SASKATOON – It’s a dream most Canadians can only imagine, a chance to don the red and white to represent the country on an international stage.
That dream has come true for one Saskatoon athlete.
Mitchell Bossaer enjoys hitting the court and knocking down baskets.
The game of basketball changed for the 18-year-old in 2008 when he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, the most common form of bone cancer. He required surgery on his right leg that June.
In November 2009 the cancer came back in one of his lungs.
“It was really hard, just realizing that I couldn’t do what I used to do be able to do and that it was just the reality but I needed that drive to compete gain,” said Bossaer.
Wheelchair basketball was the most natural fit. His first time back on the hardwood in a wheelchair was at the Saskatoon YWCA.
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Former national wheelchair basketball player Lisa Franks introduced him to the game.
“Compared to the kid I met a few years ago who was really, really shy, wasn’t an outgoing personality but now to see him the way he carries himself, it’s just the sport that has done it and the confidence has come out because of the things he’s achieved through sport,” said Fransk, who is now a wheelchair basketball coach.
Bossaer has been cancer free for almost three years. Since wheeling around the court just before turning 16, he’s not only excelled provincially but nationally.
He will be representing Team Canada once again next month in Turkey at the World Junior Championships.
“Even the first time I wore that jersey it really didn’t dawn on me until after, I’m at the pinnacle of my sport for my age in my country and it’s amazing, you really can’t replicate that feeling with anything else,” said Bossaer.
“If you asked me before I got diagnosed about what I’d be doing in the next four years, I definitely wouldn’t have fathomed that I would be doing this.”
Bossaer and Team Canada open up the world tournament on Sept. 7 against South Africa.
Three players from Saskatchewan are representing Canada at the World Junior Championships in Turkey.
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