Sask. basketball player heading to Olympics hopes to inspire daughter, young hoopers to chase dreams
Paige Crozon balances career with being a single mom and running Indigenous basketball league
Growing up in Humboldt, Sask., Paige Crozon had a big dream of competing in the Olympics.
That dream is coming true, as Crozon is heading to Paris this summer with Canada's 3x3 basketball team.
"I had dreams of going to the Olympics, but I didn't know in what sport," Crozon said. "Originally, I thought I wanted to be a hockey player, so I dreamed of playing on the Canadian national hockey team, but then life took me down a different path and I'm sure glad that it did."
The four-person squad made up of Crozon, Kacie Bosch and sisters Katherine and Michelle Plouffe is Canada's first-ever 3x3 team to qualify for the Olympics.
This variation of the sport sees two teams of three players play on one backboard in a half-court setup. The winner is the team with the highest score at the end of 10 minutes, or the first team to reach 21 points
The event was featured as an Olympic sport for the first time at the Tokyo games held in 2021.
WATCH | Canada sending first-ever 3x3 basketball team to Olympics:
Redemption after heartbreak
Qualifying for the Olympics has been a goal five years in the making for Canada's 3x3 women's basketball team.
Crozon was there for the heartbreak in the leadup to the Tokyo Olympics, when a quirky rule prevented Canada's women's team from even attempting to qualify. The men's team instead received that opportunity but did not advance to Tokyo.
The Humboldt hooper is elated to be representing Canada on the sport's biggest stage after the disappointment of missing out on the last Olympics.
"We had put so much focus and pressure on accomplishing that goal, especially leading up into the Olympics this year," Crozon said. "
"Now that we're officially qualified, it doesn't feel real just yet."
The Olympic 3x3 event runs July 30 to Aug. 5.
Crozon said Team Canada's goal is to come home with a medal.
Honorary coach will be in attendance
Getting buckets isn't Crozon's only job — she's also a single mom. Her five-year-old daughter, Poppy, has travelled the world with her mom as she helped Canada earn a spot in the Olympics.
Crozon said having Poppy in the stands in Paris alongside Crozon's parents and sister will make her feel more comfortable competing at the Olympics
"Poppy's been there every step of the way, so it's only right that she comes to the Olympics as well," Crozon said.
"She just provides so much perspective. I come home after a tough loss and, no matter what, she greets me at the door with a giant hug, or after we win, she keeps me humble."
WATCH | Olympic basketball hopeful's daughter along for the ride:
Before Kim Gaucher was hired as Canada's women's 3x3 coach in 2023, Poppy named herself the team's honorary coach at the 2022 FIBA World Cup.
"We're all sitting in a huddle and Poppy comes in and she's like, 'Pass better, run faster,'" Crozon said. "She just was trying to provide feedback in the way that a three-year-old does, and it was just so cute."
Crozon said she is grateful for her teammates embracing Poppy as part of their team.
Making basketball more accessible in Sask.
Crozon manages the Living Skies Indigenous Basketball League in Saskatchewan on top of juggling her own basketball responsibilities, assistant coaching duties for the University of Lethbridge women's basketball team and raising Poppy.
More than 2,500 youth in the province have participated in the cost-free league since its inception four years ago, Crozon said. The league covers transportation and food in addition to incorporating cultural workshops and education sessions for all athletes.
Crozon said the goal of the league is to make basketball more accessible and to promote reconciliation.
"Growing up in Saskatchewan, I had access to sport. Our family had the finances to be able to pay the entryway into sport and I had the support to get me to all the games," Crozon said.
"I've realized that not all kids kind of have that same privilege. So it was important for me to kind of use sport as a vessel to positively give back to my community."
Crozon said she hopes qualifying for the Olympics can show the league's players and Poppy the rewards of chasing their dreams.
"I've experienced many burdens and hurdles that I've had to overcome within sport and I just want to showcase that no matter what is in front of you, if you have a goal in mind, there's always a way," Crozon said.
"It has required a lot of resiliency and support, but I have found a way to accomplish my goals and dreams."
WATCH | How does Paige Crozon balance basketball and motherhood?
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With files from Myles Dichter