Call it destiny: Basketballer Shania Sabbas was born in Victoria in 1997. The city was celebrating the fourth edition of the North American Indigenous Games. This summer, she will take to the court in Regina when the city hosts NAIG 2014.
Shania, a member of Kyuquot-Checklesaht First Nation, earned a slot on the Team BC U-19 Girls’ Basketball squad, following a grueling tryout camp that took place in Langley from Dec. 20 to Dec. 22. Just 16, the 5’ 4” point guard found herself pitted against girls that were older and bigger, but that’s nothing new, she said.
“Being short, you have a lot to prove. I get underestimated a lot,” Shania said.
“And they never know what’s coming.”
According to her mom, Bev Hansen Michel, Shania displayed her basketball talent at a very early age.
“Shania has been playing since she was very small; I think she was in pre-school when she first picked up a ball,” Michel said.
At the time, the family lived in Hot Springs Cove.
“It was my preschool teacher, Janine Adams, who got me started,” Shania said. “She taught me how to play basketball and I’ve been playing ever since.”
Michel subsequently moved with her children to Kyuquot, but after one year, made the decision to relocate to Nanaimo.
“My kids have always played ball, but there were not any opportunities for them up there; you have to travel a long way to get to tournaments,” she explained. “I decided we were going to go to Nanaimo so I could go back to [Vancouver Island University] and my kids would have more opportunities to play basketball.
“We’ve been sending her to basketball camps ever since we realized she is just a natural at the game.”
During the family’s five years in Nanaimo, Shania has played at the school level and in all-native competitions. She is currently in Grade 11 at Wellington Senior Secondary.
In 2012, Shania earned an All-Star selection at point guard as a member of the Island Storm during the Junior All-Natives held in Port Alberni. Island Storm suffered a heart-breaking 55-44 loss to Gingolx Storm and had to settle for third place overall.
In a slam-bang semi-final contest that saw the Nanaimo squad lose three starters to injury, Shania sparked her club to an 18-11 run in the third quarter that cemented her reputation as a player who can deliver under pressure. The Storm placed second overall this past year when the Junior All-Natives travelled up the Coast to New Aiyansh.
NAIG 2014 will be Shania’s first opportunity to compete outside B.C., and she is hoping to make the most of it. While a post-secondary education is a given, she would like to play basketball at the college level, and she knows the college game is far more regimented than the run-and-gun style that predominates at native tournaments.
“I am hoping this will be a little more structured,” she said. “At the Langley camp, we did a couple of shooting drills, and we scrimmaged the rest of the time. They said they wanted team players, and that’s why they did that.”
Organizers selected three girl’s and three boy’s teams to represent BC at the U-19 level. Shania said the practice schedule has not been announced, but she should receive contact information early in the New Year. When the teams were selected, the girls spent some time getting acquainted.
“We got to know each other pretty well,” she said. One of her Island Storm teammates, Gabby Jeffries, also made the cut, and most of the other players are from the Lower Mainland and the Okanagan.
The Games take place from July 20 through July 27 and feature 16 sports in age categories from U-14 to U-19.
“I’m pretty excited,” Shania said.
Michel said she hopes to be able to attend NAIG, but it’s not a sure thing. As a partner in a Kyuquot-based wilderness kayaking company, West Coast Expeditions, she is in the process of upgrading her professional credentials.
“I know her dad and her brother and two sisters are going to go, but I’m still in school and I’m doing my second summer co-op through VIU. I’m doing a second degree in Tourism Hospitality.”
