by Tricia Thomas

Sixteen-year-old Kyle Joe is a hard-working student living at Stz’uminus First Nation. He has been a dedicated rugby league player for several years and now has his sights set on becoming a great player and traveling the world through his sport. It may lead him to great things, such as playing for the NRL in Australia, having his jersey on the official NRL Shop website for his fans to buy, and playing with and against people he has admired for so long.

Kyle is one of 28 young athletes chosen for the Western Canada’s under-17 selections squad. Starting on Feb. 27, prospects gathered for a one-week development camp at Shawnigan Lake School, Rugby Canada’s centre of excellence.

Kyle’s dad Marvin Seymour, knowing team sports can bring many benefits for youth, introduced his sons to the game of rugby at an early age. A former all-star youth player, Seymour continues to participate with the Cowichan Rugby Football Club men’s league and helps coach youth teams.

“When Kyle was in the U-14 BC team, they travelled to Ontario and it was a really good experience.” Seymour said. “I used to play rugby and it brought me around the world… so if they work hard to achieve their goals, there will be a bunch of open doors.”

Kyle was recently invited to represent BC in the elite youth 7s at the Las Vegas Invitational, the largest rugby tournament in North America. But such opportunities come at a cost.

Family and friends have stepped up to support Kyle’s quest for greatness. Steve and Kristy Hale, his first coaches, have helped him fundraise. His family have held bottle drives, 50/50 draws, raffles and auctions. His grandfather Sam Norris and aunt Kristin Thomas held a loonie/toonie auction and poker night at Halalt.

And in January, his mother Elaine started an online donation page called Rugby Travel on the crowd-funding website, gofundme.

At the highest level of sport, performance and success require discipline, setting goals, strength and, of course, support from family and community. One youth is on his journey to athletic excellence and he needs our support.

To help Kyle make his dreams come true and read more about this young athlete go to: Kyle’s GoFundMe website.