Summer on the road for Arnprior rugby player

Arnprior District High School graduate Amy Dean has a busy and exciting summer ahead.
Dean, 19, was chosen to be part of the U19 Ontario rugby team, and is playing games across Ontario with the squad.
It’s the first time an ADHS player has reached such a high level, says coach Glenn Wallace.
Dean, who has played rugby at ADHS for the past five years, is quite active, counting soccer, snowboarding and canoeing as hobbies.
As a Grade 9 student, she decided to try rugby because it looked like fun and she liked the contact aspect of the sport.
“It was really new to me and I thought it was a lot of fun,” she says. “There’s always something you have to work on.”
She enjoyed the bonding experience with her teammates at ADHS.
“You just get very close with everyone that you play with,” she says.
She says she was quite shocked when asked to join the U19 team.
ADHS played with teams from Ottawa, one of which was Mother Theresa, coached by Denis Blondin. After one game, Blondin spoke to the Arnprior girls about the tryouts and Dean joined a few teammates at the Ottawa event.
She was then invited back to another tryout in Oakville. Next came the email inviting her to be a part of the team
“I was kind of shocked by that email,” says Dean.
In terms of her favourite position to play, Dean is known for her versatility.
“I’ve played a lot of them but right now I’m inside centre,” she says.
The commitment to the U19 team includes practices every Sunday and games all over Ontario.
The travel is extensive but since the coach and about five other players are from the Ottawa area, she is able to carpool.
How does the provincial experience compare with the rugby at ADHS.
“It is just a lot more technical and in-depth,” says Dean.
The experience will culminate with a week-long championship tournament in August in Calgary, Alberta. Dean, who has a full-time summer job doing maintenance at a camp, has to pay her expenses out west, so she’s adding fundraising to her considerable summer schedule.
There are also advertising opportunities in the player profile book, in which Dean will be featured.
This fall, she’s headed to Niagara College in St. Catharines to study environmental technology.
Will she keep up with rugby?
The school doesn’t have a team, but there are clubs up there, she says.
“I might if I have the option.”
Coach Glenn Wallace couldn’t be more pleased with Dean’s success.
ADHS has had a player go on to be a member of the Eastern Ontario U19 team, but this is the first time someone’s made the Ontario squad.
“She’s extremely dedicated,” says Wallace. “She has a very all-round  skill set that makes her an extremely versatile player.”
There’s very stiff competition to make the team, he says.
Contact Wallace at the school 613-623-3183, ext. 329 or send an e-mail to wallaceg@renfrew.edu.on.ca.