Jen Kish making indelible mark as captain of Canada's Rio-bound rugby sevens side

It doesn’t take long for Jen Kish to steer the conversation toward her teammates. We’re discussing the stunning solo try she scored in February’s Sao Paulo World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series event. It was a try that helped Canada notch a long-awaited first victory over New Zealand, and it went something like this. On the second-half kickoff, New Zealand booted the ball deep, and Kish leaped into the air to grab it. She ran 60 metres to the try line, avoiding defenders the entire way, and finished with a celebratory dab that would surely make Cam Newton smile.

But Kish doesn’t see it as a solo try. If it wasn’t for Kelly Russell, with her “superwoman” strength, hoisting her into the air, or the support from teammates running alongside her, or the bench screaming, “you got this!” from the sidelines, “I probably would have been caught,” Kish said.

She may be one of the best Canadian athletes you’ve never heard of – and that’s likely fine by her. Kish doesn’t seek individual glory, not when there’s a bigger goal in mind. The magic of Canada’s rugby sevens team is that everyone understands their role on the field and sticks to it. Kish, the team captain, is chiefly a playmaker, responsible for dishing the ball to her speedy teammates on the outside.

“She epitomizes what we are as a group — we’re about the hard work and playing for each other and she certainly shows that every time she takes the field,” head coach John Tait said.

With an upper body covered with tattoos and a short jolt of platinum blonde hair topping her head, it’s easy to confuse Kish for a rock star. On the pitch, she plays like one. Equally dominant as an attacker and defender, she is a fearless tackler, a strong ball carrier and skilled aerialist. The 27-year-old started in the 15-a-side version of rugby, even playing in the 2010 World Cup, but it’s sevens where she has thrived. Twice, she’s led her squad to third-place finishes in the Women’s Sevens Series. In 2015, they improved to runners-up and capped the year off with Pan Am Games gold.

After three rounds this season, Canada heads into this weekend’s event in Langford, B.C. — their home tournament — sitting third in the series standings. And while it would certainly be a thrill to win at home, their biggest test will come in August in Rio de Janeiro, when rugby sevens — a variation that has teams field seven players for 14-minute matches — will make its Olympic debut.

Once upon a time, she was just a girl in Edmonton who wept tears of joy while watching Canada’s Olympic women’s hockey team play. Now she’s the captain of a team heading to the Summer Games. When she steps on the field in Rio, it’ll be a dream come true, something she’s thought about most of her life, and she’ll have one thing on her mind.

“Our program isn’t called the gold-medal program for nothing.”

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Jen Kish didn’t anticipate blanketing her body in tattoos. But after one, she couldn’t stop. More than 20 sittings later, her skin illustrates her life story, each piece depicting an experience encountered along the way. Every bit of ink is methodically thought out, she said, and to explain it all would take about five hours. In the interest of time, here’s just the tale behind the first.

Kish was introduced to rugby when she was 15. Before that she played all sorts of sports: hockey, basketball, taekwondo, football. At a young age, Kish sensed her calling was athletics not academics. Her parents divorced when she was just two years old. Her dad Steve raised her and her older brother alone. Steve worked multiple jobs to make ends meet and wasn’t home much to help with schoolwork. She lagged behind and became disinterested in subjects she didn’t excel in. That, however, didn’t include gym class.

“I always knew I wanted to be an athlete and represent Canada,” she said.

After a year of playing high school football, Kish’s coach suggested she switch to rugby. He’d been a player and thought she had potential. His instinct was correct.

In her maiden match, Kish was dominant, though initially it was tough to shake her football mentality: “I was trying to tackle with my head and that’s not a thing in rugby -- you need to use your arms.”

Eventually she got the hang of hitting, and following the high school season she joined a club team. Next she made the under-17 Alberta team, which led to the Canadian under-19 squad. Within a year, Kish was wearing the maple leaf —literally. After being selected for a test match, the 16-year-old Kish forged her father’s signature on a consent form, went to a tattoo parlour and had the Rugby Canada logo inked on to her right calf. When her dad eventually saw what she had done, he wasn’t that mad, she said. Her older teammates, on the other hand, thought she was crazy.

“I didn’t know how far I was going to go in the sport. I was just so proud to finally be representing Canada in a sport I loved,” she said. “It wasn’t because I thought I was some really good rugby player.”

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Jen Kish is a really good rugby player. Just ask her teammates.

“She just has this innate ability to break tackles and spin out of tackles and fend (off) somebody when they’re coming. She just evades people and she also has the most dominating smashing tackles you’ll ever see,” said Ashley Steacy, a teammate since junior.

“Her defence, it’s up there as the best in the world,” said Ghislaine Landry, another longtime teammate. “Any time she’s up against an attacker, you know she’s going to create havoc and when you build this reputation, I think people are scared of her. I think they know that she’s going to make the tackle and potentially turn over the ball — and that’s a huge threat.”

She may unleash her inner beast on the field, but off it Kish is charming and a little goofy, often joking around with teammates during downtime. She says the sport has made her a better person, a better leader. “I really liked rugby because I had a lot of people I didn’t want to let down.”

Like all great athletes before her, Kish didn’t develop into a fierce competitor overnight. Today, she trains six days a week at the team’s base in Victoria, B.C. But it wasn’t always like that. She’s almost ashamed to admit it now, but as a kid, she lacked a rigorous work ethic.

“I only applied myself when I thought I had to. It wasn’t always 100 per cent effort,” she said.

To go beyond good, she needed to be pushed. She credits role models like her dad and coach Tait for challenging her to reach another level. When she did, success followed. In 2011, Tait invited Kish, then on the national 15s team, to a sevens camp in Las Vegas. At the time, she wasn’t pegged as a starter, he said. By the next year, she was the team captain. “She’s worked extremely hard and (chased) this dream since day one,” he said.

There is plenty that motivates Kish. She wants to grow the game in Canada. She wants to win multiple Sevens Series titles and eventually be crowned champion. But now, during especially punishing workouts, Kish’s mind wanders toward the Olympics. “It gets me through some pretty gruelling sessions,” she said.

But thinking about Rio can also be scary, she said. She’s afraid she might get injured or somehow won’t end up attending — “you know anything can happen” — or she’ll be there, physically, but not really show up.

“In the sense of like choking. You know those players that choke in big moments?” she said, before adding. “I don’t think I’m one of those players at all.”

Maybe that last fear is unfounded.

“I really love pressure-filled games. I love those games that are like, it’s all on the line cause it’s a do-or-die situation to me,” she continued. “It’s just like, OK: I have to do this; there’s no failing. I don’t accept that. And how I manage that stress is not letting it consume me, but still thinking … OK, this is a thing. I have to acknowledge it. If you ignore it, then go to the Olympics, you may be caught off guard.”

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There was a running joke among the women of the national sevens team that they’re Canada’s best-kept secret. They’re a world-class team dominant on the international scene, and yet they feel as if few people in this country actually know about them. Successful tournaments in Vancouver and the one upcoming in Langford have helped to raise the team’s profile. A gold medal in Rio, though, would surely get the team noticed across the country.

“I’ve always said to any media outlet that we’re going to win gold, like I’ve been super-confident in that,” Kish said.

When asked what makes Canada a threat to top the podium, Kish’s doesn’t list off game tactics or strategies —at least not at first. What makes Canada special, she said, is the bond they share.

“A lot of teams say that they believe in each other, and they trust each other, and they love each other, and they may. But I really believe that our team does,” she said.

“When we’re all clicking, we create magic.”