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ANNOUNCER: From our region to yours...
I'm Anthony Lue for Accessible Media
at the University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus.
Now home to Wheelchair Basketball Canada's
National Academy.
This program is the first of its kind in the world.
And it's here to bring Canadian wheelchair basketball athletes
everything they need to succeed
on a competitive international level.
Director and Coach Mike Frogley.
Basically, what the National Academy is,
it's an opportunity for us to identify, evaluate
and then bring together the most talented
young wheelchair basketball players,
both male and female around the country,
to really give them a focused opportunity to develop them,
develop their potential,
to go on and eventually represent Canada
on the podium in the Paralympics.
LUE: The Frog as he's lovingly called by his team,
has been involved with wheelchair basketball
since the 80s.
Starting out as a player,
then moving on to coach several teams.
Absolute, flat-out, the best part of coaching
is working with an athlete on a day to day basis.
And knowing that they're struggling
with a particular skill and there's a moment
when they're successful in doing that skill.
And you can see in them, you can see in their eyes
in that moment, the beginnings of self-confidence
and a belief in themselves.
And I get to see those dozens of times a day with our athletes,
hundreds of times a week, thousands of times a year.
And that's why I coach.
LUE: Team member Tyler Miller.
Frog's pretty intense, you know.
Like, when he's around, you know,
you cannot just sit on your butt.
It is, "go, go, go."
And the truth is, that's why he is such a great coach, right?
LUE: Team member Aaron Moseley-Williams.
The sports kind of evolving and moving to the next level.
And I think Canada being one of or is the first country
to have a full-time training facility.
I think it's going to be crucially important
for us to, kind of, maintain our position at the forefront.
LUE: Coach Frogley is dedicated to the academy.
You know my goal, it's real simple.
It's to make this the model for every academy in the world.
If we're going to be the world leader,
then that's the only goal there is.
For Accessible Media in Toronto,
I'm Anthony Lue.