BC Wheelchair Basketball’s top Canada Games prospects are at training camp next week as they prepare for the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, Alberta.
Chilliwack’s own Ben Hagkull will travel to Pender Island for the camp, which starts Monday and continues through Friday.
“This camp will feature some outdoor activities that will challenge the athletes and help build the team dynamic that will in-turn help us on the court when the competitive season begins,” said coach Simon Cass.
Hagkull is joined by Ben Garrett (Abbotsford), Joel Ewert (Prince George), Derek Jezewsky (Kamloops), Ryleigh Bissenden (Victoria), Matt Norris (Maple Ridge), Tanner Jung (Langley), Joel Aukema (Langley), Lannette Boland (Pender Island), Nicholas van Bakel (Pender Island), Gabriel Harrison, Pender Island, Megan Smith (Vancouver), and Thomas Venos (Port Coquitlam).
Throughout the winter season, the players have been participating in tournaments with their BC-Canadian Wheelchair Basketball League teams.
They’ve played in a few additional junior-aged tournaments, including the B.C. Winter Games and the Junior National Championships where Hagkull’s Team B.C. finished in fifth place.
Hagkull is one of the team’s veteran players, and Cass is looking to him for leadership on and off the court.
“We are a young team with great potential,” Cass observed. “It is our plan to build off the fifth-place finish at nationals and continue to grow our game and develop the players so that they are ready to take on the other strong provinces at the Canada Winter Games.
Following this camp, the team will attend more camps and tournaments throughout the province, leading into the Canada Winter Games test event in December.
The real games run Feb. 15 to March 3.
See bcwbs.ca for more info.