Disappointment doesn’t always fuel success. But it often is one of the road markers along the parade route.
When Burnaby’s Amanda Yan fell short of making the national women’s wheelchair basketball team for the Parapan Am Games last year, she didn’t throw in the towel but instead upped the ante.
And today, she’s packing and ready to roll onto the floor and represent Canada at the 2016 Rio Paralympics this September after being among 12 selected for the games.
The goal of representing Canada has been front and centre for the Burnaby Central alum for a handful of years, not long after rediscovering the joy of competition and sporting challenge that seemed lost following a 2008 snowboarding accident.
“I have loved the sport since I tried it for the first time at GF Strong Rehab Centre,” Yan recalled. “I grew up watching the Olympics on TV every two years, I always admired the athletes and I never would have thought a Paralympic games were in the cards for me.
“As soon as my coaches told me I had to the potential to go far in the sport and make it to Rio, I knew I had to take on this endeavour and give it my best. This was an experience of a lifetime; a small handful of people are fortunate enough to get a taste of this rare opportunity, and I was not about to give that up.”
But when she wasn’t on the 2015 roster for the Toronto Parapan Am Games, it was gut-check time. Disappointment was soon replaced by determination, as she chose to make a drastic change to get back on track.
“It was heartbreaking year for me. I knew if I wanted to reach my goal of playing in the Rio Paralympics, I had to make a change. A big one at that.”
In September 2015, she moved to Toronto to train at the Wheelchair Basketball Canada National Academy alongside the nation’s best male and female wheelchair athletes.
Yan, who has taken every challenge before her with the mindset of an athlete, emerged and reclaimed a spot on the national team. She is one of 10 national team members who carried Canada to gold at the 2014 world championships, and that experience is a binding force.
“I believe this gives us an upper hand advantage in Rio. We have trained and competed with each other for several years now, and we know how to play to each player’s strengths,” said Yan. “Our coach would always say, ‘We caught lightning in a bottle.’ (The) world championships was an extremely difficult and gratifying feat. We poured truckloads of hard work, blood, sweat and tears on and off the court.
“We did it once, and we know what it takes to do it again to earn our spot on that golden podium.”
Sports has always been a huge factor in her life, as a kid playing road hockey with the neighbours to skating figure eights at the local rink. At school, Yan was into basketball, soccer and volleyball, where her 5-foot-4 size was an asset at libero.
While her life was altered forever by the 2008 snowboarding accident, which left her paralyzed from the waist down, with the help and support of many she put herself on a path with a familiar purpose – playing sports at an elite level.
“To wear the red and white colours and represent Canada is truly a tremendous honour,” she said. “I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunities open to me through amazing programs by non-profit organizations B.C. Wheelchair Basketball and B.C. Wheelchair Sports. These are the organizations that helped me discover the sport and inevitably get me to where I am today. ... I’m living proof of the example that shows how important grassroots sports really are.”
At the Wheelchair Basketball national academy, Yan endured and embraced the rigors of training. Always framed by the end goal of the Paralympics, she emerged better prepared for the tough challenges ahead.
“I grew a few extra layers of skin, literally and figuratively – my hands feel like leather now, and I have a tougher exterior. While training 20 hours on court each week, some weeks were more grueling than others. …
“I’m extremely competitive like many of my teammates. It’s quite entertaining to watch a group of national team players play any board or card game.”
Wheelchair basketball is her central focus, but Yan has excelled in other sports in recent years.
In 2012 she won a national title in women’s shotput and placed second in women’s wheelchair tennis, both singles and doubles, at the national championships.
With the team named, all that’s left is the detailed preparation. While others may sweat the small stuff, Yan says it’s her nature to be poised for the journey well ahead of time.
“I’m the super-prepared-has-everything-in-her-backpack-ready-to-fight-the-next-zombie-apocalypse type of player. My teammates sometimes play the game, ‘Do you have?’ and they would take turns asking, ‘Do you have…’ More often than not, I usually have it.”
As someone who wears her emotions on her sleeve and who has openly written about her journey struggling through the recesses of depression following her accident, Yan will approach Rio as an open book. Her thrill at being in the game will be there for all to see.
“I really don’t have the greatest game face. I want to exude intimidation and fear into the eyes of my opponents, but what I think I give off is more like the subtle look of, ‘Wheeeeeeeee – this is fun! Do you want to be my friend?’
“This is why I don’t play poker. I wouldn’t be able to bluff my way out of anything.”
The Rio Paralympic Games run Sept. 7 to 18.
