Bo Hedges is back with Canada's top wheelchair basketball players this week at a five-day camp that started Monday in Toronto.
The Wonowon product is one of 15 athletes vying for a dozen spots on the national roster as it gets ready for some stiff international competition in the next two months.
Hedges admits the compete level goes up in a bit in these camps.
“I train with a group of guys here in the city but it's not the same, for sure. When you get the top 15 players in the country back together to train, the level obviously goes up so it's a little more intense, more pressure, than your regular day-to-day training.”
Fortunately, living in Toronto, he's able to go home at the end of the night, at least for this camp.
“There other times, though, where that's not the case,” says Hedges. “We have the Dutch team coming in late June, early July, and we'll all be at the hotel doing that team-building piece for the qualifier in July.”
Canada will play the Netherlands, who have already qualified for November's world championships in Dubai, in a series of 'friendlies.'
Ahead of that in early June, the Canadians will travel to Italy for a four-team tournament against the Italians, Spain, and Poland, home to play the Dutch, and then off to São Paulo in Brazil for the Americas Cup July 9-19.
Eight teams, including Canada and the United States, will battle for four entries into the worlds.
“We'll know at the end of this week which 12 are going to Italy.”
A decision on who will play in the Americas Cup and world championship for Canada will come in early July.
Hedges is working hard to be part of the chosen dozen.
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