The Senior Women's National Team is coming off a great start to the summer having won the Gold Medal at the Pan Am Games in Toronto. The next step for them is to qualify for the 2016 Olympics Games in Rio de Janeiro by winning the FIBA Americas Tournament taking place in Edmonton. Leading up to the Americas Tournament we spoke to our SWNT members and they gave us their thoughts on a few things and here's what they had to say. To buy tickets for the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship for Women, click here.

Michelle's Profile

The camaraderie of the team is definitely something we cherish because there aren't many teams that spend as much time together as we do. We essentially spend our whole summers together, there are players that have spent years and years, summers and summers together building relationships. I think that it's something that we look forward to doing - seeing our friends in the summer - and it helps us on the court that we can mesh so well.

I've loved playing on this team ever since my first summer because of the closeness of the group.  Everyone's there for the same reason.  There's no drama, no egos.  It's very much we're there for Canada, we're there for each other and I think that's what makes this group so special.  We really mesh on and off the court and we really have put the time in (to playing in the National Program).

I've talked to some players from different countries whose players aren't really as committed every summer as we are.  Some will come for the Olympic qualifier to get a chance to go to the Olympics or come in for the big tournaments whereas everyone on this team is 100% committed every summer. It doesn't matter if we have a forty-day training camp with no games, which has happened, or European tours. We're all trying to better ourselves and better ourselves for this team and that builds trust.  And I Think we have a great level of trust with each other, our coaching staff and what everyone’s trying to do so it’s a pretty cool thing to be a part of.

We do this we make this a priority for us. We consider our professional season the off-season and our National Team season the real season because of how important it is to us.  We prioritize this as the most important we could be doing at this time.  At the end of the day it’s a decision we make to put it first.  I know that some may not have that choice necessarily but for us it is.

You really feel like you're a part of something bigger than yourself when you play on this team.  You're always playing for something more; your team, your city, your province.  And for me I want to be a part of this as long as I can because it’s a once in a lifetime experience to be a part of this Program.  That's what keeps me coming back.  

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