Off the Streets and Onto the Rugby Pitch

July 18, 2008— -- The city of Hawaiian Gardens, east of Los Angeles, sounds like a holiday resort. But few people come here on vacation. The population, which numbers just 15,000, has been plagued by gang violence and racial tension.

Now, middle-school and high-school kids from one of the most dangerous suburbs in America are getting out of the gangs by playing a game that isn't American at all — rugby. And they say it's changing their lives.

"It's an alternative to gangs," explained Jesse Ortiz, one of the players on the team. "Most of us would be dragged into gangs or influenced. Instead of being out there on the streets like the gangs are doing, we're here playing rugby."

It's a way for these kids to meet on a level playing field.

"It don't matter what race you are," said another teammate. "We're just here to play."

A third member of the team agreed. "There's no race like black or Mexican. We're just one color: "green, rugby."

Sport Has Saving Power

So what's the allure of this full-contact sport? For one thing, getting a great hit on an opponent can be a rewarding sensation.

"It feels good," said Antonio Gutierrez, one of the players. "It's the best feeling ever. I let a lot of my anger out — a lot."

It was that anger that inspired Ernie Vargas, 56, a gang prevention coordinator, to introduce them to the new sport of rugby, a precursor to football that originated in the U.K.

Vargas says gang membership in the city of Hawaiian Gardens starts early and is widespread. "You might have a neighbor. You might even have a brother, sister, cousin or relative" that is part of a gang, he said. "Some even maybe have parents or a step-father, mother, somebody that used to be involved in it."

What does life in a gang membership look like for these young people?

"It means you're going to back up your neighborhood," Vargas explained. "If I'm with three or four guys and we run into some other guys from another neighborhood, we're all committed to back each other up and fight. They could possibly be willing to be in a situation where they could die for it."

Hawaiian Gardens was once mostly Latino but that began to change in the mid-'90s as more black families moved into the city's low-cost housing developments. The worst outbreak of violence occurred in 2005 when African Americans were randomly shot at, on the sidewalks.

The British Import

A year later, Vargas introduced after-school rugby training to the community. The kids had to overcome some cultural hurdles. After all, the rules of rugby are very different to those of football. Players can keep the ball moving even after they're tackled. They can only pass the ball back or sideways, and there are scrums and line-outs.

The sport has proven popular among the kids.

"I think it's the camaraderie that you get, the togetherness that it brings," Vargas said. "Only rugby brings that. I've played football and basketball. You have an opponent. You play the game. The game's over. You shake hands — no social contact with the other team."

Vargas said this sport is different. "In rugby, you play the game, clap the other team off, shake hands. Then we sit down, have some water, coke or drink, and some pizza and chips, shake hands. Then the kids get around and talk to each other from other teams. The team who is hosting serves lunch."

Game On

And then, in 2007, they joined the Southern California league.

What is it like going from this small, relatively poor district to some of the more affluent places?

"Very uncomfortable," Antonio explained, "because we live in the ghetto — honestly, we do — and we're going to them high-class neighborhoods."

It wasn't easy leaving their home turf, but the team says that winning means respect.

"On the way home," Antonio said, "we knew we had their respect. We came home with pride. I did, by just knowing that we beat them at their own sport."

Mack Levao, 18, said, "Once we beat them, we felt like we can do anything. So we come over here. I don't want to say this is the ghetto, but it's a gang, you know one of the gang cities. We go over there and they think we're the ghetto-ass kids, that we're the bad people. And then when we beat them, we get their respect. They give us the props, you know, that we deserve. And it makes us feel good when we come back home."

On Home Turf

The sport also has a profound effect at home.

"When I was younger, I got into a lot of problems," said Gonzalo Rios, 16, a rugby player who served time as a juvenile. "I went to jail, assault and battery. I don't know. I just didn't care."

He credits rugby with helping him keep to the straight and narrow. "First of all, I could have been shot up. I could have gotten arrested again for some little thing. I mean, right now, I'm still on probation, but I'm doing real well."

His teammate, Alvin Phan, agreed, "During the beginning of the year, my grades fell and because I wanted to play for this team, I achieved my first 3.0 ever, so that's a good thing. And it's also allowed me to take down my shell and talk to more people."

This season, gang prevention coordinator Vargas decided to start a girls' team, too. And once again, at the top of the agenda is breaking down the barriers.

"We don't see it as different races, we see, 'Oh that's my brother, that's my sister. We're all here to play rugby, we're all here to win,'" explained a member of the new girls squad.

That means teamwork. She added, "So you can't say, 'I'm not going to pass the ball to her because she's black or I'm not going to do that because that person is Mexican.' It's just like everyone's the same on the team."

The Payoff

Last month, the Hawaiian Gardens Eagles had an end of season celebratory dinner. Parents and players were invited and the city council hosted the event.

Incredibly, both of the boys teams Vargas started had finished the season undefeated — and the girls, in their very first season, won the championship outright.

But more than a winning season, there's a winning strategy. It's a strategy that has enabled kids to run away from gang violence. And all of them wanted to acknowledge the contribution of Vargas, their coach and mentor.

A member of the boys' team said, "Rugby has kept me out of the street. It kept me out of gangs. If it wasn't for Ernie and rugby, I probably would have been laying there somewhere. I probably would have been locked up, too."

"Basically, Ernie saved my life," another player said. "All of us, all of us here. I mean, I don't live with my parents, but like, I'm still up here. I don't let any of that stuff bring me down. Ernie's just always there for us. We go eat together, do everything together. I love Ernie, man."

Coach Vargas responds to the affection and appreciation his rugby players have for him with marked humbleness. "Well, I think, as a coach, I hope I've made a difference. I don't know," he said. "I'm just here for them. I'm glad I could be here."

John Estrada, one of Vargas' players, summed up his experience playing rugby with the Hawaiian Gardens Eagles, saying, "It's a team sport and to be a team, you have to work together. When we work together, we're just like a family. And being a family, you can't hate each other, you have to love each other."