete 180. His confidence has grown and I am truly grateful.”
“MICR brings a sense of community and gives my son something positive to do to keep him out of trouble.”
“I appreciate how MICR provides transportation for students.”
“MICR does a great job providing opportunities for the athletes to connect to others who have walked in their cleats.”