Meet Dan – Youth Development Mentor

Youth Development Mentor, Dan Taylor started off with Play Rugby USA by volunteering in his free time, to prove he is seriously passionate about helping young people and supporting them on their path to a bright future.

Today, Dan has been working for Play Rugby for six months and enjoying the progress that he’s made with the youth he coaches, ranging from 8 to 14-years-old. Dan himself played rugby for 15 years and he says his position was, “to annoy everyone on the opposite team.” If you know Dan, you know his high energy and enthusiasm makes him a perfect fit for that role!

When he’s not hanging out with our Saturday Night Lights and Academy students, he can be found working at his day job, snowboarding, or doing anything to fuel his adrenaline and love of food. If Dan could eat one meal for the rest of his life, he exclaimed that it would be, “anything fried,” assuming that is without the health consequences, of course.

Dan truly understands the power of holding kids accountable for their actions and letting them understand that they can grow from doing so. Dan says, “Working in youth development is the most rewarding job I’ve ever had. I love working with the kids, watching them grow, not just as rugby players, but also as humans.”

Dan hopes that we can bring the power of rugby to even more young people in the community, because, “they will learn how to play rugby, and learn the values of rugby. These values will help them on the field, and in their daily life.”

Dan’s words of wisdom? “Work hard, play harder.” Touchè Dan, touche.