It didn't take long for Emily Cooper to pick up the sport of rugby.
"I haven't really heard of the sport before (my Grade 9 year), and I saw that it was offered at my high school," said the 2022 John F. Ross CVI graduate. "So I decided to give it a go."
That try has blossomed into quite the resume, which Cooper will add to next month as a member of Team Ontario's rugby 7s team at the Canada Summer Games in Niagara.
She has been able to hone her skills away year-round, playing for the Guelph Redcoats both during the summer and rugby 7s in the fall, and joining up with the Rugby Canada Development Academy.
That's where she was asked to go out to practices, and eventually was picked to be on the 10-player roster for Team Ontario.
Cooper has competed in athletics all her life.
She was in karate for eight years, and also took to track and field.
"I guess the mixture of the aggression of karate and running of track and field, it kind of helped me dive in to rugby," she said.
But ability is one thing. Having a love for the sport is another, and the 17-year-old fell for the sport of rugby right away.
"I like how different it is from other sports," Cooper said. "It's very aggressive compared to a lot of other sports. It's very strategy-based too."
As for what comes after the Canada Summer Games, she will head to Durham College for a two-year welding course in the fall, and will suit up for the Durham Lords' women's rugby team on a scholarship.
"It's honestly surreal," Cooper said looking back at the last few years.
"I didn't think that starting in grade 9, I'd already be here, considering that a lot of my teammates started when they were really young. It's crazy to think I'm already at this point."
And she's not stopping, with goals of representing Canada on the biggest stage.
"I would absolutely love to play in the Olympics for rugby 7s for Canada," Cooper said. "I think that's the ultimate goal."
