2023-05-19 13:00:00
Reading time : 8 minutes
[LA RENCONTRE D’ONFR+]
ATLANTA – At 21 years old and 93 meters tall, Laeticia Amihere is preparing to play her first WNBA game this weekend, the American professional women’s basketball championship. Whether under the colors of the Atlanta Dream or the Canadian national team, the Franco-Ontarian from Mississauga has traced a trajectory that few Canadian women have managed to match.
How is your integration into the Atlanta Dream group since your arrival in the State of Georgia?
Alright. I take my bearings. I arrived mid-April. I wanted to start my training as soon as possible. I moved most of my stuff. I went back and forth between Atlanta and Toronto several times to see my teammates and relatives who organized a party for me. I’ve taken the time to learn a lot of different concepts over the past few weeks.
How are you feeling before your first WNBA game (Women’s National Basketball Association), this Saturday once morest the Dallas Wings?
It’s very exciting. I will give the best of myself.
Let’s go back to that draft night in New York when you learned that you were going to join the WNBA. Did you expect to be selected? What emotions went through you at that moment?
I had been hearing rumors on social media, for several days, announcing where I was supposed to go. But that kind of thing might change dramatically in a matter of hours, so I was careful. Everything happened so fast ! When I heard my name, it was a wave of emotion.
Is it a little girl’s dream come true at this time? Did you imagine reaching such a level?
When I was young, I watched and admired players like Candace Parker (American basketball player, WNBA and Olympic double champion) and also the Canadian national team. I always wanted to reach this level where few players reach.
Only seven other Canadian women have achieved this feat in twenty-seven years… How does it feel to enter this very closed circle?
I feel two kinds of emotion. I’m excited to experience this, but also to open a path for other girls who want to do the same. It is an honor to be in such a limited sector. I dream of having several Canadian women by my side in the years to come. It can give them a little confidence to know that it is possible to get there.
What was your childhood like in Mississauga?
I studied at Ange-Gabriel Catholic Elementary School, where my mother taught, then at Sainte-Famille Catholic Secondary School. My whole childhood was in French, at school and in the family. My mother spoke French and my father English. I really started to learn English through basketball. Sport has always been a big part of my two older brothers and myself. But it was hard to juggle between studies and sport, because few athletes did that. So I joined a private school in Milton where I did four years of sports studies, before entering the University of South Carolina.
You even won the college championship with the University of South Carolina in 2022. Does this triumph represent one of the strongest moments of your young career?
At first, I just aspired to play in Division 1, then when I realized it, I had only one obsession: to win the championship. It was one of the most defining moments in my career. Especially since it came following an extremely difficult year where we were supposed to win but the COVID-19 upset the plans.
College championships in the United States are known to be very competitive and stressful. Tell us regarding this intensity…
It’s very intense because, during the season, you can afford to lose a game, but when you arrive at the tournament, you come home at the slightest misstep and your basketball career can crumble. That’s why in every game you put everything on the line to win.
Why basketball?
It happened quite young. I have always had a large size. It helped me. I liked to do several sports, then the click happened at regarding 14 years old, Team Ontario and Team Canada selected me to be in their development sector. I started to take basketball much more seriously. At 15, I was the youngest on the national team, which is also the Olympian team.
Your family must be very proud of you…
Yes, it was a lot of sacrifices. I am the first in the family to have studied like that. Succeeding in school is very important to my family and when my parents saw that I took it very seriously and that opportunities were appearing, they were really proud.
You won’t be the only French speaker at the Atlanta Dream since Iliana Rupert from Martinique has also joined the team. Can communicating in French be an asset in certain circumstances?
Yes, we mainly speak French in the national team in international tournaments. We talk regarding little things. Of course, when we play France, it’s not something we’re going to use (laughs), but it’s something we sometimes use.
What are your ambitions in the WNBA?
First, I want to learn as much as possible, to make the most of this experience. Of course, I want to win a championship and we will take all the steps we can do to get there. But I think the most important thing for this first year is to make a mark for me, for the Canadians, for the girls who haven’t had the same opportunities as me, to show them that it’s possible. I know it will be difficult to stay in the League, because there are only 144 places and if you don’t do your job, someone else will take it. I will work extremely hard every day.
You have been playing for the national team for five years. Does Canada seriously have the potential to win a world or Olympic title?
We are in an Olympic year and it is clear that we want to have a medal. Getting on the podium is my goal and I will work all season to contribute to it. Beyond the sporting result, I also want to be a model for the players younger than me, to teach them everything I know.
Isn’t women’s basketball still too much in the shadow of men’s basketball?
Yes, but things are changing. For example, March Madness (the major American university tournament governed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association) opened up to girls who were able to use this name for the first time last year, when before it was called Girls’ Tournament. Social networks then became interested in women’s basketball. The talent has always been there, but not as exposed as that of men. It will continue to progress. You can see it in the growing number of spectators.
What are your strengths and your specialty?
My length and my speed serve me a lot! Being athletic, I can play many positions, from point gard (leader) to center (pivot). It’s rather rare, but in the WNBA this versatility will come in handy because the coach can appeal to me in different playing conditions.
What makes you annoys the most on the floor?
I really don’t like it when there’s not a lot of energy on the pitch. On the contrary, I like when things move quickly. I need to be in a team that has lots of energy, because that motivates me a lot. In the Canadian national team, we can count on really passionate people. In Atlanta, the coach here has a lot of motivation and it motivates us on the ground. An environment like that motivates you to play well.
What do you think of the League’s expansion plan female professional in Toronto?
It’s a good idea. Toronto is an ideal place for a WNBA team. People are excited to watch women’s basketball games. We saw it with the first game in WNBA history in Canada (which took place this week in Toronto): tickets sold out in ten minutes. There’s not a lot of high-level women’s basketball in the country. So it’s a great opportunity to bring that to Toronto, in an electric environment as the Raptors have created for men.
How did you experience the Raptors’ coronation in the NBA in 2019?
I have a good relationship with Masai Ujiri. He helped me a lot when I was in Toronto. It was from there that I started following the Raptors. Being champion was so amazing, but what came next was harder to deal with. A lot of things will change this year. I’m excited because this team has a lot of energy.
What experience do you retain from your first Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021 and how are you approaching the next ones in Paris in 2024?
The 2021 Games were a unique experience. It was during COVDI-19. We spent five months in a row together. We mightn’t train in Toronto. We had to go to Florida to do it. To be surrounded by the best athletes in the world in Tokyo was great. Paris, I know it will be even better because I will have accumulated even more experience.
What is the purpose of Back to the motherland, the non-profit organization you created in 2022?
It is a foundation that gives girls from minorities the opportunity to access a sport that is usually too expensive for them. I created it because, myself when I started, basketball was expensive for my family. I went to Ivory Coast, where my mother is from, to do a camp in which I pass on my motivation. And then I also did a tournament in Toronto for my team.
Is it important for you to give back to the community what it has given you, some way?
I think it’s very important to do that because I’m at a level where a lot of girls are following me. When I was their age, I didn’t have too many players to watch because Canada didn’t have the level they have today. Now that I’m in this position, I’m going to do them a favor.
LAETICIA AMIHERE’S KEY DATES:
2001: Born in Mississauga
2015: Gold medal of the U16 Americas Championship
2017: First Canadian to complete a dunk in a match at the age of 15
2021: Participates in his first Olympic Games
2022: NCAA University Champion with the South Carolina Gamecocks
2023: Drafted into the WNBA by the Atlanta Dream
Every weekend, ONFR+ meets with a player in Francophone or political issues in Ontario and Canada.
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