WBB: TWolves alum Dandeneau chasing ParaPan Am Gold
She is one of the greatest to ever wear the University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves colours, and now she is in pursuit of a gold medal. Kady Dandeneau, who played with UNBC Women’s basketball from 2007 to 2013, is in Lima, Peru competing at the ParaPan American Games in wheelchair basketball.
“Being a Timberwolf was one of the best decisions I ever made. There are so many great things about the UNBC program. Great coaches, great staff, great instructors. The support of the fans in the city of Prince George is unparalleled. You really don’t see that anywhere else. That is what makes playing for the Timberwolves such a unique experience.”
“Kady has a passion for all things basketball including training to win and winning. I have so much respect for her to have accomplished what she did in stand up,” said Dandeneau’s coach at UNBC, Loralyn Murdoch. “She made two appearances at Nationals and was a National All-Star with her knee injuries. Her mental toughness to come back time after time with every setback is unheard of.”
“I wasn’t ready to give up basketball. My stand-up career was over, but I started looking into wheelchair basketball. I was terrible at the start.”
"It has just made it a lot easier to kind of accept the fact that I probably won't play standup again - it's just nice to be able to play a competitive sport again, especially because it is basketball. It's very awesome to have that competitive outlet again and be a part of a team again. Being around like-minded athletes is great. I'm happy about that."
“It’s a big tournament for us, because it is the qualifier for the 2020 Games in Tokyo. We have to place top two in order to qualify, so this is a really big deal for us. We are trying to compete hard and do Canada proud.”
“It is an honour to get to represent Canada. You couldn’t really ask for more as an athlete. These are the opportunities you dream about. It is surreal to get to be a part of this. I feel really lucky to represent my country doing what I love. I don’t think it gets much better than that.
“Kady is a fantastic teammate. She brings a lot of love and laughter into the locker room and is someone I now consider a friend. I’m not surprised she’s wearing the maple leaf on her chest and representing Canada. This is her dream and she really does accomplish whatever she puts her mind to. I really could not be more proud that she is a Timberwolf, and we will be cheering her on this week.”
“I am really proud to be a Timberwolf. Watching the current teams and what they’re doing; it is brilliant. It is so awesome to see the current athletes. I would tell each of them to keep doing what they’re doing, because it is so amazing to see their hard work culminating in success.”