From the court to the pitch — Kaitlin Tetteh-Wayoe finds a home with Pandas Rugby

The sweltering September sun beats down on Foote Field. The thirty athletes on the pitch are not bothered by the heat, especially first-year Pandas rugby back row Kaitlin Tetteh-Wayoe.

A former member of Simon Fraser University’s women’s basketball team, Tetteh-Wayoe is now exploring other avenues in sports by joining Pandas rugby. Despite her title as one of the Canada West BioSteel Players of the Week earlier this month after scoring four out of five tries during the Pandas win over the Calgary Dinos, Tetteh-Wayoe admits that she still has a lot to learn about rugby, adding there was a little bit of nerves transitioning from one sport to another.

Although basketball relies on a different skill set, Tetteh-Wayoe explains that there is a lot of overlap and transferable skills that she found helpful with her transition to rugby. She highlights that the key difference between the two sports is the level of physicality. Her strength not only helps her feel tailored to rugby, but it is also her greatest asset when playing. 

Although she played rugby for two years in high school, she never considered the sport as a possibility due to her commitment to basketball. However, after reassessing her love for basketball and living in Vancouver, Tetteh-Wayoe realized that her heart truly belonged in Edmonton. She was approached by Pandas head coach Matt Parrish in her Grade Twelve year, but turned down his offer. Tetteh-Wayoe recalls how Parrish was “very kind and welcoming” to offer her an opportunity to try out for the team again, and the way the rest of the coaching staff assisted her with learning how to play the sport through basketball analogies to ensure that she understood the game in a manner she was able to pick up on it quickly. 

“They've been very reasonable and given me a little bit of grace and understanding that I don't necessarily know all the rules in the game,” said Tetteh-Wayoe of the Pandas coaches.

Multi-sport background fuels Tetteh-Wayoe’s Panda journey

Tetteh-Wayoe considers it an honour and a privilege to play for the Pandas. 

“When you're wearing that Panda across your chest, there's a certain standard that you want to uphold and the program that you’re representing, especially coming to a new program and learning all the new cultural values they have. It's a very, very strong cultural value that we have on our team of the standard that we set up, how we act around the community, and what we're giving back because we're given so much,” she says.

In addition to basketball and rugby, Tetteh-Wayoe explored other sports during her younger years. She played soccer for nine years before expanding her repertoire to basketball and volleyball in junior high.

“I played seven sports in high school,” Tetteh-Wayoe recalls, “I wasn't always the best though, I wasn't always the team captain of this or that.” She particularly cites Jeff Wise, her coach from junior high, as one of her role models for coaching and considers him to be an important part of her athletic journey. 

Tetteh-Wayoe adds the reason why she joined so many of them was because she loved being involved in and the energy around them. Being a good teammate also helped Tetteh-Wayoe’s  transition from basketball to rugby, giving her the confidence she needed to give her all to the team. “I can't always control the game or control the rules,” she explains, “but I can always control the aspect of being a good teammate and always trying to make sure that I’m using my communication skills to help our teams and have success.”

Edmonton roots fuel growth on and off the pitch

Having spent the first two years of her undergrad in Vancouver, Tetteh-Wayoe emphasized missing the community in Edmonton. One weekend in Edmonton in particular stood out to her — when she walked around a dog park and people would pass by and ask her how she was doing. In that one weekend, she had talked to more people compared to the months she spent on the West Coast.

Despite longing for her hometown, Tetteh-Wayoe believes that spending time away from Edmonton and her loved ones allowed her to instill a better appreciation for her family, community, and the city.

Despite longing for her hometown, Tetteh-Wayoe believes that spending time away from Edmonton and her loved ones allowed her to instill a better appreciation for her family, community, and the city.

Future coach driven to give back through sport

Being a leader means a lot to Tetteh-Wayoe, who has aspirations to go into professional sports or coaching after graduating. Currently, she is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, although she has plans to transfer into Kinesiology and focus on sports performance, with a possibility of studying a minor in Psychology. 

A Camp Coach with Green and Gold Summer Camps,  she acknowledges that understanding behaviours and emotions helps her make a better person and assists her with guiding athletes. In the future, she hopes to take a master’s in coaching at the U of A.