Blog

I must apologize: it has been way too long since I reported my comings and goings to you fine readers. This spring has felt incredibly busy (as I type that I realize it’s July – though you wouldn’t know it from the weather). Jon and I moved out of family housing at UVic, our home of three years, and into a little house in a whole new area of Victoria. It was exciting but stressful at the same time. I despise moving with the fire of a thousand suns. Both Jon and I play wheelchair basketball and I have some other pieces of para-sport equipment kicking around, and —let me tell you— that can fill up a van fast. On the plus side, we now have a garage! Not for the car, but for all our sports stuff!

At the end of April I took a good hard look at my competition schedule for the next year and made the difficult decision to continue with law school through the summer. Basketball’s international season is the summer so that would mean doing classes while traveling extensively and training intensely. I chose to do this, however, because the Para PanAm Games are being held in Mexico in November. That means I have to be away for three weeks of that month which is a brutal time to be away, school-wise. This summer I’ve missed 6 weeks of class, but most of it was in the beginning or middle of the semester. The huge plus with going straight through the summer is that I will finish my law degree in August! I absolutely cannot wait. It has been a long three years.

In May I played in the National Championships in Quebec with Team BC. It was a tough tournament because our players are spread throughout North America and we never play together. Thus, while a very talented team on paper, we struggled. It was quite frustrating for all of us to look at ourselves, know we were good, and yet get beaten by less talented teams. Let that be a lesson for all you athletes out there — it doesn’t matter how fantastic the individual athletes on your team are. If you don’t practise together, you won’t win. At the end of the day, we finished fourth (which is a brutal spot to be in). Like last year, I left directly from the National Championships to the BT Paralympic Cup in Manchester, England. This was another difficult tournament. We had the Canadian team together for the first time in a long time but we were missing one key player and had some injuries to contend with. As such, a lot of odd lineups were played. On the plus side, I played with a lot of combinations I don’t normally see and it forced me into roles I don’t normally play. This was really enjoyable. On the downside, we lost every game (one in double overtime). So even though it was a learning experience, it was really frustrating.

In June I traveled with the team to Germany for a friendly series against the Germans and an extended training camp. We also brought along the Under 25 girls who needed practice for their World Championships which are happening right now in Ontario. In Germany, things started catching up with me. I had been experiencing some elbow problems while training at home that I’d tried to ignore and it turns out I was on the verge of severe tendonitis. Bad news for a wheelchair basketball player. Like everyone, athletes need to know their limits and listen to their bodies. I got a stern talking-to from our team physiotherapist who reminded me that I’m not doing anyone a favour by ignoring pain and trying to act tough. If I ignore symptoms, they will flare up into worse conditions, or an injury, that may have lasting and permanent effects. So pay attention and, if something hurts, stop doing it!

In Germany with some ice, tape, and spare wheels

In Germany I picked up two things: a brand new custom-made basketball chair from the German company Meyra and a horrible cold. Here’s the thing about colds when you’re an international athlete in competition: you can’t take anything because of drug restrictions. Like, nothing. No NeoCitron®, no cough medicine, nada. Writing this, it doesn’t sound so bad, but it was awful. The scratchy throat turned into a sinus infection, which turned into a chest cold, and pretty soon I couldn’t breathe. By this time we were in England playing a test series against the Brits but I was only well enough to play one quarter the whole time we were there. Eventually I was sent to hospital to make sure I was able to fly home with my limited breathing capacity and there they gave me some blessed antibiotics. Luckily I started getting better immediately.

The coolest thing we did on that trip (and maybe in my whole career) was do a demonstration in Trafalgar Square in London on Canada Day. They have a huge party in London for all the Canadians in England and we came out to play by the iconic fountain. I met Canada’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and a lot of fans who are looking forward to the Paralympics in 2012!

Playing hard on flagstones for onlooking Canadians in London

Team Canada in Trafalgar Square

Chatting with the High Commissioner, James R. Wright

The month of March ended with two great ski races, the Canadian Championships and the U.S. Championships.  To keep the story short and sweet, a couple of good buddies of mine from the U.S. Ski Team out skied me at the Canadian Championships and snatched the titles away from me, in my own backyard. It was a tough pill to swallow in front of all my friends and family.  On the flip side, up in Alaska for the U.S. Champs I was able to beat them on their turf, and I can now say that I am the U.S. Champion!!!  But even better than winning a couple of races at the end of the season was the fact that I was able to live out a dream of mine to ski in Alaska.  Big mountains, wild lines, and fantastic locals made it an all-time epic trip!  Big thanks to everyone at Challenge Alaska for all your hospitality and guidance in the mountains. read more