Wow it’s been a wild summer, and it’s not even over yet. I had a pretty eventful June and July and I want to catch you all up about it. So, let’s start from the beginning of how I even ended up in Mexico.
How I Ended up in Mexico
It was a Sunday, and I was relaxing on the couch at the lake… I think I had just had brunch. I get a text pop up on my phone and it’s from my agent.
“Hey, I have an offer to join a team in Mexico for playoffs. They want to push to win the championship.” Or something along those lines.
It would have been easy to say no. I was enjoying my offseason and spending time with my family, and I was training to go to a team Canada camp in July. BUT the money was really good for like 2-4 weeks of work AND I could get in game shape to be ready for the team Canada camp that was super important to me. I really did consider saying no but then I thought why not?
I made sure it was in my contract to be able to leave for team Canada camp, and I agreed. I waited a few hours for the contract to come and by 6pm I had it printed and signed it after dinner with the family. Then the real craziness began.
I drove home from the lake, and waited for my flight info to come in. I started trying to pack and plan and I was just hoping my flight wasn’t first thing in the morning, so I’d have some time to get ready. Around 11pm I got my flight into and thankfully I didn’t leave until around 4pm. That gave me time to run a few errands the next morning, get some snacks and pack up.
I have never had such a whirlwind following signing a contract. I was on route to Mexico less than 24 hours after signing my contract.
From Crazy to Curveball
I thought the whole signing situation was crazy, but then my travel day was even more insane. I had to take three flights, including a red eye from Vancouver to Mexico City, to get to Guadalajara. I had two flight delays, saw a mouse running around the Vancouver airport, and my bag was lost. I finally got picked up in Guadalajara at 2pm the following day, ate some lunch and then went straight to practice… gotta love that overseas life. Thankfully, I had my basketball shoes and a few outfits in my carry-on, so I had some shoes to practice in, otherwise that could’ve been much worse.
I went into Mexico thinking I was going to be playing in games basically a few days after arriving, getting thrown into the fire. After I finished my first practice, I was thrown a curveball. I had a meeting with the coaches, and I was told that there were already four foreigners active on the roster… me being the fifth. What did that mean? That I was not playing, but I just had to stay ready in case I was activated. EXCUSE ME WHAT? In that case I should’ve just had a nap upon arrival, why did I have to practice on no sleep and all swollen and sore from travelling 22 hours haha? But in all seriousness, I was not expecting that.
I would have appreciated being told that information before I arrived or signed my contract, but maybe the team thought I wouldn’t sign? I don’t know, and I didn’t ask, but I guess that’s business sometimes. Unless someone got injured, or I was activated over another player (who would then have to sit to leave a space for me), I would just be practicing. Good news was that I was still getting paid… sooo I was a highly paid practice player haha.
For the next few weeks, I was able to adjust to the team, get to know all the girls, familiarize myself with the plays and systems of the team, and I ate a lot of amazing tacos and Mexican food. Not playing also gave me some time to work on my final papers for my second year of grad school, as I had three final papers due in July.
I was VERY stressed by school, but still managed to have so much fun in Mexico, even though I wasn’t playing. I credit that to my teammates; they are some amazing women. I never expected to bond with them and get to know them so quickly. All the Starbucks dates, late night taco runs, crazy nights out, laughs and jams on the bus, and the jokes in practice, those moments are what made my time in Mexico so great. Year after year, and season after season, I am continually blessed to meet amazing women and people from around the world, to get to work and play with them, and to call them my friends. Basketballs greatest gift to me has been the people!!! BY FAR.
After being in Mexico for two weeks is when I had been thrown another curve ball. I was in a routine of attending practices and just trying to stay in good shape, get reps up, and stay ready. Even if I didn’t play, I had a camp coming up in a few weeks I needed to be at my best for. I would work on my paper on game days and then watch the team play sitting on the sidelines in my polo. I won’t lie, it wasn’t easy to sit and watch. I wasn’t injured, and I wanted to be on the court. I love playing, that’s obviously the most fun part of the game. I knew I could help the team, but I also did not want someone to get injured for me to have the opportunity to play. I watched all four quarter final games from the sidelines and my team won that series three games to one.
The start of the semi-finals series was on the road, as that team was seeded higher than us. I knew my team was talented, we had great foreigners, but also some of the best players in Mexico as well. But I watched my team lose by 30 the first game of that series. The other team wasn’t better, our team just came out flat and the fans for the other team and the energy in the gym was crazy. They got knocked back to start the game and never were able to recover and close the gap. I was thinking to myself after that game, well maybe if the team loses the next game maybe I’ll get put in? Not sure for who, but I had my mind ready that I could be called upon in the coming days.
Sure enough, the next day I got a text to meet with the coaches before a team meeting. As soon as I saw the text I knew, because what other reason could this meeting be for? My intuition was right as I was told I would be playing that evening. I was excited but also anxious. I did feel ready and prepared though. I knew all the plays and I knew the other team’s strengths and weaknesses. I was just going to go in and play my game.
I was so happy to be back on the court. Really there is no other feeling than it I swear!! If you’ve been a high-level athlete you can relate, but if not, the best way I can describe it is that it’s like your whole body is heightened. There’s almost a buzz to it, you feel adrenaline and some butterflies, but your body and mind feel sharp and ready.
We were playing a pretty close game to start and I was being left wide open at the top of the key and the short corner. I always take those shots, and so that is what I did this game as well. Except none of them were falling, much like the game the night before where most of my teammates struggled to make shots as well. I’m blaming it on the rims haha. But even if you are missing, it’s literally our job to shoot. I always tell myself that percentages even out. You can’t shoot 10% or miss every shot forever, eventually you will get hot, the team will get hot, and more shots will start to fall. Especially because these were good shots. They were good shots because they were in the flow of the offense, and they were wide open shots.
Going into the second half I was something like 0/7 from the field. Not quite the start I had hoped for in my first game since season in Greece ended in mid-April. This time coming out of the locker room after halftime I told myself something different than I ever had before, and it turned out to be very helpful.
I said to myself,
“You are being paid to shoot, it’s your job, and you have to keep shooting.”
The game is supposed to be fun!! Just relax and keep playing your game. And in the second half some things fell into place. I still don’t think I hit a single jump shot that game, but I didn’t miss a layup either. I had more opportunities to get to the basket and finish on some post moves and transition buckets. From there I was able to find some of my teammates cutting to the basket as well. We won by 1 point on the road in a crazy loud gym and it was the best feeling. I felt like I was BACK.
From there you might think, oh okay so you started playing and then ended up winning a championship, smooth sailing. But there are still more crazy curveballs to explain that happened behind the scenes.
Zona Sur
With the series tied 1-1 we headed home for two games at home to try to close the series. The first game at home I was finally hitting shots. I felt on fire and finished with 17 points. We ended up extending our lead in the second half and winning by around 20. Now up 2-1 we only needed to win on Saturday to win the south zone championship and move on to the finals.
But before Saturday’s game came around, more like Friday night, I realized something was wrong. In the game I felt a bit of pain in my left knee. It felt sore and it was a nagging annoying kind of pain, but it was nothing major. I kept trying to shake my leg out and work it out when I was on the bench, but it kept bothering me. Let’s say it was like a 2/10 for pain, but more annoying than anything. I also had a bit of a red mark just above my knee as well. Did I get hit in the leg? Did someone land on it when we all fell on the floor? NO CLUE, but after the game it only progressively got worse. During a game I can barely feel anything at all because I am warmed up and locked in, but as I started to cool down and the adrenaline stopped pumping, my knee got fatter and way more painful.
It woke me up multiple times that night, and the next morning I had a very swollen knee that I could barely walk on. What the hell had happened? I saw the physio and tried to do as much stem and ice as I could during shoot around. I knew this was a hugely important game that we needed to win, and I wanted to play. My left knee has swollen up in the past, but it was never accompanied by so much pain and that is what scared me. Knees in general scare me, as I’ve had three knee surgeries in the past. My knees actually hadn’t been bothering me in over a year, but now here I was, confused and unable to extent or bend my leg very much at all.
I met with the team doctor, and she used an ultrasound machine to look at my knee, there was some fluid but not that much according to the doctor. This was weird because my knee felt so HUGE to me. She would check back in with me before the game to see if the swelling was worse or better and if I would need my knee drained. I had it set in my mind that I would at least TRY to play and hopefully be able to help the team in some way.
Game time came around and I was tired and anxious. The doctor didn’t think there was much swelling to drain out and gave me some pain pills to have and then I tried to warm up. It went from bad to worse. At first, I thought maybe as I warmed up I’d be better and be able to bend my leg more, but it only got progressively more and more painful the more I went through warm up. I was in a lot of pain and feeling very defeated and trying to hold back tears. I had to go back to the training room and it was then the doctor decided we were going to drain the knee and inject some painkillers. The smartest idea? Probably not, but I had to try everything I could before sitting out.
The doctor then ran to the pharmacy as I laid on the training table trying to remain cool and calm. She returned just as the game was starting. She drained syringes of blood (yes multiple) out of my knee and put some lidocaine in and I had my eyes closed and focused on deep breaths. I don’t like needles and I especially don’t like needles going in and out of my knee over and over. She told me I would have four hours of feeling no pain. It WORKED, and my knee felt fantastic compared to the 20 minutes before when I was trying to run. It also felt a lot less tight as there was now less fluid in my knee.
I ran out to the court as the first quarter was ending to see my team already up by 20 points. I was so incredibly happy to see that. I had no idea if this was going to be a nailbiter of a game or what would happen. Knowing that they had it under control took so much anxiety off of me and I knew that me not playing wasn’t going to affect the game too much. I did play in the game and played well, but in hindsight I probably should’ve sat that one out. By halftime the pain started coming back into my knee, but it wasn’t bad at all, just not completely pain free for four hours like the doctor had predicted. I played well, and we extended our lead to around 30 points in the game. Everyone got to play and it was an awesome team win for us.
At the end of the game, we had officially won the south zone (zona sur champs)! We got t-shirts, hats and a trophy. Then the confetti started falling down and it was a euphoric feeling. I had never experienced confetti before. My only other championship was in high school like a decade ago haha. I didn’t care how my knee felt at that moment, I was just soaking it all in with my teammates and celebrating with our home fans. I did a snow angel in the confetti, took a million photos and loved every minute of it. We celebrated in the locker room, had beers in the ice bath, and were greeted by more fans outside after leaving the gym as well.
My knee was sore that night, but it wasn’t until the next morning that the lack of improvement meant I needed an MRI to see what was really going on. I thought it might be my meniscus and I was scared. I tried to stay calm and just wait and see before freaking out, but that’s not really easy for me. I immediately thought not only about this short season in Mexico, but also team Canada and my season in Greece. The last thing I wanted was another knee surgery and rehab process.
Who Hates Knees? Me
The results were not as bad as I feared, but it wasn’t great either. Something had caused my knee to bleed and swell. There was swelling on my ACL and that was what most concerning to the doctor, and to me as well. I know I can’t live in a bubble and that injuries happen. I never step on the court thinking of injuries or what MIGHT happen, I just try to have fun and enjoy playing the game, but I also am not dumb. If pushing through this meant I was putting myself at a higher risk to injure my ACL further, there’s no way I could risk that.
Regardless of the internal swelling by my ACL I also wasn’t in a place to even run or even walk normally yet either. I needed to get full range of motion back into my knee and full strength as well. Curveball…the doctor figured that would take about 2 weeks. Well shit… team Canada camp was in a week. The whole reason I went to Mexico was to get into game shape so that I could be at my best for the national team. Now I didn’t know what would happen, but I knew I was going to need time to get back to playing, maybe not two weeks but at least one week to be able to move and play again.
My team doctor in Mexico and the team doctor for the Canadian team discussed and decided it would be best for me to stay in Mexico and rehab. I was pretty upset, but I knew it was the right move, because the risk was too high to be pushing myself the way I wanted to in camp. It was only four days of training and would be pretty intense, so doing that on a hurt knee would not be ideal. Still, it really hurt seeing the other women there playing when that’s exactly where I wanted to be and had worked the first half of the summer preparing for. The timing of that sucked, but I just hoped I would get another opportunity later in the summer to train/tryout/play with the national team.
The Finals
In Mexico, we were gearing up for finals. We had two games on the road to start the seven-game final series. I was at physio twice a day every day, doing treatments like ultrasound, stem and ice, massage, and tons of rehab exercises to work on my extension and flexion, balance, and strength. I was TIRED and I was sore, but I felt my knee getting stronger again. (Shout out to the physiotherapist, he really helped me so much both physically and mentally). The swelling was subsiding, and it hadn’t returned. This was great to see but I still wasn’t 100% and I didn’t feel fully confident planting and pushing off my knee. Finals were waiting for no one, so I traveled with the team to Chihuahua for game 1 and 2 of the finals.
I felt a ton of pressure from the club to play. My teammates supported me no matter what and they knew my long-term health was most important, but I get that the club wanted to win. However, I was not risking anything for a game or two, even if it was the finals. I listened to the doctors and followed my progression of rehab. Game one was a close back and forth fight, with the team coming up a bit short and losing by single digits. That made me feel a ton more pressure to play the following day, because of course we didn’t want to return Guadalajara down 0-2. I am insanely competitive and wanted to play so bad, even if it was only 1 leg, but I had to think long term. I had to think of the rest of my summer and other potential team Canada training camps. I also had to think of the fall when I would be heading back to Greece for a full eight months of basketball season. No one goes into a game thinking they are going to get hurt but coming back too soon gets in your head mentally and physically. I just couldn’t risk anything more serious happening. So, I sat out game 2 and screamed as loud as I could for my team as they pulled out a gritty win on the road to even the series out 1-1.
Those two weeks were stressful to say the least, but I was happy I waited until I was ready to play. I was able to have a practice the day before game three and make sure my knee responded well to that, which it did. I was good to go for the following game, only 12 days after first hurting my knee. I returned for game 3 and we were not good. Quite frankly we were BAD. We seemed flat out on the court, everyone could feel it, but we weren’t able to shift it. Again, we lost by single digits. We really needed to win game 4 now, which we did, after coming back from a 20-point deficit in the third quarter. I don’t even know what words to use to describe that game or how to even recap it, it was just insane (you just have to go watch it for yourself to see what I mean). A very up and down game to be a part of, but that win was crucial.
Now the series was tied 2-2 and we had one final home game before we would return to Chihuahua to end the finals. We felt in control, but some mistakes at the end of the game gave the other team a chance to stick around and we had to head to overtime.
When overtime started, I finally hit some shots again. I had been told to not pop, and only roll off the screens for the last two games and I had been getting in my head. Of course, I still love to finish at the rim and be in the post, but this matchup was a big BIG post that was hard to get around. I felt that my advantage was to beat her down the floor, or to hit a few shots from outside to open things up. The only problem was that I wasn’t hitting my shots and then I started thinking too much about. I was doubting my ability to hit those shots when I had been doing it all season in Greece.
After a few games of not playing great after returning from injury, I had to again tell myself to keep shooting. I also told myself to just play my game. It was in that overtime of game 5 that I felt that fall into place. We had at least a 4-point lead in overtime, but unfortunately lost that game, going down 2-3. It’s really crazy what confidence can do for your game. We lost game 5, but after that game I felt like I was in a good place and that we were going to win the next two.
Regardless of that game 5 outcome, our home fans were amazing those last three home games. After the game, we ice bathed and showered and as we left the game there was a crowd outside cheering as I walked outside. I spent half an hour signing autographs and taking pictures. It really was amazing, especially after a tough loss, to come outside and be given that type of love and support. You don’t always see that being a female professional athlete, so I am super appreciative of them for that.
Back to Chihuahua
Our team was tired and injured. Our starting 3 fractured her hand in the overtime game (yet another curveball for our team) and everyone else had some sort of nagging injury, whether it be a calf, foot, knee, etc. We had to go back to Chihuahua to an incredibly hot and humid gym, with hostile fans, and win two games in a row to win the championship.
The player that I had replaced when I had been activated was the one to go back into the lineup when our 3-guard got injured. We fought and had control most of game 6, but near the end I really had clue which way it would go. With maybe four minutes left I remember looking up at the scoreboard and wondering what was going to happen. I had to quickly get myself out of my head and back onto the court.
I find it much more nerve wracking watching a game or being on the bench, than actually being in it. On the court you obviously have a bit more control of the outcome, but for me it’s the focus on the court that takes my mind off the outcome of the game. I’m not worried about making a mistake or if we are going to win or lose, I am playing defence or locked in on the next play we have to run. Plus, being on the floor in end of game situations is exhilarating. It’s what we work so hard for. Most players dream of winning championships, and now I was actually in a position to win one. I loved being in those tight games the entire finals series because it was fun to me. That type of adrenaline Down the stretch of the end of game six, my team knocked down some key free throws and we won! I think I only missed one shot all game as well, so I felt GOOD. The series was 3-3, and tomorrow was game seven.
The game was late so by the time we were leaving the gym it was almost 11pm. The last curveball for me personally was this final paper I had to write for grad school (I have one year left of school to earn my masters in psych). This ONE LAST PAPER was standing between me and freedom for the rest of the summer. I was writing about the person-centered approach to counselling and at that point, I never wanted to read or write about it again. My brain felt fried. I had spent all week leading up to the finals trying to finish it off. And here I was in the gym editing my paper while waiting for the other girls to get ready so we could take the bus back to the hotel. I had hit my word count (2500) the day before, and now I actually had too many words, so I had to cut some out. I also had to fill in a few more citations and edit everything before I could turn it in… It was due by 8am the next morning. I showered and had dinner at the hotel and then settled into bed to finish the paper. My roommate went to sleep, and I was up in the dark on my laptop working until 330am… The night before the finals… Well, I guess now it was technically the day of the finals. I really cannot make this stuff up!! Sometimes I think my life and some of my stressful situations or misfortunes would make great tv.
Anyway, I got that paper done, and I was damn proud of myself for doing so. Maybe you’re wondering why I left it until the last minute? Yes, that is partially my fault, but I also had two other papers due the previous weeks of July as well. One was 3000 words and the other 2000 and I had stayed on track for turning those papers in on time. I did have to apply for a one-week extension for this final paper, so really it was due a week earlier, but I got that extra time granted because I had injured my knee and my brain could only handle so much stress at a time. I promise I started off my final papers doing really well sticking to my schedule!! I just think by the end my brain was starting to turn to mush. So, that extra week really saved me, and there’s nothing like some procrastination stress to motivate one to work hard as well, and I enjoy a bit of pressure! After turning in that paper, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I didn’t sleep a ton the night before the finals, but I still felt good the next day because school was DONEEEEE.
Okay, now back to basketball.
Game six had over 9,000 fans and I couldn’t hear a damn thing. Game seven was going to be even crazier. At this point both teams were exhausted, so it usually comes down to who wants it more. Which team can lock in and make fewer mental errors than the other? Who can hit shots when they are tired, including free throws? Who will be the first to dive on the floor for the ball?
The entire day leading up to the tip-off of game seven I felt good, almost too good. I felt this sense of calm, like I knew we were going to win. I just knew it. I didn’t dare say this to anyone though, for fear of jinxing it of course.
I really credit our coaches for a great game plan for the last two games as well. Throughout a seven-game series there are a ton of little adjustments along the way that maybe fans or people watching don’t realize. Film is being watched after each game, ball screen coverages are being adjusted, and new plays are being put in. Basically, anything to gain an advantage and to attack the other teams’ weak points. In those last two games we left a few girls much more open than usual, so that their defenders could be closer to rotate for help defence when needed. We had our defence focused on the key players of the other team. If Chihuahua was going to beat us, it would have to be other players who usually didn’t score much. They would have to go off for 20 points for them to win, and the ball would then be kept more out of the hands of the Americans who made up the majority of their offence.
The plan worked, even with some of those players we left open making some shots. We didn’t panic and start closing out on them again, we just stuck to the plan, and they missed more than they made. That gave us the opportunity to get those rebounds and run the floor, and it kept the other teams best players a bit more out of rhythm.
The game was again close the entire way, but we also led the game for the majority of the time as well. I always felt like we were in control, even when they went on scoring runs, and even tied the game in the third quarter. The end of the game always takes way longer than it needs to. The last four minutes felt like an eternity because there was so many time outs and free throws as the other team tried to hit some shots at the end and try to tie it.
I made sure I stayed focused and locked in and didn’t let myself celebrate until there was a few second left on the clock ticking down. That feeling when the buzzer sounded was FANTASTIC. Running to the center of the court and being able to celebrate with a great group of women was so fun and rewarding. The confetti, the trophies, the pictures, the cutting of the nets, it was all a whirlwind. It was now my second confetti shower, but it was my first time ever cutting down a net. Let’s just say that feeling is addicting and I’m wanting to do it again already.
The last few days of my time in Mexico included too much tequila and too little sleep, but some great memories. It was only as I flew home that I think my adrenaline finally went back down to normal levels, and then my body was really feeling tired and sore haha.
I think that just about sums up my time in Mexico. I lost my bag, lost an air pod on the stairs of the charter bus, got injured, got thrown a few more curve balls along the way, but I met the most amazing people and won a CHAMPIONSHIP. I definitely feel like I grew as a player physically and mentally during my short time there as well. I will always remember my time in Guadalajara fondly, it’s where I won my first (but won’t be my last) championship.
I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post of my time in Mexico. I’m going to try to post updates more regularly of my life, whether it be the offseason, or overseas while playing.
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