Megan chronicles her journey from growing up in Vancouver and discovering adaptive sports to winning Canada Games gold and earning a roster spot on the Senior National Team in this month’s Athlete Spotlight presented by Toyota

I was never really a city person, so growing up in Vancouver wasn’t my ideal place, but my family is really great, and we would find the time to go up to Whistler or go camping and do other activities outside of the city.

Vancouver’s many parks, such as Stanley Park, were always great places to visit. We loved to travel to the Sunshine Coast and Victoria. I have family in Victoria, and this is the place for me and the place I have been recently training.

I was born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, which causes weakness in my lower legs. I started using a day chair after entering high school since it is easier and faster to get around. The symptoms of my condition are different for every person. It is very rare, so there’s little research on it, but I’m comfortable, happy and healthy. My condition and its symptoms progressed as I got older. Medical doctors didn’t find the complete diagnosis until 2017, but now it’s stable.

I have an older sister; she is three years older than me. I’m close to her. Over the years, our relationship has changed now that we live apart, but we are close. I can rely on her a lot, and she always supports my path. She is working on getting into a Master’s program in physiotherapy or occupational therapy.

Introduction to sport

My first introduction to sports was through Marni Abbott-Peter when I was about five or six years old. I went to an event where I could try various adaptive sports, and Marni was running it.

I remember I didn’t want to go to the event. I did not want anything to do with sports. I was into horseback riding but didn’t want to do anything in the adaptive sports world.

I didn’t want to be different, and I do not remember my family participating in any team sports, so I did not have any prior experience in sports. I am the only one in my family that’s ever really participated in basketball. My sister played some sports in high school but not competitive or outside of school. Her great passion was dance.  So, I think my hesitation about trying adaptive sports came from not understanding how much fun it would be. I started to do more recreational adaptive sports and even tried tennis. I got more experience with wheelchair basketball in the early days by working with Nadine Barbisan and Makiko Harada.

I realized I wanted to pursue wheelchair basketball seriously after my second BC Games in 2018. That’s when I started to get to know Simon Cass a bit better, and he invited me to my first Canada Games camp. That’s when I first saw that the level was a lot more competitive and that there was room for me to improve, so it made me want to play and prove to everyone that I could play at that level.

Simon significantly improved my game to the point where I travelled to Victoria to train with him full-time. He has been the greatest coach I could ever ask for. He’s always pushing me – couldn’t ask for a better coach.

2019 Canada Games

The 2019 Canada Games experience was nerve-racking. I didn’t play as much since I was new to the team, but it was exciting, and it made me want to push harder to one day make Team Canada at some point and play at a higher level with Team BC.

The 2019 Canada Games was my first big competition outside of BC. I remember being upset at how cold it was in Red Deer; it was like -40. I also remember how excited I was to represent BC and play a sport I love, and my family came out to watch. It was great. I played with high-level BC athletes like Ben Hagkull and Joel Ewert – it was great to learn from them. Simon and Tim Frick were there too.

Choosing a career path

I completed my second year of the therapeutic recreation program at Douglas College in Vancouver and decided to take this year off.

I’m now looking into the Kinesiology program at Camosun College in Victoria. I’m also looking at universities in the States. I want to continue my education and play basketball, so the States might be the best option.

Kinesiology is funny because many of my family and friends are Occupational Therapists or Physical Therapists. My sister hopes to enter the profession; my mom is a Physiotherapist, and my aunt is a Physiotherapist. I have an aunt who is an Occupational Therapist and a cousin in Victoria, who is an OT. So Kinesiology almost runs through my blood.

One day, I would like to work in Rehabilitation Therapy or Recreational Therapy.  My special interest is, of course, adaptive sport. I have tried some coaching too.

2023 Canada Games

It was amazing to wrap up my final Canada Games with a gold medal and with the team I started with and the coaches I started with.  Marni was beside me when I first started playing wheelchair basketball when I was six, and she was there when I won gold for the first time. It was amazing. I never cried so much in my life.

Going undefeated from the 2022 Junior Nationals through to the Canada Games, I think we tweaked our game a little bit, but honestly, I think we just went in with the mindset that if we want to win, we have to do the work, and it’s not just the coaches, it’s the whole team. Plus, once you get a taste of a gold medal victory, you want another, and we knew we had the talent. We knew we could do it and needed to put in the work and play our best. We also won because we had fun doing it, which helped us push harder and play more.

Earning a roster spot on the Senior Women’s National Team

I learned I had made the Senior Women’s National Team during the Toronto camp in April. It was not the reaction I thought I would have; I was very quiet. I think everyone expected me to have a bigger reaction since I wanted it so badly. But, I was so shocked that I was just like, ‘Awesome, cool,’ and then left the room. It was funny because Marni was, I think, expecting me to be more animated, but I was very like, ‘Yay!’

I was so surprised and happy; I really did not know what I was feeling.  I called my mom and dad immediately; I told them and then called Simon. Simon and I put in so much work towards it and making the team was impressive to me. It showed me how much work I’ve done and proved that I can keep doing it.

It was cool to be told I made my dream team by Marni, the coach who started me on this path. Tim and Marni started me on this path, pushed me, and encouraged Simon to train with me – I couldn’t ask for a better group of coaches.