A A

ALBERT BRIDGE, N.S. —

Vanessa Bellefontaine wasn’t keen on her daughter playing rugby when she made the Riverview Rural High School team in 2018.

But now she enjoys watching her oldest child play — and it might be for more than the tackles, rucks and mauls.

Before Lacey Bellefontaine started playing rugby when she was 15, she was shy — so much so some family members called it “painfully shy.” Now, after playing for more than a year, Lacey’s becoming more of a leader than a wallflower.

“There’s been a huge difference in her confidence. Lacey was a very introverted girl. She was very quiet. Since rugby, she’s really come out of her shell,” said Vanessa during a phone interview on July 11 before leaving for the 2019 Atlantic Canadian Rugby Championships in P.E.I.

“Before, if we were in a crowd of people, she would stay very quiet … At the first tournament (she played with the Nova Scotia Keltics U16 team this summer) she didn’t know anybody and didn’t know the coaches and she went right up and started socializing immediately. She would never have done that before rugby.”

Bio

Lacey Bellefontaine

Age: 15

Lives: Albert Bridge

Siblings: One younger brother

Pets: Two guinea pigs

School: Riverview Rural High School

Going into: Grade 11

Also member of: RHS band, AA basketball team

Favourite authors: Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson series)

Lacey is also a member of the Cape Breton University women’s rugby club and is the only Cape Bretoner to make the Nova Scotia Keltics U16 team, who won the Atlantic championships on July 14.

Admitting she was very shy before making the Riverview team, Lacey said playing on other competitive sports teams through the years didn’t affect her like rugby has.

“The girls (on the RHS team when I was trying out) were outgoing and so nice. Even though I didn’t think I would make the team, they made me want to,” said Lacey, on break from her summer job at the Coastal Discovery Centre in Main-a-Dieu.

Lacey Bellefontaine of Albert Bridge wears her gold medal while holding the first place trophy she won with the Nova Scotia Keltics U16 women’s rugby team at the Atlantic Canadian Rugby Championships, held in P.E.I., July 12-14.

“Rugby is so different from the other sports I have played. There are so many people on the field … You always have someone with you, to support you. So, you’re never alone … And tackling is fun.”

Yelling plays at other players on the field is one thing Lacey believes helped her overcome her shyness. She also credits the closeness between teammates as being another reason and tells her mother about this often.

“She tells me it’s like being a part of another big family. It’s amazing watching her do something she’s passionate about and seeing how it’s changed her in a positive way like it has,” Vanessa said.

“It’s not that I wanted Lacey to change before, but it’s changed her in such a positive way and I can see how that’s benefitting her. I don’t know if that would have happened without rugby.”

During her first year playing a new sport, coaches Sandford Warren and Chauntelle Brewer quickly recognized Lacey’s potential. They convinced her to start playing with the Cape Breton University women’s rugby club which Warren coaches and Brewer plays on.

“She had a great season. She went to all the practices and worked really hard … She’s an all-around good player,” said Brewer, who admitted she was surprised at how much Lacey had improved over the year.

The operating room nurse said she started to notice Lacey’s off-field development over the winter. She began leading drills and volunteering to help new players. When Lacey decided to try out for the provincial team, Brewer saw it as a big accomplishment.

“Lacey started off as one of the quiet kids on the teams,” said Brewer who’s been involved with rugby for 12 years. “Now when I see her, when we travel, she’s really come out of her shell, talking to a lot of people… Lacey’s become a huge leader on the (RHS) team.

"It’s so nice to see her take opportunities she wouldn’t have taken before.”

When talking about rugby, Lacey’s face brightens a bit more and she speaks faster, eagerly explaining rules, plays and experiences. It’s not surprising her plans after high school are to get a rugby scholarship to a university where she can study medicine.

“It was almost hard for me to talk (before I started playing rugby). Now I am more outspoken,” she said.

“Rugby is a good way to deal with your emotions … It helps you be less afraid and I made friends I probably would have never met … I don’t know what it is, but the friendships I have made through rugby seem to be lasting longer.”

This is the second year in a row the Nova Scotia Keltics U16 women’s rugby team has won the Atlantic Canadian Rugby Championships.

RELATED:

• How running saved Cape Breton electrician’s life

• Bullied Cape Breton teen finds strength in football