There are not many things missing from the resumé of Okotoks’ international rugby star.
Count an Alberta Summer Games gold medal among the few for Thomas ‘Mullet Man’ Isherwood, one of two official ambassadors of the rugby competition for the July 20-23 youth sports showcase in Okotoks and Diamond Valley.
“I played in the final in 2016 with the Okotoks zone and unfortunately lost it,” said Isherwood, during the final day of the Alberta Summer Games. “Today, I get to hand out the gold medals and I might have to sneak one in my pocket.
“But it’s just awesome to see this is in our town and awesome to see so many athletes playing rugby, especially after COVID you love to see it.”
Isherwood, a core member of the Rugby Canada Men’s Sevens program since making his senior men’s international debut in 2021, got on the provincial stage at the 2016 Alberta Summer Games in Leduc.
“There’s the rugby portion, but also that time you get to spend with your 12 best friends,” he said. “You get to hang out in a different city or town, you get to have a little fun without your parents. You don’t get to do it every day so it was a pretty awesome opportunity.”
In seven short years, he’s advanced from starring with the Foothills Junior Lions, at the high school level with the Foothills Falcons and into the Rugby Canada system as a carded player.
“It’s super cool when I look back now,” he said. “I was just a kid from England who loved to play rugby and came to Alberta and met so many people and had so many coaches play such a big part in that.
“To see these kids do it and me watching seven years down the line, it’s such a big part of my journey to get to where I am. To play for your town and city is such a cool opportunity.”
Isherwood and Okotoks wheelchair rugby superstar Zak Madell, a three-time Paralympian, had the opportunity to interact with the rugby youth and had a chat with the local Zone 2 athletes at the Games.
“It’s just awesome that me and Zak can give back to the community that gave back to us in our youth,” he added. “Now that we’re both playing at the top level, it’s awesome to see the youth keep doing what we love.”
The 22-year-old has been part of the youth movement with the national sevens team and is now the fourth most capped player on the squad.
He’s had the opportunity to make every stop on the circuit in the World Rugby Sevens Series, highlighted by his first opportunity to play close to home at the Vancouver event as well as in London, and represented Canada at the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens in South Africa.
In the near future, Isherwood and Team Canada are entering a busy cycle with upcoming Olympic qualifying games at the end of the summer and the Pan American Games in Chile later this fall.
“It’s the opportunity to go to all these cool places and represent your country,” he said. “And then it comes back to this, all those coaches and volunteers who put in so much time and hard work, those are the people that I play for now.
“Without them, I wouldn’t be where I’m at.”
