Sisler Spartan has bright future

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This article was published 25/04/2016 (3669 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

She’s the best girls ‘basketball player in Manitoba, and she’s leaving high school with a bright future in the sport.  

Even more remarkable is Kyanna Giles just kind of fell into the game.

“I never thought I’d get to where I’m at. No. Not in a million years,” said the Sisler Spartans basketball star.

“My sport was actually softball and track and field. I don’t know how I came into it, really. But I liked it and kept with it.”

Giles was named the AAAA female player of the year at the Basketball Manitoba Awards on April 16 at Victoria Inn. It was the third year in a row she won the award.

“It’s always nice to go out on a high note. In Grade 10 and 11, it was unexpected but in Grade 12, I really pushed for the award,” Giles said.

Giles has had nothing short of a storied high school career. Along with her three player of the year nods, she’s helped the Spartans’ varsity girls team to back-to-back provincial championships. And come fall, she’ll be looking to her next challenge at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) level a province over in Regina.

Giles’s decision to commit to the University of Regina Cougars satisfied her want to move away from home and start her own adventure.

“Their coach has been in contact with me for quite a while. He built a great bond with me and I can trust him with everything,” Giles said.

“Regina was just a great fit.”

Giles said Sisler varsity girl’s basketball coach Michael Tan was a big reason for her and her team’s success. Tan received the AAAA girl’s coach of the year award from Basketball Manitoba.

“I think Mike is a big part of it,” she said. “He pushes us hard in practice, starts practice early and has us always going 100 per cent. He’s also always getting us to bond as a team, he always has activities to do to get to know each other better.”

“I’ve known her since she was in Grade 6,” Tan said. “She doesn’t take things too seriously, but when it comes down to the big games, she’s one of those kids you don’t worry about. She shows up.”

Giles “showed up” in this past season’s provincial finals, netting 41 points in a 94-68 win over Vincent Massey Collegiate.

For Giles, the key to her progression as a player comes down to working on her ability to lead.

“I needed to be vocal with the younger girls and set a tone that they could follow,” she said. “They looked up to me, so I needed to set an example so they could follow.”

Another key to her success has been her twin sister Kyia, who was named to the female all-Manitoba team.

“Playing with her, she’s my backbone. She’s there when I need her to be there,” Giles said. “It’s always good to have that support, not just your teammate but your own blood.”
Inseparable on and off the court, Kyia will be joining her sister at the University of Regina.

“We’ve been playing eight, nine years together,” Giles said. “It just comes naturally to us.”