Katie Cadman has a busy summer ahead.
With basketball drills and jump shot practices on her schedule for the next three months, 14-year-old Katie will commit her time and energy to represent the province as a member of Team NB.
The Grade 9 Tantramar Regional High School student, who is the youngest member of the girls’ Titans team this year, was recently selected to play for Basketball New Brunswick’s U15 girls’ summer elite team.
Katie says she’s excited about the opportunity and was thrilled to learn she was chosen for the provincial team following fiercely competitive open tryouts in Fredericton in April and showcase tryouts last month.
Katie, the daughter of Randy and Gayle Cadman of Middleton, is the only player from the Tantramar area selected to the team. Players are chosen based on their talent, skill, promise and compatability with other team members.
Although Katie admits she’s personally a bit hesitant to spend every weekend of her summer dedicated to the provincial squad (it is summer, after all) – traveling to practices in Fredericton and Moncton throughout the month of June and to tournaments around the Atlantic provinces in July – she’s ready and willing to give it a try.
“When I went to the first practice, I had a lot of fun,” she says.
And fun is what it’s all about for Katie.
She says she’s been shooting hoops since the age of seven, when her father introduced her to the sport.
“I just really liked it and had a lot of fun with it,” she recalls.
Her dad Randy says she started to show an interest even earlier than that.
“I think when she was three or four, I started noticing she could do things with a ball that most kids her age couldn’t, so I knew she had good hand-eye coordination,” says Randy. “And from the first year she joined (minor basketball), I knew there was a talent there.”
Randy and Gayle say they are grateful for the local businesses who have come on board to assist with sponsorship for Katie’s registration fees and travel costs for the summer.
The provincial team will also compete at the Canada Basketball National Championship the first week of August in Toronto.
