Trudeau Celebrates Halloween - Pierre Elliott Trudeau School ...

PET ACHIEVERS:
Spotlight on Brittany McKay Kaleigh Ambrose
Orange leather flailing up and down,
up and down, up and down.
Swooshing, three points at one end of
the court, five seconds later, two
points off the rim and in at the other.
The love of the game, a tournament
for the elite, an opportunity to make
friends, representation of individual
states and friendly competition—all
components of the Junior Nationals of
which Brittany McKay, a Grade Ten
student at Pierre Elliott Trudeau High
School plays a part.
Junior Nationals is a sports festival in
the United States where all
participants, girls ranging from grades
nine to twelve, including Brittany
McKay, were asked to partake in the
festivities. Each girl is given the
opportunity to represent a specific
state and be part of a team of fifteen
girls that will strive to win the Junior
Nationals title. The super-sized
basketball tournament takes place
once a year and the gold, silver and
bronze medals aren’t the only
highlights of the event.
McKay, a basketball enthusiast since
birth and basketball team member
since grade four, was scouted from
Trudeau’s very own girl’s basketball
team. She was asked to go to
Michigan to try out. These were the
first steps to what would inevitably
turn out to be an amazingly fulfilling
and fun summer experience. McKay
competed with two hundred other
girls and was chosen to move onto the
Junior Nationals tournament in Ohio.
The young and inspiring shooting
guard enjoyed the experience of the
Junior Nationals competition more
than school basketball. Junior
Nationals, according to Brittany
McKay was not only an opportunity
to showcase her own talent in front of
coaches from colleges, but it was an
experience to play against and with
some of the best young talent from
across North America. The fast pace
Page 9
15 year old Brittany McKay competed with two hundred girls to obtain a spot
on the Ohio team for the Junior Nationals tournament over the summer.
and aggressive play that every girl
demonstrated made Junior Nationals
an unforgettable opportunity.
Playing on the Junior Nationals was a
different experience than any ordinary
basketball team. This was largely
because athletes from many different
backgrounds had to learn to work with
one another in a short amount of time.
As with playing for any ordinary
team, there were practices to see how
well the players would mesh together,
but this was no ordinary basketball
team. Even though there were many
new challenges, Brittany McKay
welcomed them with open arms. She
considered “being a Grade Nine and
being asked to play on such a team” a
“ten on a scale of one to ten” when it
came to how enormous this
accomplishment was.
Among the bevy of highlights,
McKay says that “getting to play with
people from Arizona, New Mexico
and meeting people from all over the
world” was her favourite part of being
asked to play in the Junior Nationals
basketball tournament.
When asked if she would play again,
McKay was quick to reply,
“Obviously I’d play again. I just have
to get asked and I hope I do.” She
remains confident in her abilities as a
basketball player and continues to
strive for excellence and exposure by
playing for Trudeau’s girl’s basketball
team this year.
As the tournament progressed, it was
clear that McKay’s team was one of
the best. Unfortunately, after making it
to the top four, the team lost. Still,
McKay considers having been a
participant an achievement in and of
itself.
A basketball tournament isn’t just
competition between teams vying to
win the top prize and all the glory. As
Brittany would say, “it’s the love of
the game that keeps [her] going” and
makes playing the game an
achievement every time [she] steps on
to the court!”