Mikaela James, a Freshman on the St. Francis Xavier women’s basketball team has been around the game from a very young age. Her dad played at a high level with the national team, and at the division one level for the University of Loyola in Maryland. Despite never getting coached by her dad in the game of basketball, Mikaela’s dad has played a pivotal role in her growth in and out of the game
“So him being my mentor and coaching me through basketball and just life outside of basketball was really encouraging because he really helped me to see the ins and outs of basketball, and what you can do in life after basketball.”
In her early years, Mikaela played for Canada Elite, Friendship Balance, and Become One Canada Elite (BC1E), travelling around North America taking on the very best female basketball players at that level. She also stated how grateful she is, to all of the coaches that she had the opportunity to learn from, for being monumental in her basketball career thus far.
In high school, she represented King’s Christian College in the Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association (OSBA) during all four years. This prepared her for the next level of basketball because, according to Mikaela, the “competition was great” and attributed to the quality of talent present during her time as a player.
“So I think the competition in OSBA gets you ready for the next level because the competition is great. You’re around the top girls in the country,, and you’re playing against the top prep schools in the country also. So, you get that fast-paced competition feel before you go to university.”
Playing at St. Francis Xavier currently, Mikaela credits her success this season to her strong work ethic, and the team’s great dynamic; she continues to emphasize that winning is the primary goal that she has in mind.
Personally, Mikaela continues to be a leader for her squad on and off the court, and brings the needed energy – “the young rookie energy” as she puts it – to her team. The ultimate goal for the team is winning the AUS championship and the national title, and hopefully walking away with the Rookie of the year title when the season concludes.
At the end of the interview, we asked Mikaela if she had a message for the rest of the conference. This was her response:
“I would definitely say to look out. Do not underestimate us because I think we have the full package for the team overall. We are going to work as hard as we can. I think we are super tough to beat”
