Before Tiger Woods dominated in golf and Arthur Ashe broke the color barrier in tennis making way for Venus and Serena to become the unofficial faces of the genre, these sports were considered to be "white." Given exposure and opportunity, communities of color have proven to excel in traditionally exclusive sports. It is with this understanding that Shane Young and Devin O’Brien created an organization called Memphis Inner City Rugby. "It's a sport not traditionally played in communities we serve," said O’Brien in an interview with The Commercial Appeal. "It's a new horizon for kids to get exposed to…"

One of those kids is 18-year-old Javonni Merritt, who was awarded a Division 1 rugby scholarship to Life University in Marietta, Georgia where she plans to major in psychology and business. "My whole goal was to play volleyball," Merrit said. "but this [rugby] just blew me away." A native of South Memphis, Merrit credits the sport for teaching her discipline, sharpening her focus and keeping her out of trouble. "With rugby, there's a specific way to do everything. Even when you're being tackled there's a procedure you take so that you fall in a way so that you don't get hurt, and football doesn't have that," she said. "I think rugby is more aggressive, but there's a way to do everything."

Merrit looks forward to going away for college and hopes her success will encourage others from her neighborhood. "Never in a million years did I think I would go to college to play rugby," she said. "But because of where I grew up, in South Memphis, I don't believe Memphis is where it should be. The kids don't go anywhere because they aren't presented with the opportunity. They don't have anyone guiding them in the right direction, or anyone doing for them what someone did for me."

Congrats, Javonni Merritt! Keep flourishing.