I, along with the COC (Canadian Olympic Committee) and Canada Basketball visited the SEED Basketball Academy in Dakar. Our visit to their campus began with meeting the coaches. You could hear their thirst for knowledge in the questions they were asking. They were passionate about what they do and wanted to equip their young athletes with everything they needed to be successful.
To think that I have now been inducted into the town of Milton’s Walk of Fame is both an incredible honour and also a bit of a shock. I am honored that my name was even considered for this incredible distinction and I have been incredibly fortunate, but I feel like I’m not done. There is so much I have yet to do, and goals on my list I have yet to reach.
After he gave us our wet suit, snorkels and flippers, we jumped into the water. The first sea creature I saw everywhere was jellyfish! So, obviously I - and the family I was on tour with - started freaking out! It turns out that these jelly fish (which were a beautiful purple color and looked so graceful and soft in the water) were called moon jellyfish. Although they can and do sting humans (it feels like a mosquito bite or small zap), they're not poisonous. Of course, I did not learn this until later in the day, so whenever I saw a large group of them during the actual tour, I…
As I was leaving the botanical gardens, I noticed a tiny garden of poppies. Growing up, I’ve always worn the pins on Veterans Day and have seen pictures of poppies, but I don’t recall ever seeing a poppy in real life. So, obviously I snapped some pictures! This little garden was called The Legacy Garden, with a small plaque in front that said the following…
If you were to look at my phone, you would probably find a good 500 pictures purely of nature; plants, trees, flowers, leaves, ponds, the ocean and green sceneries. I am obsessed! I feel close to God in many instances, but when I am consumed by nature, surrounded by it, observing it, sitting or walking in it silently, admiring its beauty, listening to the quiver of the leaves in the wind, the birds chirping, the crashing of the waves, or a disturbance in the bushes - just me and my thoughts - that’s when I always feel engulfed by Him.
I loved this co-branded event because it combines athletics (basketball and dance), academics and technology. It was super inclusive but more importantly sends an important message that not only can anyone play basketball but anyone, including girls can code! Just redefining stereotypes one kid at a time.
A dream of mine has been to play for Canada on the Senior Women’s National Team - a dream that was finally realized, only to be taken away by injury a few days later.
Later this month Canada will compete in Tenerife, Spain at the FIBA World Cup. I had my eyes set on making the roster to help Canada compete for a spot on the podium.
While there I had to make a lot of adjustments. The time change was definitely the hardest, 14 hour difference! It took my body 2 weeks to properly adjust to the time change, way longer than I expected! Language barriers are nothing new to me, as I had plenty of experience with this in Russia, however, in Russia the letters were similar to the English alphabet. In Korea, its completely different, it was symbols, and complicated symbols at that! My apartment also didn't have…
Throughout the day, these young athletes were put through an experience similar to an NBA combine. It began with individual assessments of their athletic abilities, followed by skills work and teaching different offensive and defensive concepts as well as game break downs. It concluded with games and competitive play.
I love to explore new cities and when they have an interesting history behind them, it makes you appreciate what you're witnessing/ experiencing even more. While there I had the opportunity to explore a small part of Caen, the capital of France 's lower normandy region, which is rich in French, Canadian and American history...
