It’s the dream of any emerging rugby player to train in a global hotbed of the sport.
Trinity Western University (TWU) Spartans player Caleb Graham is living that dream. The well-known rising talent is among five Spartans spending eight weeks at the prestigious Crusaders International Academy in Christchurch, New Zealand.
“I’m over the roof, because I get to be around a bunch of people who love rugby as much as I do,” says Graham, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 215 pounds. “On top of that, we all get to make each other better, like iron sharpens iron.”
Weekdays are spent training and studying in the classroom, with weekend matches against New Zealand club teams.
“We not only train but also get to expand our knowledge in classroom sessions. It’s all taken very seriously, because learning and reflecting are just as important as tying up your boots and being out on the pitch.”
Graham faced some challenges prior to reporting to TWU. He suffered two injuries last summer that kept him off the pitch for 16 weeks, limiting his first four weeks with the Spartans to training, watching practices and lending a hand. He returned to full speed in the second half of the season, when the team played exhibition matches against top American programs. He was named captain of the second team in games against the University of Washington and Western Washington.
“It was an honour,” he says. “It was definitely a year of learning—of trying to be very observant and improve as much as I could.”
TWU rugby director Andrew Evans was thrilled to land Graham last May.
“He is another great product of strong coaching in Alberta and he is a very gifted athlete,” said Evans at the time. “Caleb has great leadership potential and outstanding character. He has an attacking mindset on both sides of the ball and will compete for a variety of positions with us in short order. Caleb is a great young man, and we know he will make those around him at TWU better.”
One of Graham’s longtime coaches, Tyler Hawes, has worked with him since he took up the sport in Cochrane at age 12.
“He’s one of those guys who’s got all the tangible pieces—the attitude and the effort—and he puts everything into what his roles are,” says Hawes. “There’s just nothing stopping him. The kid works his butt off and he’s been getting rewarded for it.”
Graham also trained at Hawes’ Rocky Mountain Rugby Academy for two years.
“That really helped me improve my skill,” says Graham. “It helped me improve myself as a player and grow my knowledge and love for the game.”
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After graduating from Bow Valley High, Graham had a tough choice between rugby and football. A standout linebacker and running back for the Bobcats, he also played high school and club rugby. While heading home from a visit to Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., where he had received a football scholarship offer, he got a call from Evans inviting him to join TWU’s rugby program, also with a scholarship attached.
“I’d always thought about playing university rugby out in B.C. because it’s a step up from what’s offered in Alberta,” he says. “When I talked to Andy (Evans), it was reassuring. In my mind and my heart, I felt it was right.”
Upon returning from New Zealand, Graham hopes to earn a spot on Alberta’s team for the Canada Summer Games before rejoining the Spartans in the fall.
His goals don’t stop there.
“God willing, I hope to play professionally. That’s something I have my heart set on,” he says. “Honestly, I know I have to take it one day at a time. That’s what I’ve been focusing on.”