SASKATOON – A former University of Saskatchewan Huskies player is leaving her mark on Canadian wheelchair basketball.
The Wheelchair Basketball World Championships are set for June in Toronto.
Canada announced its roster on Monday and Erica Gavel is one of 12 athletes who will be representing her country.
Gavel was with the U of S Huskies from 2009 to 2012 but injuries derailed her basketball career; until she took up wheelchair basketball in November 2012.
The Prince Albert product is now on a five-year scholarship at the University of Alabama and says a conversation with her former Huskies coach, Lisa Thomaidis, convinced her she could make it to the top level of the sport.
“Pretty much got this idea that if I crushed out the next nine months that I felt my chances were pretty good at making the National Team,” said Gavel.
“And Thomaidis said I guess anything in possible. So, anything really is possible. It’s been a really phenomenal experience.”
Thomaidis is proud of what her former player has already accomplished.
“She had so many obstacles and so many things to overcome in the course of her career here, trying to play with the Huskies and she was a great member of our team,” said Thomaidis.
“For her to go on and have a new focus as far as making that wheelchair team, (I) couldn’t be more proud of her.”
It’s hard to believe that Gavel has gone from a rookie in the sport just 14 months ago, to earning a spot on the national team.
After numerous knee injuries threatened to end her athletic career, Gavel is now closing in on a new goal; making Team Canada’s roster for the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
“To have the opportunity to practice every single day since I started playing wheelchair and travel the world and have a chance at winning an Olympic gold medal is just super surreal and overwhelming,” said Gavel.
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