When COVID-19 precautions slammed the door on training and playing the sport sheB次元官网网址檇 loved since Grade 4, Lauren Rust started to contemplate her options.
The Oak Bay basketball player couldnB次元官网网址檛 fathom not attending the post-secondary school of her dreams B次元官网网址� a Division I college.
In summer 2020 she was invited to some high-performance Basketball BC programs that included a handful of non-contact games in Vancouver. Severely restricted, it did allow for some training and improvement.
She was in Grade 10 and worried it would hamper her goal of high-level ball, and a scholarship, so she started thinking about shifting living elsewhere. Rust and her dad looked into every prep school in Ontario, California and Washington, seeking the balance between education and sport.
Many she was simply too late to apply to, or the school didnB次元官网网址檛 offer boarding.
B次元官网网址淥ne day we were just talking about it B次元官网网址� I didnB次元官网网址檛 really feel I was going to actually do it,B次元官网网址� the teen said.
Her aunt in Tennessee suggested Webb School in Bell Buckle, the state champions the previous year. The Oak Bay player sent the coach a video and he emailed back within a day saying theyB次元官网网址檇 accept her.
Rust was sitting in the mall the day she got the email, and realized her passport was expired a week before the start of school. She arrived in Tennessee the day after Labour Day to start her Grade 11 year B次元官网网址� her first time away from home.
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B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e gained a lot of independence from it. It was a big cultural change for me,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 feel like I made the best friends of my entire life. ItB次元官网网址檚 almost like IB次元官网网址檓 on vacation every day.B次元官网网址�
Teammates now hailed from across the U.S., Denmark and China, dipping her into different cultures.
It was the highest level of training, effort and commitment ever expected of her and it paid off. The team again won state championships.
Over the summer she found time to play with both with Team BC at U17 nationals, where they finished second against Ontario and Rust was named first-team all-star. She and three teammates also went to the U18 Canada Games. B次元官网网址淲e didnB次元官网网址檛 do too great but it was really fun to be a part of that.B次元官网网址�
For the rest of the summer, she focused on a main source of recruitment, different competitive circuits based on brands. She joined the Under Armour circuit and through May, June and July played arena tournaments featuring four games a day.
The work culminated in 15 different scholarship offers.
On Nov. 11, dreams built on school courts at St. PatrickB次元官网网址檚, Monterey middle, St. MichealB次元官网网址檚 University School and hardwood across B.C. as part of provincial competition and training, culminated in her ultimate goal B次元官网网址� signing with the University of Pittsburgh.
Rust expects to be home a handful of days over Christmas before heading to a tournament in Florida.
christine.vanreeuwyk
@blackpress.ca
