The Salmon Arm native’s athletic ambitions were abruptly changed six years ago

Lily Brook was actively involved in sports growing up, playing everything from basketball to soccer, skiing and running cross country; however, that changed when she was diagnosed with osteochondritis in her ankles as an 11-year-old.

The joint condition is usually correctable with surgery, but after multiple attempts, Brook decided to move her focus to adaptive sports.

“I had my second surgery about a year after the first one, and that’s when my surgeon told me, ‘Hey, I’m sorry, so far, this surgery isn’t working, you’re still in the same spot’,” Brook recalled. “I was like, ‘Okay, I’m going to need more surgeries, and it’s going to take a long time.’

“That’s when I decided I needed to find something I could do because I was just done. I was like, ‘I need to do something’.”

With her focus shifted to adaptive sport, Brook first tried swimming and then boxing – wheelchair basketball introduced to her by the BC Wheelchair Basketball Society in Phys Ed class – eventually helped her with her boxing aspirations.

“My coaches were supportive in finding ways for me to adapt to boxing,” Brook explained. “Basically, I couldn’t stand and hit the bag because I’d lose my balance. I couldn’t do a lot at the time. Once wheelchair basketball came around, that’s when I thought, ‘Okay, let’s bring the wheelchair into boxing,’ and then I discovered that wheelchair boxing is a thing. My coach told me she could train me to be a wheelchair boxer and compete.”

During the pandemic, the Salmon Arm, B.C. native decided to get more involved with wheelchair basketball. She was regularly involved in Zoom sessions with coach Joe Higgins, but it wasn’t until the 2022 Women’s National Championship Festival at the Richmond Olympic Oval in Richmond, B.C. that Brook finally had a chance to test her skills on the court.

The 17-year-old was part of Team BC which defeated Quebec in the gold medal game.

“It was so awesome to finally get on the court and be with a team because when I first learned wheelchair basketball, I learned in my own bedroom, on a roller,” said Brook. “Being able to get on the court afterwards was such a reward.

“Being a part of such a great experience, and being invited to Women’s Nationals, was so cool. I also had my family there to watch as well. I worked so hard to get to that point, and finally getting there was really cool.”

With her first major competition under her belt, Brook aspires to represent B.C. at the upcoming Canada Games in Charlottetown, P.E.I. She also has her eyes on a roster spot on the Women’s Under 25 team.

Off the court, the Grade 12 student has big goals as well. Brook has applied to university for next fall with the hope of obtaining her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She plans to apply to med school and eventually become a surgeon.