A pandemic isn’t stopping a longtime athlete with ties to Fergus from representing Team Canada on the basketball court at the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Summer Paralympic Games.
Patrick Anderson, considered to be one of the greatest wheelchair basketball players of all time, will play in his fifth Paralympics later in August.
“The team is hungry, together, focused but we’re also kind of going in with our eyes open as something of an underdog,” Anderson said in an interview from training camp in Toronto.
“I think there’s a path for us to get a medal but you know we’re gonna have to play great, not just once or twice but seven or eight times.”
He said the team probably benefited from the extra year of preparation, not necessarily skill-wise but the team culture appears stronger than ever.
That didn’t mean there weren’t any challenges from the pandemic. Anderson was literally stuck on an island, his home in New York City, while the rest of the team was in Toronto.
“I was sort of the odd one man, the guy who couldn’t be here, and given that I still play a lot of minutes, it was less than ideal in terms of team preparation,” Anderson said.
However he had a lot of time to focus on individual skill work and said they have had a great couple of weeks as a full team at training camp.
Anderson first joined the national team in 1997 but his origins in the sport go back further.
Anderson lost both his legs at nine-years-old after being struck by a drunk driver. He then first played wheelchair basketball a year later and met Paralympians Jeff Penner and Bruce Russell the same weekend.
“Right from the very first weekend they were planting stories in my head about playing for Team Canada someday, so the seed was planted early,” Anderson said.
“They saw my long arms and short legs and saw a good basketball build so they started pumping my tires right from the get go.”
Although he hasn’t lived in Fergus for a long time, Anderson said he hasn’t forgotten how the community supported him and his family after the accident.
“They just really provided a soft landing after that accident which really set me up to bounce back and discover wheelchair basketball and run with it,” Anderson said.
The now 41-year-old admitted he is getting up there in age but isn’t speculating on retirement or taking a step-back as he focuses on the upcoming games.
He said it would be a distraction to think of these games as his last or to get too caught up in past success.
“I’m just trying to be in the moment with this team and these guys with this set of challenges and this opportunity,” Anderson said.
He noted the team is beginning to see some young leaders emerge — he pointed out Nik Goncin as one to watch — and he is impressed how they are dealing with the pressure and expectations from a historically great team.
“I just got much more respect for Nik and the other young guys for just grinding and squeezing the most out of what they have and charting their own path and not letting those expectations affect their effort and commitment in a negative way...I’m proud of them,” Anderson said.
The team leaves for Japan on Aug. 12 and will play their first match Aug. 26.
