By: Justine Jones
Chad Jassman has always been the adventurous type, and he hasn’t let the pandemic stop him.
The veteran player is known for his hardworking, feisty playing style and this thrill-seeking translates to his off-court personality.
During the lockdown, Jassman has been participating in a virtual reality video game league to get his fill of action.
“That was one of the things that I needed the most, some sort of competition of winning and losing,” said Jassman via Zoom on Wednesday. “You have to communicate with your team, and work as a team. One guy just can’t do it, so I relate it a little to basketball.”
After being cut two years in a row from the Senior Men’s National Team, the Alberta native eventually cracked the squad in 2009. Two Parapan American silver medals and a Paralympic gold medal later, Jassman remains a prominent and charismatic member of the team.
“When I came in I was a little fiery puppy and just one of the young guys and now I look around the room and I’m like, ‘Oh man I’m old, so I better act it,’” said Jassman. “I joke with the young guys and I probably bug them more than the rest of the people. I have this kind of different relationship with them just because I’m leading in a different type of way.”
In addition to his mentorship role on the Senior Men’s National Team, Jassman is also a strong contributor in his local wheelchair basketball community.
The 37-year-old is the head coach of the Calgary Rollers women’s club team. During his first season in 2017, they won the Canadian Wheelchair Basketball League Women’s National Championship. Jassman says his approach to coaching is drastically different than his on-court persona.
“As a player I’ll take a technical foul from time to time,” said Jassman. “Then coaching, I don’t think I’ve ever taken a technical foul, I’m just like super chill. I’m like a player’s coach, pretty easy to get along with because I’ve been through it all on the player’s side.”
As the upcoming Tokyo Games may be the veteran’s last Paralympics, Jassman says the pandemic has given him insight on how his life may look when he retires from wheelchair basketball.
The Canadian has used time during the lockdown to explore other hobbies such as skiing, mountain biking, and aviation. While Jassman plans to pursue these adventures in retirement, he insists he will remain involved in wheelchair basketball.
“This year just really resonated that I need it,” said Jassman. “I’m going to go do other things beyond basketball when I’m done basketball but I’ll always be coaching I’ll always be playing in a recreational like local level. You’ll see me around wheelchair basketball, as long as I’m still around.”