‘Generational player’ Kish hangs up her rugby cleats
Jen Kish never let up, whether it was training at Westhills Stadium, or performing on the Olympic pitch in 2016 in Rio.
That all-out approach was bound to take a toll on body and mind. But the former Canadian women’s rugby sevens captain walks away from the pitch without any regrets, and as one of the greatest players of all time.
“It was something bigger than myself to be representing Canada,” said Kish, who announced her retirement from the sport Monday.
Although she became associated with the Island as a full-time athlete with the Langford-based national team, Kish is from Edmonton.
“Rugby was super foreign to me . . . I had no idea what it was . . . but I am so glad I gave it a shot,” said the 29-year-old, by phone from the Alberta capital.
“I got to be part of so many historical moments.”
Chief among them was rugby sevens’ first inclusion in the Summer Olympics, where Kish captained Canada to the bronze medal at Rio in 2016.
Kish said she was proud to be representing her hometowns — both of them.
“Greater Victoria is a great community and it supported our national team and helped us so much,” said Kish.
“Anytime you had on national team apparel, people would stop you around town in Victoria and want to chat about the team. We appreciated that support.”
Kish had earlier announced this would be her final season. But she has been unable to play and missed out when women’s rugby sevens made its Commonwealth Games debut recently in Gold Coast, Australia.
“I have to heal my body and let it recover,” she said.
The ailments include two bulging discs in her neck that could be degenerative, a broken pelvis and torn labrum.
“I had to make a decision: To retire now or potentially leave my body in an even worse state,” said Kish.
Such are the physical demands at the elite level of sport.
“The injuries were as challenging mentally as physically,” said Kish, who captained Canada to the gold medal at the 2015 Toronto Pan Am Games.
“But today makes retirement real and brings closure. I’m at peace with the decision.”
It brings closure to Kish’s outstanding career but not to what she meant to the women’s sevens program.
Canadian head coach John Tait of Mill Bay described Kish as a “foundational” player: “Jen didn’t start where she finished. She had the resilience, the drive and the belief in herself to learn from failures and became a world class athlete and person. She has empowered a lot of young people who don’t necessarily fit the moulds of normalcy in what they’re passionate about or the expectations of others. That is what makes her so special.”
Kish plans to be at Westhills to cheer on her former teammates during the 2018 Canada Sevens on May 12-13 in Langford.
“Those bonds are never broken. Only now, I get to be a fan and sit in the stands and brag about my teammates,” Kish said.
Kish is planning a post-playing career as a personal trainer.
“I also want to be an ambassador for the sport and inspire the next generation to join rugby,” she said.