Growing up playing 2 sports was always in my nature. Many people told me to give up one sport, meaning I would have to choose between softball and basketball. There was no way I was giving up either of these sports as I loved both games equally.  I have been privileged to play with and against the best in our country with both my rep sports and enjoyed just as much - my high school sport life. As years went by and life went on, I graduated from Waterloo Oxford D.S.S in 2017 with 2 WCSSAA Sr. Girls’ basketball championships, a Sr. Girls’ COWSSA finalists, a Jr. girls’ basketball finalist, 2 WCSSAA Girls Slo Pitch championships and 1 Slo Pitch finalist. Hi, my name is Emily Glendinning and I'm excited to tell you about my story. 

 
   Over the years I have played for the Kitchener Klassics Softball Team in the summer months, and the Hamilton Transway Basketball Team during the winter months. During the summer of 2016, coach Jim Nemish of the Durham Lords’ softball team, approached me and told me they were interested in my softball abilities and wanted me to come for a tour of Durham College, during this tour I met the Durham Lords’ Women’s basketball coach, Heather LaFontaine and we had all discussed my future on how I could play for both teams. During this meeting, I had made my final decision on becoming a dual sport athlete here at Durham College. I would like to thank both coaches and Durham for making my dream of being a dual sport athlete come true and for always seeing the best potential in me. 

   During my years of being a dual athlete I was asked; how can you stay on top of all your school work and play 2 sports at once? My answer to this was, yes, I play 2 sports but one is fall/winter and the other one is spring/summer. I stay on top of my studies because I have the drive to be a hard worker and never give up. I have learned discipline and know what priorities and responsibilities are. Sometimes life gets hard when you’re on the go all the time but that is the life of an athlete, you have to adjust and keep going. When I first came to College, it was very hard to adjust to moving out of my home and starting a life on my own, starting at a different school was hard, especially since Waterloo-Oxford was a non-semester high school, and finally the amount of time I spent on the diamond and court were a lot more than I was used to. There was a lot of pressure to perform well as our teams represent the College. 

   As I was adjusting to my new life in Oshawa at Durham College, I had kept some key people in mind but a few in particular are my coaches from Waterloo Oxford high school. When I was in grade 9 and 10 I had Joe Cevtich as my Jr. Girls’ basketball coach. Joe taught me to never give up when times are hard, he also had shaped me to become a positive player as I was the team captain in grade 10 and people looked up to me. Grade 9, 11, and 12 I had Jeff Gerber as my girls’ slo pitch coach, Jeff taught me to work hard against every team you play because the score does not carry over to the next game, as the results aren’t over until the innings are over or the buzzer goes off. In grade 11 and 12 my high school coaches for basketball really impacted the way I play today as they never gave up on me. Dustin VanHouwelingen was my coach in grade 11 and was a coach who always pushed me to do my best, he was my teacher in grade 9 gym and was tough on me then too, just to show me that I had to work to keep at the top of my sport and not to slack as sports came easy to me. Gavin Albrecht is a huge inspiration in the way I play as he was a great motivational coach. Not only was he one of my school teachers in grade 11 but he made a very special moment come true for me. My favourite time was when I was in grade 9, a Junior player, I was allowed to play with my sister Alisha (a strong basketball player and recruited to Ryerson University to play on the Women’s Team) and her teammates on the Sr. Girls team by calling me up as a rookie to play in the WCSSAA finals and CWOSSA in 2013. My entire school administration team and teachers have always supported my endeavors. They respected my decisions to play my sports and were wonderful cheerleaders by either watching our games after school or talking to me about my experiences when I returned to school from a weekend tournament. They were always positive in and outside the classroom. I graduated as an Ontario Scholar due to my hard work but more importantly because I knew that I needed to work hard because I wanted to make them proud of me.

   A favourite saying of mine is “there is no I in team”! My teammates are very important to me - it’s never how many points I get, it’s how many points WE get! Only need to win by 1. I love watching my teammates (at Waterloo Oxford and my rep teams) improve their game as each season goes on and the smiles on their faces when they accomplish their goals. I was presented an award by Juel Ontario (Basketball Program) for being a strong role model and a good representative of my sport. I am competitive in nature so I positively push my teammates to stay in the game especially when they get down. I have made great friends by playing team sports, these women are my friends on and off the court and field. They support me as much as I support them.

   My school friends at Waterloo Oxford were also very supportive as they knew my sports came first, they were patient when we had group activities, and I appreciated the fact they worked around my schedule. They came to support our school teams when we had games. I had the opportunity to work with my peers and teachers as the Senior Boys Basketball Coach in my senior years at Waterloo Oxford. We enjoyed the game together and it was great to see how they improved from the beginning of the year to the end. They were still smiling after each game which was my goal. So, to end my story, the entire school body at Waterloo Oxford allowed me to be my best in my studies and sports and I will never forget my school - THANK YOU.

Emily Glendinning - January 2018