London Wheelchair Basketball Association
From the moment that Josh Davies got on the court 13 years ago, he fell in love with the game of wheelchair basketball. The 23-year-old began to play with the London Wheelchair Basketball Association’s junior program, where he developed his skills and passion for the game under the watchful eye of London’s head coach Paul Bowes, who is also a distinguished international coach.
It took three years for Davies to break onto the provincial stage. The London native compiled multiple medals at both the Ontario Games and Parasport Winter Games. In 2011, he was selected to represent Ontario at the Canada winter games in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Davies’ success at the provincial level propelled him to opportunities with Team Canada. In 2013, he was named an alternate on Canada’s world junior team, and he even competed with the Senior Men’s National team in Belgium. In 2015, Davies competed in his second Canada Winter Games in Price George, BC. Since then, he has taken a step back from competitive basketball to focus on his education. He will graduate from Western University’s Kinesiology program in May 2017.
During his busy playing career, Davies made sure to take time to give back to the program that started him on his journey, volunteering with London’s junior program. It was during his time volunteering that Davies realized his interest in coaching. And with the help of coach Paul Bowes, Davies became more involved. Now, he is coaching the junior program every week.
“I’m very grateful to have such a talented and respected coach to learn from,” Davies said of Bowes’ mentorship. “And I am humbled by the great game of wheelchair basketball. It has provided me with so many unparalleled opportunities to learn and grow as an individual.”
Davies also holds an assistant coaching position with the junior Ontario program, and he has aspirations to coach at the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, Alberta.
London Annihilators Wheelchair Rugby
The London Annihilators Wheelchair Rugby program has had a busy winter, traveling to Tampa, Florida and to Phoenix, Arizona. The program sent a team to compete in the Tampa Wheelchair Rugby Invitational in late January, which was comprised of Jamie Sopha, Matt Debly, Shayne Smith, Ian Crowe, Faisal Burale, Erika Schmutz, Eric Rodriguez, and Dave Willsie. The Annihilators played well, losing two games by one point, including an overtime loss to Quebec’s ‘A’ wheelchair rugby squad. Team leader Dave Willsie collected top 1.5 honours.
While in Phoenix, the Annihilators, comprised of Garrett Hickling, Matt Debly, Cody Caldwell, Dave Willsie, Patrice Simard, Patrice Dagenais, and Kristen Cameron, competed hard against some top American rugby programs. The Annihilators dropped their first two games against two different top-ranked Phoenix Heat teams. They won their next two games in fine fashion, before dropping their fifth and final game to a team from Portland, Oregon. Rookie Matt Debly saw some serious time on the floor in Phoenix, while Patrice Simard collected tournament best 1.5. The Annihilators await their return to both Tampa and Phoenix next year to pick up where they left off and improve on their finishes.
Looking ahead, seven members of The Annihilators will travel to Vancouver, British Columbia to display their best as they try for a spot on Canada’s national wheelchair rugby squad. Program veteran and four-time Paralympian Dave Willsie will hang up his gloves from international play and try his hand at coaching as he enters his first season as assistant coach for Canada’s national program.
Submitted by London Wheelchair Basketball Association and London Annihilators Wheelchair Rugby
