Kady Dandeneau now a Master on and off the wheelchair basketball court

OTTAWA – There’s only one thing Kady Dandeneau loves as much as playing wheelchair basketball. That’s talking about it.

But at Wheelchair Basketball Canada’s national team camp in Ottawa last month, the two-time Paralympian reported another amazing achievement. It wasn’t landing an impossible angle hook shot, or sinking a bucket from mid-court, nor posting a triple double.

In fact, it had nothing to do with wheelchair basketball.

Recently Dandeneau completed a Master of Science in Kinesiology at the University of Illinois. She achieved the milestone while continuing her national team duties and playing pro in Europe.

That important piece of paper required as much blood, sweat and tears as any grueling heavy training period. Except the game lasted years and years.

‘’Graduating was a big deal for me,” said the 35-year-old from Pender Island, B.C. ‘’I started before COVID, had to pause, then went back and forth while playing overseas.

‘’It was a challenge, but I’m proud I finished.”

Dandeneau began playing wheelchair basketball in 2015 after discovering the game through fellow Pender Islander and former national team coach Tim Frick, when injuries prevented her from continuing to play stand-up basketball.

She had been a star in British Columbia, playing for the University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves from 2007 to 2013. Knee issues, requiring four surgeries, eventually ended her stand-up career.

Her wheelchair basketball journey has been phenomenal. Most recently at Paris 2024, she was second in tournament scoring with 23 points per game (PPG), first in steals, third in blocks, fifth in rebounds, and sixth in assists.

Along with Cindy Ouellet and Arinn Young, Canada can boast one of the best 1-2-3 offensive punches in the world.

Dandeneau has also competed professionally in Spain and Italy including with Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands.

With Canada’s fourth-place finish in Paris, its best result since a bronze at the 2004 Paralympic Games, Dandeneau is excited about the future and wants to contribute more than to the scoreboard.

Of course, younger team members can easily look up to Dandeneau. At five-foot-nine, she is one of the team’s tallest players and she can just distribute her resume to inspire incoming teammates.

But Dandeneau is much more than that. With next year’s world championships on home court in Ottawa, she says Canada is ready for the next step internationally.

‘’We’ve added some new blood this camp with four younger players joining us,’’ she said. ‘’It’s a fast-paced game and they’ve adapted really well. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by what I’ve seen so far.

‘’We want to make sure we’re in a really good place when the time comes. It’s about making every moment count and helping these new players see the level they need to reach. I hope they come out of this camp motivated to keep training hard.’’

A player of Dandeneau’s calibre is a rare asset. Her deep excitement to help develop future stars is surely a gift for head coach Michèle Sung and her staff.

‘’Basketball is what I do 24/7,” she said. ‘’I hope the next generation sees what’s possible – on the court and beyond.’’