Written 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. 

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.

Schmidt recalls feeling "like a bit of an idiot," carrying around two huge bags of supplies, but she didn't care. "It felt like it was so much more of a meaningful way to give back, rather than just handing out spare change or donating to charity. 

"I met a lot of amazing people with some amazing life stories, hearing those stories was life changing for me.

"I definitely had questions like 'Why God do these great people have to suffer like this while someone like me gets everything I have?' But through conversations with friends and people on my team, I've come to the understanding that this is just the way the world is.

"However, I feel it's my responsibility as a Christian to help those in need." 

As she admits herself, Schmidt wasn't always this strong in her faith. 

"There was a period in my life where I walked away from my faith, where I would have called myself 'spiritual' but not a Christian."  This was true for her even as she arrived on campus for the first time. Worried she might not fit in because of her questioning beliefs, she recalls how, within her team environment she instantly felt like she belonged. As they were all in different places in their faith journey, she found that she had discovered a truly helpful environment to explore the questions of her faith. 

"My faith grew so much in my first year. Just having Bible studies with the team helped me get to a point where I feel strong in my faith, and would consider myself a Christian. I feel that walking away and coming back to it has made me even more strong in my faith."

Schmidt's questions about her faith were not the only worries as she came to TWU with. 

As she describes in her own words, "I am Queer."

"I knew that was going to be a controversial topic for me coming here and I wasn't sure how I was going to fit in," Schmidt says. "Luckily, I have met a lot of people here at TWU who've helped me see I can be a faithful Christian and a Queer person."

Teammate and close friend Niki Duchesne notes how she Schmidt has grown since she has been at TWU. "It's so awesome to see her be unapologetically Kleo, with how she has become more vocal about herself in all areas of her life. With her training, her weightlifting, just in all areas, she has really grown into an awesome person, and it's been so wonderful to see."

Recalling her journey, Schmidt hopes to be something of an example for future students and student-athletes. "I know how important hearing stories like mine were for helping me become confident in the way my sexuality and faith intertwine, and I hope my story will one day be able to help someone through something similar."

Now in her second year at TWU, Schmidt is finally on the pitch with the Spartans and expressing herself there too. 

In many ways, the story of Kleo is just beginning.  

About TWU
Recognized for quality, TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning, holds three Canada Research Chairs, and wins national championships in CIS sports. More importantly, lives are changed at TWU through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education. With a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree-completion programs, TWU equips leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others.
 
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the 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. TWU also competes as an independent team in men's rugby. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 12 U SPORTS team championships and 29 Canada West team championships.
 
The views expressed by our student-athletes and our alumni are their own. We appreciate varying individual views within Spartan Athletics. 

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