Playing at the Santos All Schools 7s for King's Christian College is a springboard that Amahli Hala has always valued highly in her sevens journey.
It's the pathway that started her on the road to becoming a full-time member of Australia's champion rugby sevens squad.
It can all happen so quickly. Hala was in Year 12 in 2023. Earlier this year, the young gun made her debut for Australia at the Hong Kong Sevens at just 19.
It's the exciting transition that will be in the dreams of many with Queensland Rugby's 2025 All Schools 7s now underway at Brisbane Grammar's Northgate fields.
More than 110 players from 29 schools gives some idea of the scope of the two-day tournament for girls and boys across today and Saturday.
It's in Hala's nature to give back. She quietly returned to her old school last month to offer a little coaching to the new breed at the Gold Coast college.
"All Schools is the gold standard for school sevens," Hala said.
"It's something all schools work towards. It's where you put it all out there. It was a big part of the pathway for me.
"I packed my coach polo last month to help a little with preparations as a bit of a familiar face at school.
"Coaching-teaching sevens is good for my own game too.
"Kings was one of the most pivotal stages for me. Absolutely, there is so much talent there. It's awesome to see the young girls now coming through from the school like Kaelyn Passi, TJ Murray and Billie Backus."
Hala is a role model herself now which is what Australia's success at women's sevens on the world stage has created over the past decade.
Reds sevens player Kaelyn Passi, 18, loves the idea of travel, a career in footy and getting her family name out there. It's what sevens has created.
Last weekend, Hala and Passi shared in the Queensland Reds' triumph in the Next Gen 7s finals at Ballymore. Backus and Murray are playing in Narrabri this weekend with the Reds sevens team as part of the Santos Festival of Rugby. It's the pathway in full flow.
A lift-off in rugby sevens can come in so many ways.
Sevens queen Charlotte Caslick took the well-worn path through touch. Try-scoring whiz Maddi Levi was dancing jazz, ballet and hip-hop at the time that Australia was winning the first gold medal in rugby sevens at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
A year later, she was on a school trip to Ballymore with Miami State High when she and sister Teagan watched the Aussie Sevens girls train. Caslick gave Teagan a pair of Aussie shorts and both got to touch the Olympic gold medal of Ellia Green.
From such moments, inspiration and ambition are born.
Maddi shelved her promising start in AFLW with the Gold Coast Suns to dive full-on into rugby sevens. She’s now a two-time Olympian and a try-scoring whiz. How she carries herself and is so naturally approachable for young girls is just as impressive.
"There are always tough days in training but I'm playing a sport professionally. I'm living the dream," Hala said.
Who will be the next to come through from this year's Santos All Schools 7s?
