As official members of U SPORTS, the Trinity Western Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. Here is an athlete spotlight on Kleo Schmidt of the Women's Rugby team.
Words by Scott Bowers
Sitting in her Grade 10 high school classroom, Kleo Schmidt makes a bet with a friend. If the teacher says a certain word a certain amount of times, Schmdit will have to try playing rugby.
Years later Schmidt is still playing, and she's in a situation she would have never imagined.
Deciding to play the game on a whim – one she now invests so much into – perfectly incapsulates Schmidt's story. In whatever she does in life, she puts her best foot forward, all while being unapologetically Kleo.
"When I think about Kleo, I think about the way she puts others above herself...The way Christ seeks out those in need, Kleo follows that passion and I'm so thankful she is on our team and is part of our family. She cares so deeply for us and she certainly brings a lot of joy to my life."
The now second-year forward for Trinity Western's women's rugby sevens team, started playing the game in the 15-a-side code. "I remember in my first-ever game," says Schmidt, who hails from Mississauga, Ont. "I made a 20-meter break, and everyone was so excited. It was in that moment I realized how fun this game could be."
As her passion for the sport grew so did her opportunities. After that first high school season Schmidt joined her local club, the Oakville Crusaders, where she first played 15s and then later sevens. "I was just always having so much fun, I never wanted practices to end," she says.
Spartans assistant coach Stuart Crowley echo's those sentiments, "Kleo is really selfless in the way she always wants to do what is asked of her and do what is best for the team. No matter what is asked of her, she is prepared to give it her best go."
But just as most other athletes in her high school graduation year of 2020, Schmidt was stripped of her Grade 12 season due to COVID-19.
Always thinking she would stay close to home for her university experience, Schmidt was prepared to walk on at a bigger local university. Yet the online experience was something she was set on avoiding. This was when her young brother, Kaden Schmidt, who is now committed to playing with the Spartans men's volleyball program, mentioned that TWU had a rugby team.
"When he said that, I almost thought to myself, do I really want to go to school with my brother?" she says recalling the moment. After looking into TWU a bit more, Schmidt was sold. "I contacted the program the next day and then (TWU Director of Rugby) Andy (Evans) emailed me back interested and asked to see a highlight video."
From that moment, she was destined to become a Spartan.
"As a rugby player Kleo is smart and is a great communicator and understands our game plan," Evans says. "She is the type of player who gets her teammates in position a second quicker to take advantage of opportunities that often disappear with delay. She is really strong and tough too. When I'm holding a bag for her to hit in practice, I know I have to dig my feet in a little extra so she doesn't knock me over."
Yet, when the whistle blows, Schmidt has a heart to serve others – within both the Spartans rugby program and her broader community.
"When I think about Kleo, I think about the way she puts others above herself," Evans says. "The way Christ seeks out those in need, Kleo follows that passion and I'm so thankful she is on our team and is part of our family. She cares so deeply for us and she certainly brings a lot of joy to my life."
Schmidt recalls a story this past year where she and her friends were in downtown Toronto, and she noticed so many people staying out in the cold. "I was cold just standing there with my big jacket," she says. "It made me realize how fortunate I am to have so many of the things I take for granted on a daily basis."
She vowed to her friends "Next time we are come down here, I'm going to make bags of supplies to hand out to people." She did just that.
Read the full story on the Trinity Western Spartans website.
About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is Canada’s premier global Christian liberal arts University. We are dedicated to equipping students to discover meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. Drawing upon the riches of the Christian tradition, seeking to unite faith and reason through teaching and scholarship, Trinity Western University is a degree-granting research institution offering liberal arts and sciences, as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. It has four campuses and locations: Langley, Richmond-Lansdowne, Richmond-Minoru, and Ottawa. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn.
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