Senior Edward Gostick has been involved with rugby in some way for the majority of his life, and he recently found a way to share his love for the game with others by starting a middle school rugby program. 

Although Gostick has been playing rugby since he was about four years-old, the sport truly became a passion of his once he arrived in high school. Since then, he has gone on to make the sport an even bigger part of his life and immerse others in all rugby has to offer by starting the middle school program. 

Gostick began the middle school rugby program, which is based out of Southborough, as his Eagle Scout project in 2019. The co-ed program is for students from both Southborough and Northborough, and the team’s inaugural season occurred in the same year it was formed. Gostick coaches the team, something he enjoys doing very much. 

“I love coaching because it’s fun,” Gostick said. “You get to see the team develop. It’s a very rewarding feeling.” 

What’s more, Gostick’s passion for coaching turned into tangible results on the field when the team played in the Bay State Games, a state-wide competition. 

“We won the Bay State Games because of my mission statement, which was to not win,” Gostick said.

Winning the Bay State Games wasn’t an item too high on Gostick’s initial list of priorities. Gostick’s mission statement for the team prioritized learning to play the game over achieving success in the win column. However, according to Gostick, the minimal pressure exuded from his mission statement took the pressure off the team’s players. 

“Because our mission statement was not to win the Bay State Games, kids were more relaxed and were willing to try new strategies in practice,” Gostick said in an interview via email. “We won because we gave kids the opportunity to safely experiment with their skills in rugby and learn to be better players.” 

While rugby really clicked for Gostick in high school, he was introduced to rugby as a young child by his family with his initial exposure to the game serving as the first spark that would light the fire of his passion for the sport. 

“My dad had been playing rugby for years,” Gostick said. “It was very much in my blood.” 

Looking ahead, Gostick has significant plans for the future of the middle school team; among them, he would like to develop a summer program. Furthermore, Gostick wants to formulate a system where the middle school players can eventually transition to the high school rugby team. 

“My hope for this year is to help grow the game to more age groups and keep promoting the sport,” Gostick said in an interview via email.