If you’ve ever stood on the sidelines of a Freedom Prep rugby match, you know.
You know the sound. The cheers. The grit. The jerseys. The way students who started the season as teammates end it like family.
At Freedom Prep, rugby is more than a sport. It’s belonging. It’s confidence. It’s leadership in motion. And now, we’re getting ready to grow that story again.
This fall, Freedom Prep is taking an exciting step toward fully reviving our boys rugby team for the 2026 season. But instead of jumping straight into competition, we’re doing what we always do best. We’re preparing our students the right way.
Memphis Inner City Rugby and FPA are launching a pilot recruitment and training program designed to help interested boys learn the game, build skills, and gain real experience before stepping onto the field as a full Freedom Prep team.
Here’s how it works:
- Transportation provided for any interested boys. Students will train and compete alongside the established Soulsville rugby team in South Memphis, giving them the chance to develop alongside experienced players and coaches.
- Our focus is on 9th, 10th, and 11th-grade students who can grow into leaders for next year’s team, though seniors are welcome too. An assistant coach will coordinate transportation, so families have one less thing to worry about.
- It’s thoughtful. It’s supportive. And it’s all about setting our students up for success.
MICR will host an interest meeting February 10, 2026, after school for students and families who want to learn more are encouraged to sign up. Please click HERE to access MICR’s interest form.
Why rugby? Because we’ve seen what it can do.
Freedom Prep’s partnership with Memphis Inner City Rugby began back in 2013 with a boys team. By 2015, the first girls team launched, and everything changed.
Since then, our students have:
- Won 4 Tennessee State Championships (Girls)
- Won 2 West TN Conference Championships (Boys)
- Earned 9 college rugby scholarships
- Traveled to 21 states and 4 countries
- Become coaches, referees, and leaders across the city
- Competed at the highest levels, including USA All-American honors
- And maybe most importantly, they’ve built confidence that lasts long after the final whistle.
Rugby is also completely FREE for Freedom Prep students, thanks to Memphis Inner City Rugby, which removes financial barriers, so every student has access.
Rugby is more than a game. Just ask Nadia Bonner-Burton, Class of 2019.
She joined rugby at Freedom Prep because her friends played. She stayed because it felt like sisterhood.
“Playing rugby together gave us more to love about each other,” she said. “It was just like having sisters.”
A self-described “math kid,” Nadia grew up at Freedom Prep, then went on to Christian Brothers University, where she studied business, played rugby, and cheered. Today, she coaches with Memphis Inner City Rugby and serves as their East Memphis Pathway Coordinator, all while working toward her master’s degree in marketing.
And every week, she’s back at Freedom Prep checking in on students. Because that’s what happens here. Our students come back to lift the next group up. As our high school head of school often says, Freedom Prep alums always find their way home.
The invitation:
- We believe sports should open doors.
- We believe students should feel brave enough to try something new.
- We believe teamwork teaches lessons that last a lifetime.
This new boys’ rugby initiative is about all of that. If you, or your student, are curious, athletic, competitive, or just looking for a place to belong, rugby might be the perfect fit. We’d love to see them at the interest meeting February 10, 2026.
To follow schedules and updates from Memphis Inner City Rugby, visit their Facebook page.
Want to learn more? Contact:
- KaDerrius Campbell – Development Coordinator and FPA HS girls head coach
- Ethan Milnor-Scott – South Memphis Pathway Coordinator and Soulsville HS boys head coach
- Carlicia Beam – FPA and MICR alum, coached the FPA girls with Coach KaDerrius in the fall 2025 season and returned to school this spring.
