Seventeen-year-old Nolan Grealy dreams of representing Canada at the Rugby World Cup. His selection for the 2026 Youth Olympics is another step toward that goal.
The Niagara-on-the-Lake teenager will represent Canada at the Youth Olympics in Dakar, Senegal, beginning Oct. 31.
Grealy has travelled to New York, Florida, Vancouver and Argentina to play rugby and recently returned from playing in Melrose, Scotland.
His mother, Heather Grealy, said she is excited about every opportunity he gets to play.
“He literally lives, dreams, eats rugby, so if he’s not playing and training, he’s watching it,” she said.
“He’s made sacrifices and missed out on certain things with his friends to follow, like, his dream for the sport.”
Nolan and all his siblings grew up playing rugby. Since taking up the sport 10 years ago, he has captained several teams. This year, he was selected as one of 30 players from across Canada to represent the Canadian Howlers as a U18 player in Argentina.
Growing up, Heather drove her children to and from Burlington, Ont., for practices because Niagara has a smaller rugby community.
“It’s been a lot of traveling, we spend a lot of time in the car as a family,” she said. “One time I’d been to Ottawa and back in a day for him to play.”
Nolan follows a strict daily routine, he told The Lake Report in an email from Scotland.
“I usually wake up at 6 a.m., get dressed, have a snack, stretch and go for a run,” he said.
After breakfast, he starts work at 7:15 a.m. and works until 3 p.m. He goes to the gym at 5 p.m., followed by team training or an individual skills session in the evening. He eats dinner around 9 p.m. and goes to bed by 11 p.m.
“It’s a busy routine, but I enjoy the structure and the opportunity to keep improving as a player,” he said.
Heather said meal planning is an important part of managing Nolan’s busy schedule.
“He eats an awful lot,” she said. “You wouldn’t think it, looking at him”
Nolan said the friendships and team environment have kept him involved in rugby for the past decade.
“Rugby brings people together, and the bonds you build with your teammates are something special.”
The opportunity to travel is another highlight of the sport.
Grealy said he is looking forward to representing Canada at the Youth Olympics and is proud to wear the Canadian jersey on an international stage.
“Finding out I had been selected to represent Canada was incredibly rewarding. It felt like all the hard work, commitment and sacrifices over the years had paid off,” he said.
As he works toward his ultimate goal of playing in the Rugby World Cup, Grealy hopes to continue developing as a player.
After returning from Scotland, Grealy has begun Olympic training with the Canadian youth rugby team in Orangeville before heading to a training camp in Africa.
