Feser wheels to Paralympics
(taken from the August 03, 2008 St. Albert Gazette)
By Jeff Hansen
Staff Writer		    

Hooping it up for Team Canada at the Paralympic Games is no longer a pipe dream for Tara Feser.
Tara Feser
"It’s finally a reality," said the St. Albert wheelchair basketball player. "It’s not me from the outside hoping to be on that team. It’s real, which is kind of scary but it’s very exciting at the same time."

The Paralympics for disabled athletes start this weekend in Beijing.

"I’m very excited, especially after watching the Olympics and seeing the enthusiasm and the energy the athletes had there. I can just imagine what it’s going to be like," Feser said. "I’m especially excited about the tip off for our first game [Sept. 8 against the Netherlands]. To go out there and wear a jersey with Canada across it and number 15 on it is going to be very emotional."

The recreation program manager for the City of Edmonton is bringing a cheering section of 10 family members and friends to Beijing.

"I hope they’re loud and proud for us," said Feser, who bought Team Canada T-shirts for her travelling entourage of fans to wear at the games.

After toiling as a red ace (practice player) the last five years at previous selection camps, a determined Feser was one of only two newcomers to crack the Paralympic roster at tryouts this past spring

"Tara is going to be a real pleasant surprise. Her learning curve is going to be a lot shorter than average," said Tim Frick, head coach of the three-time Paralympic gold medallists and four-time Gold Cup world champions.

"She is better than people think she is. She is better than she thinks she is. All that will bear itself out I’m sure in Beijing."

Feser, 28, has competed nationally since 2001 with the Edmonton Inferno, the five-time defending Canadian Wheelchair Basketball League champions. Earlier this year she impressed the national team coaching staff as an injury replacement at the Good Luck Beijing Invitational Tournament in January and later competed at the Osaka Cup in Japan. She saw spot duty coming off the bench in Beijing, but averaged 20 to 30 minutes as a starter in all four games at the Osaka Cup.

"Tara is going to surprise herself at how much experience and I guess focus that she is actually going to bring to the team," Frick said. "On top of that she is so coachable and is such a great teammate. It’s almost like you have to pinch yourself because you think you’re dreaming when coaching her."

Feser is a five-foot-11 post, the same position she played in stand-up basketball in high school with the Queen Elizabeth Knights.

"My role on the team is to be the person who is very aggressive and to get into the key," she said. "It’s a tough role because everyone is basically zoning in on you because you’re supposed to be getting into the key. You will have three or four chairs banging on you and it’s a lot more physical than having an outside perimeter kind of role. I like to be hit and roughed around by the other teams because it gives me, I guess, more adrenaline and energy while I’m playing."

Feser is listed as a 4.5 player in a classification system that ranks players based on their functional trunk mobility. A dislocated knee cap cut short her stand-up career in the sport. Surgery in 2004 fixed the problem but it prevented her from running or jumping.

The classification system allows players with more serious disabilities to compete alongside those with more mobility. At the international level, a team can play with only 14 points on the floor at any one time. Typically, a team will play two 4.5’s, a 2.5, a 1.5 and a 1.0.

"[Frick] basically indicated I will be the third 4.5 coming in off the bench to replace either Misty Thomas or Lori Radke," said Feser, who has one leg shorter than the other by an inch and a half.

A fourth 4.5, Janet McLachlan, was injured and didn’t play in the July exhibition tour in Germany and last month’s Spitfire tournament in Toronto. Her status for the Paralympics was uncertain at press time.

"If we play two 4.5’s at once I’m the next one off to sub one of those in and if we’re only playing one I’m the third one," Feser said. "Each 4.5 gives something different. We have a shooter. We have one that has a lot of speed. I’m more of the aggressive player trying to get into the key, more of the post up kind of player."

Defences tend to focus on denying good shooting opportunities by the higher-classified players, so offensive strategy involves using the lower-point players to set screens and create mismatches.

"I have to score when I’m out there. It’s a different role than with Inferno. I’m usually passing it. This time I have to be more of the shooting player, which is good. I’m glad I’m being able to take on that kind of a role. I have more confidence that they know I can actually get into the key and I’m going to be the scoring threat out there."

Feser’s best offensive showing with the national team was around 20 points for a split squad against Germany at the Spitfire tournament.

"It was probably my best game this year. It felt very natural for me out there."

After the Paralympic roster was finalized Canada played a hectic schedule of tournaments and training camps with mixed results.

"It’s not what you leave on the court in those games you’ve played, it’s what you’re going to leave on the court at the Paralympics. We’ve had to really learn off those losses we had and take those things we’ve learned and make ourselves a better team," Feser said. "It’s different than with Inferno. We didn’t lose a lot of games so it was something new that I’ve had to learn. You can’t look at it as a downside. You have to keep moving forward towards that end goal."

Canada is favoured to make its fifth straight podium finish while winning its fourth Paralympic gold medal since the 1992 games. Canada is ranked number one in the world after its 2006 Gold Cup victory. The world championship was the first major international competition for Canada after settling for bronze in the 2004 Paralympics.

"Everyone keeps saying you better come back with a medal. It’s a lot of pressure that we have on ourselves but it’s the positive pressure that’s going to drive us that extra little bit," said Feser, who will play wheelchair basketball for the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa on a scholarship, starting in January.
jhansen@stablert.greatwest.ca

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