The ICEF Rugby League, the first inner-city rugby program in Los Angeles, chose the 12 students on the basis of their performance in rugby, as well as their academics.
During the nine-day trip, the team of high school boys from the ICEF Public Schools will play three games against Wellington College, one of England’s best high school rugby teams. They also will have the opportunity to watch England play against Italy as guests of the English Rugby Union.
"The England trip is our fifth full scholarship trip," said ICEF Rugby League Director Stuart Krohn. "We’ve had three trips to Hong Kong already and one trip to New Zealand. Going to England for the first time is an incredible experience for the kids."
To prepare for the games against Wellington, well-known rugby coach Jake Howard volunteered to hold seminars to help the ICEF coaches and mentor the players for several of their practice sessions two weeks before the event.
ICEF Public Schools was founded in 1994 by Michael Piscal to promote high-quality education and provide college-preparatory public school options for children in the inner-city.
Members from the community and Piscal, collaborated to form View Park Elementary School in 1999. ICEF Public Schools has now grown to 13 charter schools that serve more than 3,000 minority youths throughout South Los Angeles, according to its Web site.
ICEF Public Schools have grown so successful that there is now a waitlist for students. The system announced last year that it will expand to 35 schools in four years, and eventually hopes to enroll 1 in 4 students in the South Los Angeles community.
"I’m one of the few who has been here since ICEF got started in 1999," said Asa Garrett, one of the students chosen to go abroad. "I think it’s a very good program. It really pushes you to strive to achieve and learn more. It’s not just, ‘you don’t do this right, oh well.’ They make you come to tutoring and force you to learn the stuff."
Keeping students in high school is a challenge. In July 2008, California released a study that showed that 1 in 3 students in Los Angeles quit before graduating.
Often considered a middle- and upper-class European sport, rugby teams are usually hard to find in the United States, particularly in the inner-city. However, Piscal designed the ICEF Rugby League to send a message to students that "to experience the world you see through rugby, the ticket is higher education. The first two graduating classes of ICEF’s first high school were all accepted to college, and almost all are still continuing their studies, according to Krohn.
"The rugby team has actually enhanced their belief that they can succeed because it has given them a lot of exposure," said Robert Okereke, whose son, also named Robert, was chosen to go to England. "They are traveling to England in a couple days, and I think it’s something that schools need to do to let students know that the world does not end in America. The world is much more than America."
Aside from time management and discipline, the rugby team has also taught many of the students about teamwork and has given them self-confidence to succeed. Although they will be playing against one of England’s best, many of the ongoing players are not letting the pressure get to them.
"I know they are better than us. I just want to learn from them," said Darius Dawkins.
"I am a little bit (nervous) because I heard that they were more experienced players, but I look forward to it," said Lamar Finnikin.
ICEF’s Rugby League has been so successful in reaching out to students that it is one of the few sports where no one is eliminated. "One of my mottos is no cuts, everybody plays," said Krohn. Instead, coaches create second teams and third teams to accommodate the growing number of students.