ELLIS RETURNING TO WOLFPACK WBB
For Release: March 4, 2009
Kamloops, BC—It’s always great when you can improve your team. But when you get back a player with veteran experience, so much the better. Such is the case with the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack Women’s Basketball Team.
The WolfPack are pleased to announce the return of guard/forward 22 year old Kali Ellis of Campbell River, BC. Ellis is returning to the school’s basketball program after a year’s absence. Ellis sat out the year to recover from a stress fracture on her ankle, which she originally suffered during her first year playing at TRU (2004).
“Last year ( 2007-08), I began the season but became injured in October (I had a stress fracture in my shin for the third time, and wore a walking boot (cast) for about 6 months and was unable to play the rest of the year.However I still remained with the team (travelled and went to all the practices and games). “ says Ellis. “I would have loved to have been able to come back and play for the team this current season but with the extent of the damage to my shin and my injury being pretty much reoccurring my body really needed the full year for recovery. If I had come back too soon (which is exactly what I wanted to do and had done in the past) the injury had basically a 99% chance of coming back again and each time that it has come back I have risked it becoming a chronic injury.”
Ellis is known as a tough player who can drive and shoot the perimeter jumper. She admits being away from the sport she loves was difficult. “There was never a time that I didn’t want to play. But with my injury I was no longer playing up to my potential. It was frustrating to play in constant pain, and to see my play deteriorate. I wasn’t as quick as I once was, and the injury affected every aspect of my game from defense to shooting. It basically came down to sheer frustration with the way my body kept breaking down and I was sick of playing below my potential. I knew that even though taking a year off wasn’t what I wanted to do, it would be best for me in the end. I always knew in the back of my mind that if I was able to fully heal and become healthy again I would play again. “
Says head coach Scott Reeves. “ We are really happy to get Kali back. She will add much needed leadership on and off the floor. She has played for me already so she knows what to expect and she is truly a 4th year player in terms of life experience.”
She comes from a basketball background. Her dad was a high school coach at GP Vanier for many years. Her mom coached her in Junior high and her brother played for the UVic Vikes. “Having them around to teach me and help me grow as a basketball player has put me where I am today. “
No slouch off the court either, Ellis enrolled in the TRU Nursing Program which is very demanding. So, how is she going to juggle court time with clinical time? “Juggling nursing and basketball is going to be very tough. “ she says. “The nursing program is very time consuming and so is playing CIS basketball. It is going to take extreme organization and time management. I had to make special arrangements so that I would be able to play while in the nursing program. I am very thankful that the nursing program has been flexible with me and allowed me this great opportunity. I could be looking at some very long days next year. I think my schedule is going to be something like 4 classes, one lab and 2 days of clinical experience (8 hrs a day). I am going to need to take good care of myself throughout the process and just remember that many people don’t have this opportunity. When I decided I wanted to play again I knew that it was going to be tough but I look forward to the challenge and I know that it will be well worth it. I am so grateful for the opportunity to play again and to finish out my eligibility and I know that if I can manage the next two years I can manage anything. It is definitely going to be a character building two years for me. “
She adds that she’s looking forward to getting the new girls on WolfPack while finishing out the remaining two years of her CIS eligibility. “ As a team, if we can all work hard over the summer, and come back next year in shape and having improved on our individual weaknesses, we will be headed in the right direction. A lot can happen over the summer and I am looking forward to seeing the growth in the team from now to the beginning of next season. “
Ellis and the rest of her team mates continue work outs for the remainder of the school year.