When the national team selection camp tips off next month, Tara Feser will see how good she really is after playing wheelchair basketball in the German first division.
“It’s hard to gauge how much I’ve improved because I haven’t played against a women’s team and that’s what I’m used to playing against,” said the St. Albert Paralympian, who also doubles as an assistant coach for the Trier Dolphins, a semi-pro co-ed wheelchair basketball club. “Hopefully when we have our national tryouts I will be able to gauge a little more whether I’ve gotten faster or stronger.”
Feser, 30, and Janet McLachlan of Vancouver — members of Canada’s bronze-medal winning team at the 2010 worlds — are the only two females and Canadians on Trier’s roster.
“It’s probably the highest level I’ve ever played in, even higher than the international women’s game because you’re playing against international men,” said Feser, a national team post player since 2008 and Canada’s co-captain at worlds. “I think I’m holding my own against the men. I’m hoping I’ve gotten faster, which I think I have and I’m pretty sure my inside game has improved as well.”
Trier is ranked sixth out of 10 teams at 4-5. The line-up features the division’s top scorer, averaging 35 points per game.
“There is not a lot of points to go around. I have a six to eight-point average, which is good for me at this level,” said Feser, who drained a season-high 21 points early in the season. “I am though leading my team in fouls. I’m happy about that. My coaches have always said I need to be more aggressive.”
After winning NCAA women’s wheelchair basketball championships with the University of Alabama Crimson Tide in 2009 and 2010, Feser decided to explore playing possibilities in Europe.
“I wanted to increase my speed but mainly I wanted to be more aggressive on the court,” said the 2010 Wheelchair Basketball Canada’s female athlete of the year. “I was finding myself in Alabama being too much of a point guard and being more of a passing player; making sure everyone else got the ball. I’m still a playmaker in Germany but I’m also more aggressive on defence and you have to be playing against top-calibre males. If you’re not aggressive they’re going to eat you alive.”
The five-foot-11 hoopster and McLachlan, Canada’s top scorer at worlds and Feser’s teammate at Alabama, are classified as 3.0 players in the German league, compared to their international status of 4.5 (full mobility while sitting and can bend up and down and side to side). The classification system allows players with more serious disabilities to compete alongside those with more mobility. Classification points are based on level of ability and the five players on the floor must not exceed a certain point total.
“We’re on a team that really needs 3.0 players so it’s nice we play all the time,” said Feser, who played stand-up basketball in high school with the Queen Elizabeth Knights but surgery after graduation due to a dislocating kneecap prevents her from running or jumping. “Most of the other teams have maybe one or two other women. There are no rules against how many you need on the court at a time but Janet and I usually play 40 minutes a game. You don’t see that with any of the other teams actually. Most of the women are on the bench and they come in for a couple of minutes. We’re kind of making some of the Germans jealous about that, which is kind of nice for us. It’s a good compliment.”
Feser is also doing double duty as a player/coach.
“I’m liking it. It’s very difficult but it’s a nice challenge,” she said. “The other coach is also a player as well and he plays all the time. He is the head coach so he does mainly the subs and the timeouts and I’m more looking at what is breaking down on offence or defence. Him and I are split on defence. He’s on one side of the court and I’m on the other but for offence we’re on the same side. He’s more of a scorer so while he is scoring I’m doing more of the playmaking and making sure everyone is in the right spot on the other side.
“At times it’s kind of hard to see what the other players are doing but you also get a good feel for the flow of the game.”
Trier is fighting for the fourth and last playoff spot and is in good shape to avoid relegation when the regular season wraps up at the end of February. Games are played on Saturdays or Sundays.
“Fourth place is doable, it’s just going to take a lot of work in the second half of the season,” Feser said. “So far it’s been pretty good. We had probably a month of exhibition games so we had a good month to ease into playing as a team.”
She has no regrets accepting Trier’s contract offer after posting her glowing basketball resume online.
“I’m very happy,” said Feser, who lives in a tiny village outside of Trier, the oldest city in Germany, located on the banks of the Moselle River. “I got off the plane and was met with open arms. It’s like a huge family for me there. The team is great. I love the management as well. It’s been real nice.”
As for a second season with Trier, Feser will watch how things unfold with the national team and its training schedule for the 2011 Parapan American Games in November in Mexico before making a decision.
“I would probably need to get some time off next year with the responsibilities of playing for Canada and training for the 2012 Paralympics [in England],” said Feser, who participated in Canada’s fifth-place finish at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing.
Tryouts for the Parapan American Games start Jan. 10 in Winnipeg.
“I’m hoping people see a big change when they see Janet and myself again after four months of training. In Germany we train every single day, four hours a day; two-hour workouts plus two hours of training in the basketball gym each day,” Feser said. “We’re pushing it hard. It’s definitely the most training I’ve ever done. I wouldn’t get that training here in Canada, so it’s a huge advantage for us to be in Germany training and playing.”
