Words Jamila Douhaibi
Photo Sarah Hartley Photography
Twins Chelsea and Sadie Neilson are Grade 12 students at Claremont High School and have spent years on the basketball court.
The duo says the work of Jumpstart has made a lasting impact, giving young athletes a welcoming place to play, grow and connect. They will be playing professionally for the Lakeland College Rustlers in Lloydminster, Alberta in the fall.
The girls both started playing in the fourth grade, and by middle school had moved into competitive travel club basketball. They played several sports, but say “basketball was really fun” and that’s where they met many of their friends. They were “always really shy kids” but it’s clear that they shine on the court. Last year Chelsea scored 31 points in their season opener, while twin Sadie hit 11 three-pointers in a single game against Mt. Doug. Both reached 1,000 points each by the end of the year.
Their dedication to the sport is inspiring. Sadie says that the twins “train every day for one to two hours,” just playing basketball. Added to this is daily weight lifting and strength conditioning. Then they have at least three two-hour practices each week, and travel every other weekend up Island or to the mainland for games. Through their club teams outside of school, they have travelled to Vegas, L.A., Seattle and Alberta. They are also teenagers who need to sleep, see friends and “balance school with everything else.” And for the past three years they have been training younger players, “coaching the team we played for when we started.”
Their dad, Jamie Neilson, says that Jumpstart, and the court they built at Panorama Recreation Centre, has made a huge difference for his girls and has been an “absolute blessing for this community.” Founded in 2005, Jumpstart works to remove barriers to sport to ensure all kids have access to recreation. With the financial support of Canadian Tire North Saanich, Jumpstart’s outdoor courts opened during the pandemic when there were limited options for playing basketball. The court also stands out because it has eight hoops and is a FIBA (Fédération Internationale de Basketball Amateur/International Basketball Federation) regulation court. When you’re training to become an athlete, Jamie says a high accuracy court with the right lines is crucial because “basketball is a game of fractions of inches.”
John Cunningham, owner of Canadian Tire North Saanich, says that the five stores within Greater Victoria were proud to collaborate and help support the court. John says that “supporting the community is a big part of Canadian Tire” and that they are fortunate that North Saanich was chosen to build the court because it’s “lucky to have that in our backyard.” He also says it’s worth a visit for anyone that hasn’t been there, as it’s “state of the art” and a “spectacular” part of the local community. John met Sadie and Chelsea and says that it’s amazing what they have accomplished. He says that these “two girls are just one example of all the youth that this Jumpstart facility supports.”
Sadie and Chelsea agree that having the basketball court “minutes away from the house” meant it was a core place for training, and with eight hoops they had more freedom to practice even when other players were there. Also, when travelling to the mainland on a 9 a.m. ferry, there is no opportunity to warm up prior to the game once they arrive. But having the court so close means that they can warm up before they leave in the morning. By high school, Chelsea and Sadie were already working up to 500 buckets per day and Jamie says that having “access to something they could walk to before they started driving,” with year-round availability, made all the difference. Since the fifth grade, the twins have put up over 319,000 made baskets and shot over 59,700 three-point shots.
This is just the beginning for Chelsea and Sadie’s basketball stardom. They have some time off this summer, aside from their day-to-day training, before moving to Alberta in August. Chelsea says “we’re excited about being together,” and this factor, along with each receiving a scholarship, is what led them to choosing Lakeland. Practices will increase to twice a day, six days a week. And of course, this will be on top of starting their degrees, beginning with first-year science courses. Through all of Sadie and Chelsea’s daily training and hard work, Jamie says about the Jumpstart court: “having this in our backyard helped them get to college.”
