Beth Couling earns nod from Rugby Manitoba

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/02/2024 (574 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Beth Couling has poured herself into the sport of rugby, and her efforts have not gone unnoticed.

The Souris teenager, who was named the winner of Rugby Manitoba’s U18 Player of the Year award last week, said it’s had a transformative effect on her.

“I used to be such a shy person,” Couling said. “I was scared to talk to anyone and I’m out here on a field putting my body on the line and getting an award for it. It’s crazy how it goes from that to this.”

The four-year member of the Souris Sabres and provincial team player is enrolled in a weekly rugby training session at the TC Indoor Sports Facility in Brandon which includes a lot of the Westman members of the Manitoba squad plus others who are trying to stay fit.

The 17-year-old athlete was actually unfamiliar with the award, so when the two coaches Sarah-Jane Speers and Kent Miner sent her to the locker room to put on her provincial team jersey on, she was none the wiser.

“She showed me the award and I was just flabbergasted,” Couling said. “I thought there are so many amazing athletes in our age group, especially female athletes, I just couldn’t believe I had the opportunity to receive it. I was just so happy.”

Couling served as captain of the provincial team which went to the Alberta Regional tournament and also to westerns, where she scored three tries as the team went 1-4.

Her high school coach Brian Yon said it’s a nice honour.

“I think it’s a real nice feather in her cap being recognized provincially,” Yon said. “Once you get beyond your high school program and get other opportunities and are named captain of the U18 provincial team, that’s a pretty special thing. I think to go on and carry yourself as the consummate professional at westerns and leading a team with players from all over the province, that says a lot.”

Her path to the provincial award began nine years ago when she was in Grade 3 and started playing flag rugby in the youth program run by Yon.

“It was just trying something new,” Couling said. “Living in a small town, it’s hockey, hockey, hockey, baseball occasionally. It was just something different, and Mr. Yon had a really good program. Literally, my brother (Tristen) was doing it.”

Couling doesn’t save all her energy for rugby, although it is her primary sport. She also plays high school volleyball, basketball and softball in Souris.

She said it’s the rugby community which keeps her coming back.

“It’s the people,” Couling said. “Rugby is stereotyped as hardcore, all blood and all bruises, but rugby is way more than that. The relationships I’ve made through this particular sport are incredible. I have not made the same relationships doing every other sport. Everybody is so welcoming and everybody is so understanding. I just love it.”

Growing up in Souris gave her a chance to start the sport under Yon’s watchful eye, and then have him as a coach when she joined the varsity team in Grade 9. She said he’s had an incredible impact on her beyond the pitch.

“He is literally everything,” Couling said. “He has such an amazing program. He said he can’t teach you courage, but he can teach you how to play the game. That’s my favourite saying of his … Putting yourself onto that battlefield is how I gain my courage in all aspects of life. Rugby may just be a sport to a lot of people but it’s the finding the courage to go out and make a tackle.”

Couling said she’s a different player now than when she was in Grade 9, something Yon teases her about at practices as she helps demonstrate drills to her teammates.

She noted the other coaches — Lee Marwick, Aaron Sanderson, Danielle Fortin and Michael Gohl, among others — have been by his side through the process.

“It’s just amazing,” she said. “Mr. Yon’s program is about forming good human beings and good rugby players. That’s his main goal.”

On the field, her skill set allows her to line up at loose forward and also move to the back row both in Souris and with Manitoba.

Yon said Couling has pretty much played every position up front, with the exception of second row, and refers to her as a jack-of-all-trades.

“She’s been one of those utility-type players for us over the years,” Yon said. “With us, if we needed a player to fill a spot, I could rely on Beth to fill in. She’s mainly played hook, but she’s even played some scrum half and even in the centre. If we have a player who goes down and need a crucial utility player to step in, Beth is definitely it.”

He added, “She never questions it or complains, she just gets it done.”

That’s a big part of why Yon thinks so highly of the teenager. She is a rare player who served as team captain in all four years she played varsity rugby, following in the line of previous great Souris leaders including Emily Tuttosi, Amanda Williams and Kendra Roberts.

“For me to name a younger player captain, they have to have some special qualities,” Yon said. “First off, they have to be pretty selfless. It’s a team-first mentality, and they have to be really passionate not only about the game, but about the program. She’s one of those captains that if you need something done, she’ll go out and do it.”

That includes small things like carrying equipment at practice, a job she could easily have asked a younger player to do, and nobody would have batted an eye.

“She’s just a real quality individual that way,” Yon added. “Sometimes it’s not easy picking leaders for a team, and sometimes it’s really easy. With Beth, it was a real easy pick because she’s a team-first captain who leads not only on the field but off the field as well.”

Couling doesn’t have to look far for other sources of inspiration.

After Tuttosi graduated from the Souris program in 2013, she joined the University of Calgary Dinos and eventually earned a spot with the national team. She is now continuing her pro career in the United Kingdom while also playing for Canada.

Couling said Tuttosi is a role model for everyone who followed her in the sport in Souris.

“I had a chance to meet her a few times, and she’s honestly the bubbliest person you’ll ever meet,” Couling said. “It’s just such an inspiration going from such a small community like Souris where everybody knows everybody and everybody knows everything … Going from such a small community, you don’t think there are the resources in a small town but Emily is the perfect example. She went from a small town — she grew up in Beresford, which is even a smaller community than Souris — and look where she ended up. It’s such an inspiration.”

Couling’s path to finding similar success centres around knowing her limitations.

She said one of her strengths is avoiding the temptation to do too much and to use the people around her to make the team better.

“Every time I step out on that pitch, it’s ‘OK, I’m going to pass the ball to this girl and she’s going to go get a try,’” Couling said. “I’m going to do something that affects my whole team, and I feel like that’s the same for Team Manitoba, and I feel like it works even better because it’s ‘OK, I’m thinking this so she’s also thinking this, because she did it for her high school team as well.’”

Even with her success in the sport and her obvious drive, she said the thing she is always trying to shore up is her courage.

“Even for the top athletes in the world in any sport, there is always that moment of hesitation,” Couling said. “It’s always overthinking, and I really want to focus on the mental part of the game. In any sport, any athlete can say that. It’s mind over matter, mental stability, and having the power to power through you mental stuff on the field.”

Couling had her first provincial team experience in 2022, and was back with the U18 club again last summer. She said it’s a different level of the game than high school, because everyone is as devoted to the sport as she is and it’s the best teens from across Manitoba.

“High school is a lot less reliable,” Couling said. “That’s another concept Mr. Yon is huge on. You need to be a reliable player. You’re here to play a game, so you’re going to play the game. In high school, people kind of slack off in practices. It’s new to everyone. But Team Manitoba and playing at a provincial level, that’s another aspect where it’s completely different. Everybody is here because they love the game.”

The next step could involve following in Tuttosi’s footsteps.

Couling has been accepted at the University of Calgary and has spoken to the Dinos coaching staff. She is hopeful this will lead to a chance to earn a spot to begin her U Sports career in the fall, although there are no guarantees.

Above and beyond the rugby pitch, she wants to become a high school science teacher and have a similar impact to her mentor.

“I want to strive be a Mr. Yon who inspires people,” Couling said.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @PerryBergson