Shooting hoops, living the dream

South Osborne

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/09/2023 (996 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Bethany Johnson originally took up wheelchair basketball because of a suggestion from her high school gym coach at the time, Dan Sylvestre. Following a slipped capital femoral epiphysis, the high school student was in a wheelchair full-time. It just so happened that Sylvestre had ordered sports wheelchairs on the behalf of another student, and one was available to Johnson and she was able to start to play.

Now, at the age of 21, she’s taking part in national camps and currently resides in Illinois on a scholarship, playing for the University of Illinois team.

At press time, Johnson — who is originally from South Osborne — was waiting to hear back about a potential spot in the international 2023 IWBF Women’s World Championship in Bangkok, Thailand, having been one of 13 Canadian players to take part in and be scouted during Wheelchair Basketball Canada’s national Women’s Under-25 Camp in Richmond, B.C.

From Aug. 15 to 19, the players practised, participated in off-course activities, and went up against Japan’s U25 team. The week was capped off by a feature game on Friday, which was open to the public.

From her place in the United States, Johnson commended on the camaraderie present among the players and the opportunity to pass around different skills.

“It was a great time,” she said. “This group of girls hasn’t been together for too long. The first time we came together was March of this year. But, I think we’ve gelled really quickly. They’re good kids. (Most of them are) a pretty young crew, and they’re learning quickly. You can see that everybody’s really happy to be there and proud to be able to represent Canada at that level.”

Johnson is a class 4.0 player, meaning she can protect the ball from opponents, catch rebounds, and shoot offence. She aims to play professionally for a while, eventually in the Paralympic Games.

She describes wheelchair basketball as the “chess of the sporting world,” as there’s always something new to learn, master, or improve on.

“You can never fully master this,” she said. “Even the best in the world will tell you that. There’s still stuff they’re improving on, (or) stuff they need to get better at or need to learn again.”

Johnson is very sociable, and speaks with a chill, calm attitude. Although it can get competitive, she describes the sport in a similar vein.

“There’s a couple of things that would stand out for anyone that plays (wheelchair basketball), really,” she said. “Just how welcoming the community is around the sport. You could go anywhere in Canada, with your team, and after your first couple of times, everybody knows you and everybody’s happy to see you.

“It’s just a really awesome community that we have up in Canada, just because it’s small, tight knit, but it’s big enough to get some real competition going on. You play a team, and then you go out for dinner with them afterwards.”

Even on an international level, Johnson recalled, when mentioning the Japanese team.

“(It was fun) to be around completely new players,” she explained. “They were just so appreciative of everything that Canada was able to offer them in their week here. (They were) really kind people, and they were able to push our training to another level that I wasn’t really expecting. I don’t think any of us were, we didn’t know what to expect from them, coming in. So they were just great to have there.”

The 2023 IWBF Women’s World Championship is set to take place Oct. 3 to 9. More information can be found online at wheelchairbasketball.ca