Victoria athlete Deion Green is having a busy week in Ottawa. The national team member is playing in the 2015 Americas Wheelchair Basketball Challenge in Ottawa. Team Canada will be facing down rivals from Argentina, Brazil and the USA.
Green has been a resident of Victoria since 2006, when he and his family moved there from Winnipeg. His mom was actually born and raised in Victoria so he has deep roots in the city.
Green attended St. Andrews Regional High School from grade 10 to graduation.
Green says he got involved in wheelchair basketball by word of mouth. He says “All my friends were getting taller so it was becoming difficult to continue playing stand up basketball with them. So my mom was looking for a way for me to stay involved with the sport I loved so much. When she found out there was a wheelchair basketball league based out of Richmond she took me to check it out. Ever since that first day I discovered wheelchair basketball I've been in love with the sport and have now devoted my life to it. “
As a member of the national team Green has a grueling schedule. He trains Monday through Friday every week. He has on court practice from 8 a.m.-10 a.m. and another on court practice fin the afternoon. Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays he has weightlifting in between the practices.
Tuesdays and Thursday he has what he calls prehab between practices . Prehab consists of exercises his trainer has put together that focus on shoulder repair and health. This is an important part of his regime because wheelchair basketball is quite rough on the shoulders.
When asked what the high point of his careers has been Green says “making Team Canada two years in a row now. The largest competition I will play in so far as a member of the National Team will be the PanAm Games this coming summer.”
He says his teammates teammates inspire him. “I see the love and dedication they have for the sport even after years and years of playing. Some of my teammates have been on the National Team for 10+ years and haven't lost the passion even a little bit. Many of my teammates have gold medals from previous Paralympics and every time I've seen one all I can think to myself "I got to get me one" and I know I can only do that through hard work.”
Green is looking ahead to this summer when Toronto hosts the PanAm games. He says the games will be the team’s biggest challenge this year. “Team Canada needs to place first or second in the games in order to qualify for the ParOlympics in 2016. We have been training extremely hard towards that goal and feel quit confident we can achieve it. We are more of a rookie team than we have been in the past, so team bonding and trust is still developing. But with our hard work and dedication I have no doubts we will make it to the level we need to be at to come out on top as the first place team at the PanAm Games.” Green said.