With the 2014 FIBA World championships coming soon, many national teams have already started to prepare for it. The Canadian Senior National Team is one of them. They’ve already started training in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The Stars have a Canadian player on their roster named Kayla Alexander. She was recently on the list of invitees invited to attend the camp. Here are her thoughts on the Canadian national team:
Q) How does it feel to be invited to try out for the Canadian Senior National Team?
Its an honor to be invited to try out again. As an athlete you’re always trying to improve and play at the highest level. As well, who doesn’t want to have their country’s logo or name on their chest? To play for and represent your country is a goal that I have to believe crosses every athletes mind.
It’s been a while since I’ve been involved with Canada basketball, however I do recognize many names of the other athletes that have been invited. Many have played for Canada on some level whether it was NEDA, Junior Team, or the Development team, all of which I’ve played on in the past. There are a few names that I recognize also from the NCAAs that I do not know personally though.
Playing in the WNBA is such a wonderful experience, you are playing with and against some of the best players in the world. You can’t really beat that experience! The speed of the game, the skill set of the players and the physicality is at such a high level that it’s hard not to improve or get better. I am thankful that I am a part of this league and with my current team I am playing with and battling against in practice with veteran players who have either: been in the league for a decade if not more, WNBA all stars, NCAA national champions, etc so I am extremely blessed and fortunate to learn and compete with these girls everyday.
Yes I have been in touch with the coaching staff, they understand that I am in season with the Stars right now. Since I am not in training camp, they watch our games and how I am playing with the Stars. Once the season is over I’ll join the training camp, and they said that they would evaluate my play and see how well I integrate with the players they have selected at that point.
– If I get that call, I’ll let you know!
You can catch Kayla Alexander and the rest of the Stars on Friday when they host the Seattle Storm at the AT&T Center. For more information on the CAN national team head on over to www.basketball.ca.
