She's only 15 years old, yet Olds resident Kallie Clouston has already made a decision on where she'll take her post-secondary education.
She has committed to playing for the University of Alberta's (U of A) Pandas hockey team.
Clouston made that decision a couple of weeks ago.
"I committed, but I can't technically sign until a year before I go. So it's basically like a verbal commitment," she said during an interview with the Albertan.
"I'm actually pretty excited. He (Pandas head coach Howie Draper) told me that I was the youngest person who'd ever committed to his university, which I think is pretty awesome for me."
Clouston is looking at taking nursing at U of A. But if that doesn't work out, she'd like to take education, because she could see herself as an elementary school teacher.
Clouston, a centre, is 5 feet, 8 inches tall and is listed as weighing 155 pounds.
Last season, she played for the Red Deer Sutter Fund Chiefs, scoring two goals and seven assists for nine points in 30 games. She racked up 14 penalty minutes. Clouston also scored one goal in two playoff games.
She played for the Zone 4 female team in the 2018 Alberta Winter Games and attended Team Alberta U-16 camps in July 2017.
Other teams besides the Pandas had expressed interest in her.
"I had other offers from the University of Calgary. And I was talking to the U of S (University of Saskatchewan) and UBC (University of British Columbia)," she said.
"I chose the Pandas because I really like their coach Howie Draper and I really like the culture. Everyone was super friendly when I met them."
Clouston likes the Pandas' record.
"They're 13-time Canada West champions and then eight-time U Sports national champions, which is pretty cool," she said.
Draper says he wanted to recruit Clouston because of her size and "her level of compete."
"Our conference is getting bigger and bigger it seems and, although we've been effective with a smaller team, some added size will certainly help our cause," he wrote in an email to the Albertan. "She uses her size effectively in one-on-one battles which is a characteristic that is important in our league.
"Additionally, she brings a high level of determination in these situations. She doesn't like losing a battle which points to a huge level of commitment to succeed.
"On top of this, she is pretty mobile for a player who is bigger in stature and has the necessary skill set to be a power forward.
"The clincher for me, however, is her personality.
"We pride ourselves on bringing good people onto our team and in the time I've had to spend with Kallie, she and her family demonstrate respect, humility and kindness — all values that will help contribute to our Pandas culture and, more importantly, her success in life beyond her time with us.
"With two years to grow before coming to the U of A, Kallie's potential is very exciting," he added.
Clouston says Draper told her to become even more agile; get to the puck faster, so that's her plan. However, she broke her arm — during a Pandas camp, actually — so she had to interrupt her training for a while.
"There was a collision with me and another girl. My wrist just went into her funny and then it just — broke," she said.
That's not the only injury Clouston has suffered over the years.
"I've had a lot of back injuries, I've had a shoulder and the knee injury," she admitted.
But she still keeps playing.
"I used to play soccer and then play ball. But I couldn't this summer because I had lots of camps going on — Team Alberta camps — that I would have missed," she said.
Of all the sports she's played Clouston loves hockey the most.
"I just love the intensity and aggressiveness of the game," she said, adding she also likes the camaraderie in the locker room.
"If I come into a new team or a new camp or something like that, I like meeting new people and new coaches and that so they can give me new stuff to work on or new drills and stuff like that," she said.
This season, Clouston has decided to play for the Okotoks Raiders instead of the Chiefs, even though that means a lot more time on the road.
"The Red Deer schedule, I just couldn't do it," she said. "It was all morning practices and I had school, so then I didn't want to billet. So we then just decided I would sign with Okotoks, even though it's a longer drive."
One day, Clouston would like to play hockey professionally. She's disappointed the Canadian Women's Hockey League folded this spring but holds out hope that eventually female pro hockey teams will come back in cities like Calgary and Edmonton.
