The Canadian wheelchair basketball team rosters for the 2019 Parapan Am Games in Lima have been announced and a Victoria resident has made the menB次元官网网址檚 team for a second time.
Deion Green is excited to have the opportunity to represent Canada again. The 29-year-old athlete was born in Mississauga, Ont. and has lived in Victoria since he was a teen. Now, he spends most of his time training in Toronto.
Green has known he wanted to play basketball at this level since he was 10. He used to play stand-up basketball with his friends when he lived in Surrey but he says it became difficult when they got taller and he was playing from his wheelchair. In 2000, his dad heard about an open wheelchair basketball practice in Richmond and they dropped in to try it out.
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B次元官网网址淚 fell in love on the spot,B次元官网网址� he says passionately.
From there, he didnB次元官网网址檛 stop playing. He moved up the ranks and eventually earned a spot on the Canadian team. Now, heB次元官网网址檒l be playing for his country again.
The camaraderie on the court is his favourite part.
B次元官网网址淏attling with your brothers,B次元官网网址� in the same uniform and knowing theyB次元官网网址檝e got your back no matter what is a great feeling, he says.
He played in the 2015 Parapan Am Games in Toronto where they placed second. They went on to play in the Rio Olympics in 2016 but didnB次元官网网址檛 do well, he says.
The top three menB次元官网网址檚 teams in the 2019 Parapan Am Games will go to the Paralympics in Tokyo in 2020. The Canadian team is projected to do well at the Parapan Am Games this year, he says.
B次元官网网址淚 can see us playing in the gold medal match in Lima.B次元官网网址�
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Green and the other team Canada athletes are leaving for Poland on the weekend for their last tournament before the Parapan Am Games, which take place from Aug. 23 to Sept. 1.
Three other players from B.C. also made the Canadian teams; Bo Hedges from Wonowon will join Green on the menB次元官网网址檚 team and Tara Llanes from North Vancouver and Kady Dandeneau from Pender Island will play for the Canadian womenB次元官网网址檚 team.
B次元官网网址淲heelchair basketball is an amazing sport and this is an extremely high level of competition,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淐heck it out B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 definitely worth the watch.B次元官网网址�
Anyone interested in learning more or joining a team can contact the B.C. Wheelchair Sports Association or the B.C. Wheelchair Basketball Society. They can help you find a team, says Green.
devon.bidal@saanichnews.com
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