Something Old, Something New for Muskego Rugby Club

For 15 years the Muskego Warriors Rugby Club has played at Bluhm Park in Muskego, taking the state title for 6 out of the 15 years.  So it should come as no surprise that Bluhm Park was the site of the first annual alumni fundraiser held there recently on Saturday, June 4.

More surprising is that the club is looking for a new field, or pitch, as an antidote to the drainage problems that assault it every spring at Bluhm, said Zach Albert, one of Muskego’s 'first family' of rugby lovers.

“We need new goal posts and a new field,” said Zach, an assistant coach for the club, “because Bluhm floods every spring and that drains club funds.”  The club pays higher prices for alternate sites on short notice when their home pitch is flooded, Zach said.

More than 30 alumni came from all over the state to support the Warriors – from UW-Milwaukee, La Crosse, Madison, Whitewater, Ripon and the Milwaukee Rugby Club – and play in a Round Robin tournament of 6 games.

‘Papa’ Jack Albert, who started the club 15 years ago, said to this day he gets letters from former players who now serve in the military.  “They write to thank me for bringing rugby into their lives,” Jack said.  They remember the experience and the passion it gave them, he said.

The Rugby Club is independent of high school sports, Jack said, so players get to taste “the camaraderie of the sports experience” that they may not get the chance to feel in traditional high school sports settings, which sometimes limit entry based on eligibility or other requirements.

Click on muskegorugby.com to learn more about the club or to initiate donations/sponsorships.