After her injury, representing Canada in wheelchair basketball quickly became a goal
When Arinn Young was first introduced to wheelchair basketball following her injury, earning a spot with the Senior Women’s National Team and Wearing the Leaf, representing Canada quickly became goals.
Growing up in Legal, Alta., watching both the summer and winter Olympics was a regular occurrence in Young’s home, with her dad explaining sports and pointing out who to watch.
Sidney Crosby’s golden goal at the 2010 Olympics is the moment that stands out for Young, who grew up playing everything from lacrosse and basketball to competing in equestrian.
“It was always a dream to represent Canada,” said Young. “Once I got hurt, I was introduced to the National Team; as soon as I met coaches, it was a dream of mine. Instantly, I knew I was going to represent Canada. I knew I was going to go to the Paralympics. I knew I would do all these things as soon as I was introduced to the national team.”
Once focused on wheelchair basketball, Young had no shortage of mentors from whom to draw inspiration. Everyone from Tara Feser and Karla Tritten to Danielle Peers offered advice to their fellow Albertan.
“I had a lot of great retired Canadian National team athletes in the Alberta program, telling me, ‘Hey, if you stay with the sport, you can do all of these things’,” Young recalled. “They talked about university, going to play pro in Europe, the Paralympic Games, and World Championships.
“They all had a huge impact on me, saying, ‘If you stick with this, this is what can happen,’ and it just ignited that competitive spirit again.”
Following her injury in 2012, Young transitioned from stand-up basketball to wheelchair basketball and made her senior national team debut in 2014.
Though young and inexperienced in the sport, Young helped Canada win gold at the 2014 Women’s World Championship in Toronto.
“My mind couldn’t comprehend how fortunate I was to start at that time and at that level,” Young explained. “The team rallied around each other, and we were like, ‘We’re about to prove everyone wrong.’ In every game, we proved people wrong.
“It was one of the coolest experiences because it was all 12 of us pushing that rock. I got zero minutes in that gold medal final, but when that final buzzer went, I still can’t comprehend how awesome it was and all my emotions. It’s still one of my career highlights and top experiences.”
While Young’s goal was to make Team Canada and represent the country in international competitions, getting the opportunity to wear the jersey for the first time at Toronto’s Mattamy Athletic Centre was a bigger experience than she anticipated.
“I got butterflies, I got goosebumps, and I was like, ‘Wow, this is so much bigger than what I thought I would ever do’,” she said.
“I think now that I’m older, I’m getting those feelings again because I don’t know how much longer I will play. Every opportunity I get to wear the Canada jersey is awesome because it takes me back to 2014 when I was starting.”
Since wearing the leaf at the 2014 Women’s Worlds, Young made her Paralympic debut at the 2016 Games, represented Canada at Tokyo 2020, and appeared in two other World Championships.
Each time she gets to wear her country’s colours is a unique experience for the 28-year-old.
“It’s still incredibly special, because I know this will not be my whole life,” said Young. “This is just a very small part of who I am. I’m just very proud and honoured to continue to get to represent Canada. When I do get to put the jersey on and go on court, I don’t really have much going on in my head except just giving it everything I got.”