The Winnipeg native is hoping to take on more of a leadership role in 2024
Matthew Wilton first discovered wheelchair basketball while driving around Winnipeg with his mother. Wilton was in the car when they went past a Team Manitoba practice outside a local library and decided to try the sport.
“I went out and tried it and met many of the staples of our team that I’ve been with for a long time, such as Bethany Johnson,” Wilton recalled. “I just remember trying it out for the first time, and it was a lot of fun.”
Wilton, born with spine bifida, has tried other parasports such as swimming, archery, and fencing but has always returned to his first love: wheelchair basketball.
“It doesn’t seem to matter which parasport I try; I always come back to wheelchair basketball,” he said. “As weird as it may sound, wheelchair basketball is the hardest parasport I’ve ever tried, and I enjoy that challenge.”
Wilton started playing wheelchair basketball when he was nine and met Joey Johnson in 2014 when the Team Canada alum helped him design his first sport chair.
Though it wasn’t until 2016 when Wilton decided to focus seriously on his wheelchair basketball game, Johnson has been a mentor for years.
“There’s an absolute ton to learn from Joey,” Wilton said. “He has a strong basketball sense that he’s acquired over the years. He’s intuitive about pacing, and I’ve been trying to pick that up as much as possible from him, along with other information that he has just stockpiled over the years.”
The 20-year-old counts the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, Alta. as his first significant wheelchair basketball tournament. Wilton was part of Team Manitoba which finished seventh.
For Wilton, his first Canada Games experience was significant.
“I’d love to say I just rolled out there and killed it, but it was overwhelming,” he said. “It was crazy. After that, it’s only gotten crazier, but I’ve gotten better and stronger, and now Canada Games is fun. It’s not stressful at all anymore. It’s crazy just how the perspective shifts over the years.”
The Winnipeg native competed at the 2023 Canada Winter Games in Charlottetown, P.E.I., where Manitoba improved to fourth.
Wilton said he’s seen tremendous growth in his game in the four years since his first Canada Games experience.
“I don’t think 2019 Matthew has any chance in a ‘1v1’ – I think he’s getting cooked every day,” Wilton laughed. “It’s been a very cool experience just kind of growing up with everyone around me and getting better at the sport alongside everyone and continuing to get better.”
Internationally, Wilton represented Team Canada at the IWBF Americas Under-23 qualifier in 2022, where Canada won bronze and qualified for the Men’s U23 World Championship.
Wilton was also part of the men’s team that placed 10th at the IWBF Men’s U23 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Thailand.
“First international experience was the Mexico qualifier. It was unbelievable wearing the red and white,” said Wilton. “When I joined the qualifying team, I was pretty green still; I felt it in terms of truly competitive play – I was playing catch up, learning as much as I absolutely could from guys such as Garrett Ostepchuk and Ben Hagkull.”
As Wilton prepares for the 2024 season, he’s also preparing to take on more of a leadership role with Team Manitoba.
Wilton will be a part of the Manitoba team that competes at the 2024 Junior West Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Regina, Saskatchewan. The 3-on-3 tournament will feature the top Under-24 talent in Canada as provinces prepare to compete at the 2027 Canada Winter Games.
“We’re prepping for another Canada Games cycle with Team Manitoba. We’re just trying to get our crew as prepared as possible – faster, stronger, better every day,” he said. “I started this sport when I was so young. It feels like it was just yesterday. But I’ve been to many events now, and I’ve played a lot of wheelchair basketball. I think I’ve slowly grown into the leadership role, and I have to say I feel prepared.”
Off the court, Wilton is weighing his options and considering following fellow Manitoban Josh Brown down to the United States to continue his education and play wheelchair basketball.