I play because basketball is a mental and physical sport, incorporating both to succeed.
I play for the rush I receive when breaking down the floor after an unforgettable steal.
I play because I possess the tenacity to compete and challenge myself.
I play for the instant confidence the ball provides when it swishes through the hoop with perfect backspin.
I play for the very notion of ‘team sport’ where everyone succeeds and overcomes failures together as one.
I play because the game pushes me past my breaking point.
I play because sport is a lifestyle.

Heavy stuff for sure, but considering the maxims are part of 15-year-old Taya Hanson’s own website (tayahanson.weebly.com) makes it clear the Kelowna Secondary School student athlete is focused and passionate about her game — well beyond her years.

The Active Care Athlete of the Month has transformed the words into action while leading the Kelowna Owls to an Okanagan Valley AAA basketball championship and a berth in the B.C. School Sports provincial championship tournament March 2-5 in Langley.

Only in Grade 10, Hanson followed up first-team all-star selections at three prestigious tournaments this high school season with a most-valuable-player performance at the Valley championship in Kamloops recently. The 5-foot-9 guard scored 35 points, registered 15 steals and grabbed 15 rebounds in the Owls’ two lopsided victories.

Overall this season, Hanson has averaged 24 points, seven boards, five steals and two assists per game as the Owls have posted a 28-4 record and positioned themselves to go into the provincials at the Langley Events Centre as the No. 3 or No. 4-seeded team.

But despite the showy statistics, Hanson deflects her considerable individual contribution to the Owls’ success as a team.

“We’ve really improved as a team in all areas of the game — especially on defence — but the biggest thing is that we’re bonding so well and having a lot of fun” said Active Care Athlete of the Month Hanson. “And I think that shows on the floor because we’re playing off each other and relying on one another’s strengths.”

She believes those attributes can carry the team to a medal at the provincial championship.

“We’ve played, or at least seen, most of the top teams and we feel confident we match up well with them and have a definite shot (at a medal).”

KSS coach, Lisa Nevoral, has always been about promoting the team concept, however she acknowledges Hanson’s leadership and exceptional skills. Those skills also earned her a spot on Canada’s national cadet team, which won unprecedented gold at the under-16 FIBA Americas tournament in Mexico in the summer of 2015.

“Taya is a very hardworking player who continually tries to improve upon her game,” says Nevoral. “She’s a multi-dimensional talent who plays with much intensity both offensively and defensively. That she can lead the fast break, grab a big rebound, get a steal, finish a lay-up, or score a three-pointer on a consistent basis brings up the level of play of the entire team.”

Those characteristics haven’t been lost on either the national team or NCAA Division 1 teams in the United States.

Still in the running for the U17 national team that will compete at the FIBA world championship tournament in Spain this summer, Hanson is also being wooed by more than a dozen highly ranked Div. 1 schools.

She’s already made unofficial visits to the University of Texas, Baylor University, Texas A&M, UCLA, Stanford, Santa Clara, the University of Washington and Oregon State. All of the schools — and several others — have indicated they’d love to have her play with them beginning in 2018. And while she admits to having favourites, she won’t reveal them — or make a choice — likely until the end of her Grade 11 year.

In the meantime, Active Care Athlete of the Month Hanson will no doubt continue working at getting even better and making the most of her “God-given talent to fulfill my dreams and empower others.”

To that end, she will complement her studies and athletic pursuits at KSS, with training at the Canadian Sports School under the direction of Kim Whelpton.

A multi-sport athlete — track and field, cross country running, soccer, baseball, volleyball, field hockey, gymnastics and diving — Hanson plans to incorporate that background while training for the heptathlon (100 metres, hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 metres, long jump, javelin, 800 metres) this spring and summer with the Okanagan Athletics Club.

“I’ll just have to see how things work out with my schedule, but I’d love to be able to work at the heptathlon,” says Hanson, who also finds time to volunteer as a coach for children’s basketball, work at a bible camp, and help her younger sister, Asia, “achieve the joys of life”.

“But even if I can’t compete in as many meets as I’d like, the cross training will be invaluable for my basketball. And that’s the main reason I’ll be doing it.

“Basketball is my true passion.”

Active Care Athlete of the Month Honourable Mention

Cole Demers

Selected as the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League’s player of the month for January, Cole Demers of the Okanagan Rockets continues to lead the provincial loop in several goaltending categories through February.

The 16-year-old, who posted a 6-0-1 record while playing in seven Rockets games in the first month of the year, sits atop the BCMMHL goaltending statistics with an 18-6-4 record and sports a 1.83 goals against average.

Demers, in his second season with the Rockets, also volunteers with peer mentoring at Okanagan Mission Secondary School and helps out at lunchtime with learning-disabled students.

Gareth Williams

Fresh off representing Canada at the German national cross country ski championships and the OPA Continental Cup in Switzerland, Kelowna’s Gareth Williams won three gold medals at the Western Canada championships in Prince George earlier this month.

The 18-year-old Telemark Nordic Racers member had earned his berth on the Canadian junior B team after a stellar showing at the recent world junior trials in Thunder Bay.

At the Westerns, Williams won the 10-kilometre skate race by a commanding 28 seconds, while adding gold in the 800-metre Buff sprint and the 20-km mass start classic race.