By Sarah Tone, Communications Coordinator
“I’ve basically been playing basketball every day of the week for the last six years. It’s kind of all I do. I’ve been playing for about nine years now.”
This is wheelchair basketball athlete Josh Brown’s third Canada Games. He played for Team Manitoba in 2015 (Prince George, BC), in 2019 (Red Deer, Alberta), and now he’s bringing that experience as a team leader in Prince Edward Island.
“I think the big thing is we have all these provinces together, you know, getting to see a bunch of people, meet new people, and trading pins, all that stuff, it’s all fun.”
Having just started the competition here, he’s happy to have the opportunity to play on this team, and has a positive – yet competitive outlook.
“We had our first game yesterday, they’re going well so far. I’m really competitive, I wanna win. But this time around I’ve really worked on it and talked to Joey and Bill and really focused on trying to be a good leader, being really positive and supportive of the team.”
His coaches, Joey Johnson and Bill Johnson are brothers and are both Canada Games alums. Joey is considered one of the best power players in the world. In nearly two decades with Team Canada, he played in five Paralympic Games and four World Championships. Bill is a decorated wheelchair basketball coach, having coached the Canadian Senior Women’s National Team since 2009, and coached Team Canada to consecutive podium performances at the world championships. There’s no question they’re both on Josh’s list of role models.
“[Joey] is my coach down here, a legend in the game, in my opinion, the best player to ever play the game. I’ve had the honour of having him around me a lot and he’s taught me a lot, not even just about basketball, but the mental aspects of the game, which is really important for me. He has that athlete perspective that a lot of coaches don’t have around wheelchair basketball. When he sees you play, he knows what to tell you to get you in the right mindset.”
Getting in that mindset is something Josh felt he was lacking in Manitoba, with little opportunity to be around more experienced players.
“Once I moved to Toronto, I got the opportunity and it was amazing playing with all these great players and I learned a lot. It was more about learning and understanding the game more and, of course adding to my shooting. And just getting faster, getting myself more prepared for the sport, and a sense of the off-game stuff, like eating healthier, working out more, and being ready for the game.”
Josh plays for Southwest Minnesota State University and is already looking ahead at the role this sport has in his life well into the future.
“I plan on playing the senior team, and then after college, I hope to play pro one day, we’ll see if I get there. I got a few plans in the wheelchair basketball world.”
