A not so new beginning for Hassan Ali

As someone who's been involved in sports from a young age, second-year biomedical science student, Hassan Ali, who plays as a fly half for the TMU Bold men's rugby team, hasn't had the most linear journey with his post-secondary career.

Transferring from Ontario Tech, this year is Ali's first dressed in blue and gold but it isn't his first rodeo playing at a high level. Ali's relationship with sports travels back almost two decades.

"I think literally from senior kindergarten, I'd say, or first grade all the way up into grade nine or 10," said Ali on his start in sport. "I used to play baseball for almost 10, I think about 10 years. I was always active. I loved gym class," added Ali.

Starting off playing baseball at just four-years-old, Ali didn't dive into rugby until he was in high school.

His friends encouraged him to join the rugby team since their school didn't have a football team, and Ali found his footing on the field.

"You create relationships through teammates. They just taught me how fun the game was. A lot of my closer friends who are a bit older than me, and in high school at the time, they really enjoyed it. So I was like, 'you know what, why not just give it a shot,' and then I ended up really liking it," he said.

When the pandemic hit, Ali was still in high school and it put a hold on his time playing rugby. He never ended up going back, until now.

"I just stopped playing because I had to and then I never went back. I was done high school. I never played outside of school during COVID," said Ali.

Coming to TMU, Ali was drawn to the culture, being in the heart of downtown, and the community he met through the rugby team.

"It was just a new group of guys, but even our coach, Spencer Robinson, he was a very welcoming and great coach. The guys on the team, they showed me that there are really nice people at this school and in this program, and it just made me feel really welcome, especially coming to a new school," the second-year added.

Trying to find a balance between school and sports hasn't always been easy, but Ali knows that school takes priority. With rugby being such a high contact sport, the second-year has gone through quite a few concussions over the years.

"Obviously, rugby is a very physical sport, and school and my studies come first. I wouldn't want to compromise my ability to study or perform in school due to an injury from rugby," said Ali.

The high contact sport may not be the prettiest out there, but Ali has his own views.

"People think rugby is kind of an ugly game sometimes. It's so physical but it really is a gentleman's sport," said Ali.

Through the support and guidance of his family, Ali has been able to continue his passion for sports while maintaining a clear vision of his future.

"They are very supportive of me, they've come to a couple of my games, they've always encouraged me to play sports. And you know, they've always been quite encouraging of that," he said.

Another supporter of Ali is his cat, Leo.

"Every time I see my cat it's like the first time I see him. He never fails to disappoint."

No matter where life takes him, Ali's belief in himself and his ability to play rugby at a university level has been his motivation.

"I'm definitely very happy that I did decide to come back… I mean, you still get nervous whenever you have big games coming up, but it's just about believing in yourself," noted the fly half.

With this new beginning and hopes of staying on the team for the rest of his university career, Ali is going to carry on with his current mentality to try and be the best rugby player he can be.

"Even though it's not completely new, it is something new to me again," said the second-year. "With any aspect in life, never give up and never sell yourself short."

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Players Mentioned

Hassan Ali: 5' 10"; 1

Players Mentioned

Hassan Ali
: 5' 10"; 1