As a little girl, I was always wanted to play anything. We were outdoor active kids. I wanted to play and try everything going. My parents put me in the usual sports like soccer and basketball. They also put me in baseball, lacrosse, speed skating, and gymnastics. It was never enough for me, I constantly was asking if I could enrol in something else. I thrived on competition from an early age. My dad said I had an inner drive that can’t be taught. I loved all the activities and sports I played … [Read more...]

You’re tough. That’s something that my dad always said to me. It didn’t matter whether it was in reference to school, ball or whatever else, my dad always said I was tough. Now, that statement was usually followed by “suck it up” or something else a little more obscene, but nonetheless he always said I was tough. Basketball has given me more opportunities than I ever could have imagined, but it has challenged me even more. It has challenged me physically of course but what I value the most … [Read more...]

I play hockey and soccer at a high level. People call me an athlete and I guess I am, but I really don’t know any other way to be. You ‘gotta’ understand my family to get me. My Mom is kind of crazy. She and Dad have 3 businesses, she does a bunch of grown up things … like she is on sports and community boards, and stuff. She played a couple of varsity sports back in the olden days in University (she’ll kill me for that one too, ha ha) She is always busy, but her #1 priority has always been … [Read more...]

I can’t remember a time when basketball was not a part of my life. I grew up watching my mom’s semi-professional basketball games in Germany, so the team environment was ingrained in me. I started playing basketball myself, and this past season was my fifth, and final year playing for my university. I came into the program so excited to learn and grow as a player, excited to play with and against some great players. I had so many goals for the team, and dreams for myself. I put in a lot of hard … [Read more...]

As a former basketball player and coach, I had the privilege to be a member of numerous basketball teams. As a player those teams and experiences continue to shape me today. I can easily draw on an endless bank of  memories that can still bring a smile to my face. There are teammates whose friendships outlasted any season.  Friendships that were fortified by the hours of practice and travel, the collective thrill of the wins, and the shared hurt of the losses. As a coach there is nothing more … [Read more...]

Passion is tears of joy over a hard earned success. Hard work is beads of sweat, bruises and dedication. Dedication is time given, committing to your friends, family and those who share with you as much passion, hard work and dedication as you give them. The equation is simple; passion plus hard work plus dedication equals team. I was lucky to have grown up learning how to be part of a team, as part of a family. Being an athlete was, is and always will be one of the most influential and positive … [Read more...]

If you were one of the lucky ones to be involved in organized sports as a kid, you know what I’m talking about when I say; sport has helped shape who I am today. It was the focal point of my life ever since I could walk, and I guess you could say things haven’t really changed. As a teenager, I didn’t care much about “what I wanted to be when I grew up” or even going to school for that matter. The only reason I even went to University in the first place, was to play varsity rugby. So I can say … [Read more...]

Whenever anyone brings up the topic of women in sport my mind automatically takes me to a memory that happened over 20 years ago. I was born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie Ontario and although I have chosen basketball as my career path, my first love was actually the game of baseball. In the early years, T-ball was the thing to do in the summers and since there was no girl’s league I quickly became a part of the “boys of summer”. We all had big dreams to cap our T-ball careers off by playing on … [Read more...]

I have 13 year old twins, both play hockey and soccer at an elite level. A couple of years ago, my son discovered and started wanting to buy and wear GongShow gear. I looked into the brand and its history and saw that it was started by a few guys who wanted to reflect the culture of Junior and beer league hockey in Canada. Suffice to say the brand did not reflect the culture for my daughter and her teammates in female sport. She wanted some attitudinal gear too. The more we looked around, the … [Read more...]

Now that I have put numerous years into coaching a sport that I love, I can understand why all the coaches I had, did it too. In my mind, I understood the power of sport, the ability it has to shape the person you become, I can see it in my day to day interactions in the office job I have. But the first time I realized that what I was doing on the sidelines, coaching a varsity team, running practices, planning the season ahead of me, impacted the players outside of the arena was when I witnessed … [Read more...]