For some athletes, it takes years of practice and hard work to reach the pinnacle of their sport.
For a Springbank rugby player, it only took three years.
Sasha Elliott, who recently graduated from Springbank High School, will represent Canada at the 2013 Nations Cup in England this summer after earning a spot on Rugby Canada’s U20 national team.
“It was beautiful,” Elliott said of the e-mail that confirmed her spot on the roster. “It was really good news. It’s the highest you can go apart from the Olympics. I’ve only been playing rugby for three years and getting this far is a big deal.”
Elliott was born in Jamaica and lived there for 13 years before moving to Canada with her family. As a student at Springbank High, she played basketball, volleyball and track, but going into Grade 9, her mom encouraged her to try a new sport.
During her tryout for the track team, she saw a rugby practice taking place in a nearby field.
“I saw a bunch of girls randomly hitting each other and I thought it looked fun,” she said with a laugh. “I tried out for the team in Grade 10. I like how rugby is all about the team. You win when you play together and I love how far you can get with it.”
After a few years of playing with the high school team, Elliott decided to tryout for the U18 provincial team, albeit reluctantly. She made the team and helped Alberta to a gold medal at the national tournament in Sherbrooke, Que. last year. Her performance at the national tourney caught the eyes of Rugby Canada and earned Elliott an invitation to the three U20 camps.
“It was so much more intense than high school,” she said. “I was expecting it be high-tempo and fast-paced, but not that intense.”
