Sydney Daines is a multi-sport athletic powerhouse, with invitations to play on two college level teams in both basketball and soccer and she has yet to graduate.
Daines, an 18-year-old Innisfail Jr/Sr High School student recently participated in the 37th annual 3A-4A Central Alberta Sports Athletic Association (CASAA) Senior Bowl at Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School on April 1. She scored eight points for the Light Squad that dropped the game 75-74 to the Dark Squad.
Basketball is not the only sport she competes in. She also played U-18 soccer with the Red Deer Renegades Major Soccer League team and had been part of the Renegades program for a few years. Daines has been active in high school badminton, winning silver in girls singles last year, and she also competes at a high level in the Alberta Barrel Racing Association pro circuit. She also made a major impact in the Innisfail Cyclones basketball season this year.
To use a cliché, Daines is not a one-trick pony.
Mike Woolard, coach of the Red Deer College (RDC) Queens was very impressed with the Grade 12 student during the CASAA Senior Bowl Game in Red Deer.
“In the last four minutes, the Light Squad was down by nine points and Sydney took the game over,” said Woollard. “She had six points and probably six steals in addition to narrowly missing a three-point shot that would have given her team the victory.”
He commented that her athleticism and work ethic made her a force on the court, two qualities that are uncoachable.
“Last week she participated in the identification camp we had, and the upside of her on the team is amazing,” said Woollard. “She is one of the top four or five players we looked at and given time to develop she will be one of our guards, and possibly a point guard in the future. I believe she will develop faster than I have initially estimated and would not be surprised if by December she will have acclimatized herself to college level ball.”
Woollard noted RDC soccer coaching staff is excited about having her play in their program as well, at least for the first year. Practices start for the Queens soccer squad in August with a two-month season starting in September but she will play in the Alberta Minor Soccer League until then.
“Multi-sport athletes are rare. We have Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders and Sydney Daines,” said Woollard. “I think she will be able to compete at an elite level in both soccer and basketball.”
Daines credits her family for her competitive edge.
“My mom and dad have always been competitive and from them I inherited an extreme will to win, and am competitive as a result of that,” said Daines. “I also love all the sports I play, but basketball and soccer are my favourites.”
She has recently applied to RDC and has been conditionally accepted for the education program with a major in physical education, hoping to teach and coach in the future.
“Going to RDC will be a good experience for me,” added Daines. “I have already talked to my coaches and they are going to help me schedule sports around my school work. Soccer goes from September to October and basketball from the end of October to February or so. I will be stretching my classes to three semesters as a result.”
Meanwhile, Daines continues with rodeo on the weekends.
“Tomorrow I am leaving for Medicine Hat to compete in the first rodeo of the year in the slack event as a barrel racer,” she said. “Over the course of the summer I plan on competing in 25 events so I can qualify for the Canadian Finals Rodeo held in Edmonton every year. I narrowly missed qualifying last year.”
Daines said she enjoys running no matter what the sport is, adding that in basketball or soccer racing her opponents for the ball is always challenging. She admitted she enjoyed being aggressive.
“This last year, I focused on basketball and as a result was invited to two identification camps in Olds and Red Deer, and Shooting Stars in Calgary for which I was the leading scorer and won a scholarship,” said Daines. “It has been a good year, but I still need to work on my shooting.”
When asked how she was able to keep performing and competing in so many events, she was candid in her answer.
“I could not do what I do in sports, driving for practices to Red Deer and beyond, to rodeos around Alberta and tournaments wherever we go, without my parents' help and I really appreciate that,” added Daines.
