Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
Welcome to the Canadian Basketball show, your go to spot for the latest news stories and analysis on Canadian basketball. I'm your host, Lee Ban Osman. This week I'm joined in studio by a very special guest, someone I consider a trailblazer.
She was named to Canada's top 25 women of influence.
Forbes under 30. That's big time. She's the person behind the first paid professional women's basketball league here in Canada.
Hoop Queen CEO Kesa K. Welcome to the show.
[00:00:39] Speaker B: Amazing intro. Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.
[00:00:43] Speaker A: Long time coming.
[00:00:43] Speaker B: I feel like I have long time coming.
[00:00:45] Speaker A: We've been chatting. I've been wanting to get you on season five coming up soon.
[00:00:49] Speaker B: Yeah, you got a long list though. You got a long list of people to get on this podcast. So I'm glad I'm here. I'm happy. I'm just honored to be a part of this and this is a big time podcast. So I'm proud of you for starting this and yeah, can't wait to see where. Where it goes.
[00:01:04] Speaker A: Yeah. What does preparation look like? Getting started Season five, like we said, busy time of the year. A lot of stuff happening in the women's basketball world. Tempo starting up.
What does preparation look like for season five? Because I was at the finals. I'll say that crazy finals. It was lit.
And you're running it back.
[00:01:22] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean preparation looks pretty much the same every year.
Every year we're growing. Every year we're trying to be better than the last year.
So for this year, obviously location was the biggest thing for us. We do have another location change, unfortunately, but we have to roll the punches. So yeah, we're working with Tim Yu to, yeah. Have the season and they're great partners. Honestly. We just did a walkthrough actually right before this.
Really easy to work with. Really trying to help us and make it home there for the season.
And yeah, so first find the location and then also find our partners. Who are our partners going to be for this season? We've obviously re upped with Nike and Foot Locker.
[00:02:10] Speaker A: Shout out Nike.
[00:02:11] Speaker B: Yeah, they're definitely putting their mouth, their money, where their mouth is and investing in women, especially in Toronto.
And yeah, so find our partners and then work back from there in terms of like the draft and the GMs and who's going to be playing in the league and then what are the accommodations? What are the things that we're bringing new into the season? Because every season is like we're trying to re up from last season.
[00:02:34] Speaker A: So all Exciting. I want to get into the journey of it all. We'll get into all the stuff you're adding this season. What can people expect coming out to watch a hoop queens game at the Mattamy Athletic Center?
But diving deep into your journey, you saw a gap in women's basketball here in the city. In Canada, there wasn't a hoop queens, there wasn't a paid professional basketball league. And I remember chatting with you year
[00:03:00] Speaker B: one, you gave me my first article. You gave me my first article shout
[00:03:03] Speaker A: out to you, Appreciate it. But seeing you at the beginning of Curl Hall, I remember just the banners on the wall, that was so cool.
Tell me about the journey. What sparked the idea of creating Canada's first professional women's basketball league?
[00:03:18] Speaker B: Well, I think one. Well, obviously I played basketball myself, so being in the city, you know, being around when Crown League was around, seeing how that, how that had an impact on the city and just like the vibe that it created. The, you know, every. Everybody looked forward to Crown League every summer.
And I always wondered, like the back of my mind, I was like, why? Why isn't there anything for the women, like? Or if there was, why isn't it being promoted on the same platform, on the same intensity level? So, you know, obviously I went through university, graduated, and I didn't want anything to do with basketball. I was like, all right, time to make some money, get a real job and like, do the whole nine, start the adult life. And I hit my, you know, depression. And I think every athlete goes through this where you don't really know like, who you are and what you're doing after graduation.
So I was into accounting, had my 9 to 5 job, and I was like, nah, I gotta, I gotta turn my life around. So I started to coach.
And then the coaching, I think really sparked the idea of like me just being a mentor in the space or a big sister to the little girls that I was coaching.
Then I started to look around and I started to kind of do some digging of like, why isn't there any other, you know, black women making decisions for women in this space? There's a lot of men making decisions for women in this women's space.
I was like, yeah, why can't it be me? Or why can't it be the people who actually played basketball making decisions for the next generation of basketball players?
So fast forward to Covid 2020.
That summer literally hit up the playground, guys. That's when they opened up their gyms and we had like a 45 minute time slot at first, like it was very, very short. And it was just some of the girls that I was coaching with and then a lot of the girls that I played ball with, like the yeast girls, girls that I knew kind of like growing up older. Dakota White, like all those girls, they came back and they were like, oh, what is this run in the city?
And I was like, oh, this is a, this is a vibe that I'm creating. And I accidentally created it, obviously went to school for business. So I was like, okay, let me not, you know, waste my degree and let me actually put a business behind this run. Whether we brand it, whether we make it a business, whether, you know, it's a little non. Not for profit.
Let's do this thing.
And then that's kind of like where Hoop Queen started. It really just started of the passionate of like, let's just create a women's space just for us girls.
[00:05:55] Speaker A: And us women who were the first people you kind of ran that idea by. And what was like the reception, it was like, hey, I want to do this. Because it kind of evolved right where it's like we're doing these little runs. And then, yeah, I was like, oh, let's make this bigger.
[00:06:06] Speaker B: Yeah. So at the time, actually Michael Jackman. Jackman, I think he coaches at 10 year old. I think he, he had his own runs at the time and it was just men's like pro runs. And he actually told me about like the gym space and stuff like that. So he was like, after, after our run, how about you get like, you have like a 40, there's a 45 minute time slot between I think the high school guys and the pro guys. So you guys, you can do a woman's run. And I was like, all right, cool.
So from there kind of ran the idea of just all the girls that I played ball with. I was like, hey, there's a run.
Let's, you know, give me $10. Just I can cover the gym cost.
And then as soon as I cover the gym cost, I didn't charge anybody else, as long as I cover the gym cost. And I added some snacks and I think I had some physio there.
We had music going. It was, it was a vibe.
And yeah, I just ran it by. Honestly, all the people that I played basketball with, they came, they showed up. And then a lot of the, the girls that were the next generation, the shy's, Latasha Tanea, the Todd's, like, all those girls, they were at Royal Crown at the time and they showed up. So it was those Girls against kind of like the. The. The past generation. So it was cool. It was goodbye.
[00:07:16] Speaker A: What was it like? Okay, now let me make this for people to watch people to. To come get a seat, purchase a ticket, come watch. Come watch hoop queens and watch the next wave of talent.
[00:07:28] Speaker B: Honestly, it was not idea until I was like, all right, we'll run it back next summer. See you guys later.
But everyone was like, you know, you should run the league. Like, it was so. You did it so well.
You know, it was just so authentic. It was so just. Just genuine. And like, every. Everything was just, like, amazing. And the experience was. Was super important for everybody, especially for me. Like, I'm really big on experience and, like, how people feel when they're either watching or playing.
So from there, people are like, you should run a league. And I was like, nah, I know. I. I am a women's basketball player, and I know, you know, when you try to do something with women, it's like, you know, who's there? Who's all there, who's all playing? I don't know if I'm going to come if I run a league. Um, but I thought that. I thought about it, and I was like, well, people will show up for money. Like, if. If I pay them, they will show up.
I actually, the first person that I called was Y.C. i don't know if you know Y.C.
but Christopher Francis, he's, like, been so, like, such a monumental person in the women's game. Pillar. Pillar in the women's game. And called him, ran the idea by him. He was like, yeah, was like, the first one to support me.
Then I called Bri Johnson.
I was like, hey, would you play?
She's like, yeah, of course. And she was like, yeah, it's a dope idea.
Called a couple other people.
And everyone's like, yeah, bet I'll play. And it was basically all of the people who I thought were great basketball players in my time, like the Dakota Whites, the Michaela Riche, like, all. All of those girls.
And I was like, I wanted to pay homage to the girls that at least inspired me when I was younger.
And, yeah, I created. Created the league that. That. That summer. So the next summer, 2021.
[00:09:10] Speaker A: Yeah, you named teams after some iconic players that have come before into women's basketball here in Canada. What was it like? Was like, hey, I want to pay you now. I need to get the backing of this. Was it like, was that hard? Was it like, getting people to be like, hey, I want to front the cost, because now it's, like, so much growing appetite for women's basketball here in Canada, especially with the Temple coming. Like, so much growing appetite. What was that like when it was like, hey, I want to pay you out. Pay you guys.
Let me find the support for this.
[00:09:40] Speaker B: I think for us, like. And I. And I say, for us as my team, it's so important for me to learn women's basketball even before my time. Like, who were the pillars? Who were the change makers? Who do we have to bridge the. The connection between this generation and the. And the previous generation?
It's always been super important to. To know history. And, you know, through this process of even building this league, I learned so much around Canadian women's basketball.
And just paying homage to those basketball clubs, you know, Brampton. Brampton warriors, like that. That. Like those. Those clubs that either I played against or played with.
Really, really. It really meant something to me, and I really wanted to pay homage to the people who either led or coached part of those conversations or started those. A part of those clubs.
Hugh Riley passed away this weekend, and we gave him his flowers. And that's something that I really want to continue to do because it's like, you give people their flowers, you know, when they're here on. On earth and know that then you show them that, you know, we appreciate kind of your efforts and your energy into this and you're putting into this game. So really wanted to kind of start that from season one and continue that throughout Hoop Queens, because I think a lot of times in this basketball space, we get lost. We get lost in the sauce a lot, and we forget about the people who really put a lot of time, effort, equity, sweat, all that stuff into this game. So using Hoop Queens as a platform to showcase the history of women's basketball is important to me.
[00:11:13] Speaker A: Yeah, I want to give you a shout out, too, because I didn't know who he was until you mentioned him. I don't know if, you know, I'm getting it. Travis Charles.
[00:11:19] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:11:20] Speaker A: Works in the wnba. You're like, hey, Lee, man, you should do a store on this guy.
[00:11:23] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:11:23] Speaker A: From Scarborough.
[00:11:24] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:11:24] Speaker A: And I didn't know who he was.
[00:11:25] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:11:26] Speaker A: But a guy that's from Scarborough. Then I was executive.
[00:11:29] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:11:29] Speaker A: The Dallas Wings.
And you were the first one to put him on my radar. It was you. Christopher was like, yo, you should do a story on him.
[00:11:35] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:11:35] Speaker A: I was like, what?
[00:11:36] Speaker B: Like, yeah, nobody knows about it.
[00:11:37] Speaker A: No one knows about him. But it's like you're shining a lot on people that are within the women's basketball space here in Canada that might not get the spotlight, that kind of stuff, right?
[00:11:45] Speaker B: Yeah. It's not just about, like, me. And I think a lot of times, like, I. I never wanted to be the front. The front runner of this. I wanted to put people in the forefront of, like, those are. These are the people who are. Who have, like, literally changed the game one by one, whether they're an agent, whether they are a wnba GM or assistant GM or coach or whatever it is. Like, I really want to be able to put these people out on. On front street because people are, Are don't. They don't even know their names.
So it's super important for me to highlight the people who are actually changing the game.
[00:12:18] Speaker A: Yeah, you start it. What's the appetite when you're like, oh, man, I see in everybody. CBC was. I was there. Toronto Star was there. Cameras were there. You had NBA players come out and watch. Cheyenne and them are all there. Cheyenne couldn't play. I think she was in college at the time.
But you had, like, whole city popped out. I was like, stacked up. The Kerr hall gym was packed out from the front to the back. It was like.
[00:12:41] Speaker B: Season was crazy. Yeah, it was crazy.
Honestly, I. I mean, I don't. I don't know if you remember, but the first season I. I showed up there. I was packing the U Haul, forgot my sneakers. I was wearing bicycle shorts and a T shirt. I didn't know that people wanted to interview me. It was about the players. Like, it was about the things that were the platform and the. And the product that we were putting in front. And I really didn't know that people would want to talk to me. Um, so I realized I was like, oh, this is, like, way bigger than, like, what I thought it would be. Um, because I think there was a lot of appetite for just the. The platform for pro or, like, elite women's basketball.
Not saying that, you know, you know, the obas are, you know, not exciting or anything, but I think people really want to see the D1 players come back and. And showcase their skills, because they haven't seen them in four years or five years. So.
And then the mix of youth sport athletes is. It's a good thing. And then also pro, the pro girls who come back in the. In the summer and when their season's done, it's like, they don't really play anywhere.
So how can we kind of mix that all together and create a wonderful product?
[00:13:47] Speaker A: You talked about it. I remember. I think the first time I interviewed you like, I don't know if I've ever done an interview.
[00:13:50] Speaker B: Just like, that's probably stuttering. I mean, I still do.
[00:13:53] Speaker A: No, you did a great job. I remember. But what was that like, being like, hey, you talked about it. You don't want to be like. But you're not here. The face of this, you know, it's like. Which is cool, which is amazing. I feel like what you've accomplished is like, you know, thank you. You should be getting your flowers. You know, I'm saying. And I see you at, like, whether it's WNBA events or it's grassroots, like, you're tapped in. You're not even like, you go everywhere. You know, what's that? Like, where it was like, hey, Keith, this is your idea. And it's like, everyone's probably telling you, hey, you. You need to do this. It needs to be you.
[00:14:25] Speaker B: Yeah, great question. I think for me, I try my best to not get too high, not get too low, and always just genuinely connect with the people that support hoop queens and get the vision. And it's not a poppy show. Like, we're really trying to bridge the connection between the grassroots and the pro players.
So even with our junior hoop queens program, like, that program is.
That means the world to me. Like, I want to coach in that. It's not like, I'm very hands off when it comes to, like, hoop queens, like, the league. Like, I try to. I have a team and they run it, and I try my best to show up for junior hoop queens. I try to coach. I try to be in the drills. I. I do my best to. To still be involved and yeah, give that space to young women. Because that's, like, my favorite part of hoop queens.
[00:15:16] Speaker A: What's that like to. When players that haven't come home for a while esports players that people don't recognize the talent you sports. But I covered esports. I covered Carly when they were playing with the. The tmus of the. When they were playing Carlton, I remember I was like, wow, this is amazing basketball. Overseas players that have gone and scurva,
[00:15:36] Speaker B: nobody knows their names, and they're legends,
[00:15:38] Speaker A: you know, they're legends in the space, but it's like, nobody got to watch them play in Canada.
[00:15:42] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:15:42] Speaker A: What was that like when it was like, hey, I'm guessing people are saying, kisa, thank you. Like, I'm playing in front of a family member that has never got to watch me play or watch me on some grainy film from overseas that I sent him a link of, like, what Was that, like.
[00:15:55] Speaker B: It still feels so surreal to me because I get every. Every single season, no matter what, I. I get parents, I get grandparents, I get siblings, like, crying, like, coming up to me and saying, like, you know, I haven't watched my. My little. My little cousin or my daughter play in five years or seven years or whatever. Whatever it is. Because they went from D1 to straight overseas. Like, they haven't seen them actually play in person.
Whether they didn't have the resources or whatever it was. They just look at the gratitude like, it's. It's so, like, heartwarming. And it just. It's surreal to me because it's like, wow, this is like something that is so impactful beyond, like, my even brain or understanding.
Because people are.
Yeah. Watching their. Their grandkids play that they. They haven't watched in a while or, you know, know it's their last game or whatever it is. It's. It's. It's just such a surreal feeling that my team and myself are. Are putting out that's impacting for generations.
[00:16:52] Speaker A: Yeah. And I talk about the. The atmosphere.
I was at the finals last year at U of T. Yeah. I seen, like, one side of family members yelling. It was a close game. I think it came down to the wire.
[00:17:02] Speaker B: Is a target. Yeah. Target score.
[00:17:03] Speaker A: Target score. That. That's an amazing, like, way to go about it.
[00:17:06] Speaker B: Shout out to the cbl.
[00:17:07] Speaker A: Shout out to the cvl. Yeah, shout out to cbl. Um, and I think. Who else? Jamal Shed. All those rappers guys were out there. They pulled up and what's the atmosphere like when you're watching it and you're like, wow, did you envision it would become something like this where it's like the whole city's popping out?
[00:17:24] Speaker B: It's a lot bigger than what I thought it was. It's going to be a. Truthfully, you know, I thought Kerr hall, that last day that we. We had it, it was like. It was. It was crazy. And I. I took. I have one video. Literally one video on my phone. That's it. Because I. I didn't even pull up my phone to take pictures.
[00:17:39] Speaker A: I.
[00:17:40] Speaker B: But I have one video. And it still shocks me to this day of like, wow, we packed out Kerr hall. And, you know, Humber. We packed out Humber. And then U of T. We packed out U of T. And I didn't. I honestly, like, my goal was, you know, we're gonna pack out U of T. Because I love the gym, I love the space.
[00:17:56] Speaker A: Best facility.
[00:17:56] Speaker B: Yeah. I love the space. And that was the goal. Kind of like when I first started the league, I was like, okay, I really want to go to U of T one day.
You know, and that the last season, I was like, I really.
My ultimate goal is to pack up this gym and make sure it's sold out. And we did that last, the last game. And the vibe and the energy, like, you can't even describe what, like, how it feels in there. It's like, it's such a good vibe. Like, sometimes, you know, you miss a quarter because you're catching up with somebody you haven't seen in 10 years or, you know, you know, you see your. Your 8th grade teacher or like there's. There's just so much connections and it's such a good vibe there like, that we. We've curated. And I'm all about great experience.
I'm all about making sure people feel like they're having a great time while watching basketball. It's not. You're just coming here for basketball because it's important.
[00:18:44] Speaker A: Yeah. I want to say something that I think you deserve your flowers and because now we're watching the Toronto Temple come in, I'm going to see it for you. But I think what you created showed that, hey, there's an appetite. We need a woman's basketball team in Canada, in the wnba.
Did you feel that? That was like, hey, wow, this could mean, yeah, a franchise coming in Canada. What we're doing is, like, showing that there's a pathway for this.
[00:19:11] Speaker B: I think not only me, I think it was the, the generations before me that, you know, had the tournaments for, yes, the boys, but also had kind of like a girl, a lady side to it as well. So I think, yeah, the small tournaments, like, there's, you know, there's so many small turn, smaller tournaments that happened that kind of led up to the idea of Hoop Queensland.
And, you know, all of those things kind of inspired me. Okay. I want to take this from this tournament. I want to take this from this experience to lead up to what. Who Queens is today. So I wouldn't just say, like, you know, I'm. I'm the person that, you know, led this, this whole temple movement. But definitely a small, small needle. A small movement in the needle. And I'm just a part of. I'm just part of that. That history.
[00:19:54] Speaker A: So, yeah, it takes a village.
Where were you at when you found out Temple's coming to Canada? What was your reaction? I'm guessing people are like, I'm guessing you're probably getting a lot of Sex.
Do you remember where you were at when you found out the news?
[00:20:08] Speaker B: I think I found out a couple days before released.
[00:20:11] Speaker A: You didn't text me.
[00:20:13] Speaker B: You are definitely.
[00:20:15] Speaker A: I could have broke that.
[00:20:17] Speaker B: I think I found out, I mean, a couple months in advance. I think it was.
[00:20:23] Speaker A: There was whispers. There's a lot of whispers.
[00:20:24] Speaker B: Yeah, like who was going to lead the, the expansion. There was a couple groups that, that were kind of, I guess, betting on it or whatever. But yeah, when it was official, I believe Shereen broke it.
[00:20:36] Speaker A: Yep.
One of the best sports journalists.
[00:20:38] Speaker B: Again, 100% shout to my girl.
But no, I, I was. It wasn't really. I mean, it still doesn't feel real. Like every story that I hear, it's like, okay, obviously there was the court reveal and the preseason game, but I think on Friday, when Friday happens, I think it's going to be very monumental. I think for me and a lot of people who play, actually play basketball, it's going to be very, very surreal.
[00:21:03] Speaker A: So, yeah, tempo, obviously starting May 8th.
[00:21:06] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:21:06] Speaker A: At the Coca Cola Coliseum. Have you been to any game so far? Have you checked it out or.
[00:21:10] Speaker B: Yeah, no, I haven't been to the preseason. I haven't been to pre season, but I've been to the court reveal and yeah, it looks great. Like the team is doing great. Monica is my girl. Shout out to Monica. Justina King. She was also coach at, at Hoop Queens.
[00:21:23] Speaker A: What's that like seeing like the develop go from. No, Justina from. She was with the Raptors just now too, coaching at Hoop Queens. I don't know if she played too,
[00:21:31] Speaker B: but yeah, she played, she played.
[00:21:32] Speaker A: And then seeing her now with the W and Sandy raved about her where it was like, she's the video coordinator.
[00:21:37] Speaker B: She's.
[00:21:38] Speaker A: She's doing a lot of stuff in practices. What's that like seeing like someone you know.
[00:21:41] Speaker B: Yeah, Justina is one a great human being. That's. That's first, first. First and foremost, like, Justina is so real. She's such a great human being.
She played with us when she graduated her school and she was, you know, her feedback of like, okay, how can we grow? And like we really do try to take the feedback of the, of the players.
Obviously. Her mom, Missy, amazing legend in officiating, also is a part of like, kind of like, I wouldn't say our advisory but like they, they give us feedback a lot.
So watching Justina kind of grow has been amazing. She's obviously. She went with the Raptors and just with her time, kind of just asking her how was her time? How's her experience, seeing where her head's at? And I'm glad. Literally, we talked maybe a couple days before, maybe she even got the job. She was like, I really want to be with the Temple. I really want to, you know, get into the women's side. And I was like, you got it. You got it. You know it's going to happen for you. If it's supposed to happen, it will happen.
And, you know, a couple of days later, she. She got it and it was announced later on. But yeah, she's. She's just a perfect example of like, that is the career trajectory that you can take. It's a possibility. You don't have to be on the court. You can also be in front office. So she's just a perfect example of, of, you know, people who may not go overseas. And there's, there's different ways that you can kind of give back to the sport.
[00:23:01] Speaker A: Yeah. Temple season starts May 8th, and then you. Your season starts in early July.
[00:23:05] Speaker B: July 10th.
[00:23:06] Speaker A: July 10th. How do you see it kind of like coexisting in a way where it's like, the Temple is obviously doing its thing, but for esports, for other players that are coming from overseas that want to come hoop, Like, I think it's a perfect time for, like basketball in the city. Right. Where it's like, people want to come to the city. It's like you got to come out, check out. Not just the Temple, you got to check out hoop queens.
[00:23:27] Speaker B: There's a lot of. There's a lot of sports happening this summer, like FIFA, afc.
[00:23:32] Speaker A: I'm afraid for the traffic.
[00:23:33] Speaker B: I know for them.
No, I get this question all the time. I get this, how are you going to exist with tempo coming in? Like, are you guys, you know, not going to do it anymore? We're always going to be here. No matter. As long. As long as I'm alive and as long as my team is alive, we are going to be here and we're here to stay.
For us, we have a different group, different group of players that we're. We're pulling from.
Uh, there's about a 0.4% chance to actually making a game day roster of a WNBA team cuts. Yeah. And it's smaller for Canadian girls.
[00:24:07] Speaker A: Uh, so for us, getting waved by the Chicago sky. Like what?
[00:24:11] Speaker B: Yeah, you know, a lot of people get waved and I don't think people understand the actual business side of basketball, or at least women's basketball. Um, so figuring out kind of like where the gaps are. On that side is where we thrive.
So for us, when women graduate D1, when they graduate youth sport, they don't have agents. They don't even know how to get agents. They don't even know how to get overseas or continue their sport journey. So for us, we're really trying to be that middle ground, and we're going to continue to thrive in that middle ground.
We love the W, we love you're overseas, and we love being able to create a pathway to those, those systems. But for us, we're really trying to help those girls in that, in that in between stage.
[00:24:57] Speaker A: What was like. You talked about the in between stage. What was like, maybe the difficult part for, for players that you knew, like, went through a system was like, maybe they didn't have an agent. Maybe they didn't know, like, what were my options after I used sports? What was that like navigating from like, maybe yourself or just like other players that you heard?
[00:25:14] Speaker B: For me, once I tore my acl, I was like, okay, oh, you're cooked. Hang it up. Hang it up, sister.
[00:25:21] Speaker A: Maybe directly.
[00:25:23] Speaker B: Yeah. I was like, you know, I don't, I don't see myself going overseas. Really wanted to make a lot of money.
Then I, then I started to say, okay, like, how can, you know, one. Change a system? Everyone says there's no money in women's basketball. That's when I first started out. Everyone was telling me like, oh, there's no, there's no money in women's basketball. And I was like, there's no way that, you know, there's millionaires in this world, billionaires in this world that can't change this problem.
And that's just type of person I am. I'm. I'm always going to go against the status quo. I'm always going to push the, push the envelope.
But yeah, I really wanted to. To show girls that. Show girls and women that, you know, you can, you can go past the status quo of like, if you don't want to make, if you don't, if you can't make it to the wnba, there's other options.
So that's where we, where we thrive.
[00:26:09] Speaker A: Yeah. And I think there's. You guys also provide, like CBC was broadcasting the games last year and then like film for these players where it's like, if an agent wants to watch.
[00:26:18] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:26:19] Speaker A: Or a team or a club overseas wants to watch, it's like, you can scout right here.
[00:26:23] Speaker B: A lot of, A lot of agents have been hitting us up.
[00:26:25] Speaker A: What's that? Like?
[00:26:26] Speaker B: It's, it's been. It's cool. It's honestly cool to create those relationships as well. Because for me, I didn't have an agent, I didn't have a pool of resources of. Of agents to hit up and to. To see interview, to see who's best for me or if it best fits for me.
But now kind of we're starting to build that roster of like, okay, who are the agents that we can trust? Who are the clubs that we can trust? Because, you know, I'm sure you've heard all of the horror stories about overseas, and we never want to put our girls in that position. So I really want to be able to educate the young girls coming out of Youth Sport&D1 that, you know, pro and overseas is. It's a great dream, but there's also another side to it that you don't know. So we love bringing in, you know, pro players that have that experience, 10 years, 12 years experience, to like, talk about, you know, the. The pros and cons of going overseas and deciding, do you want this life or do you want to take a different path type of thing. So for our workshop, so we have workshops before the games, and we really tried to push different narratives of like, financial literacy, career development, professional development, just like, different things that. So we can get like, the. The mind going for the athletes, obviously preparing for the game. That's in like an hour and a half or whatever, but really want to give them the option of, like, starting to think about how they can use their transferable skills from sport to a professional journey.
[00:27:50] Speaker A: We kind of talked. Talked about it, but the backing, what's that been like? When I hear Nike, I hear Cha Ching. That's what I hear. You know, but for the players that are playing the league, what's been. I'm guessing the salary for these players that are playing professionally in your league. What's that look like? Maybe from year one to now.
[00:28:05] Speaker B: Great question, because a lot of people to this day is like, oh, they get paid. I'm like, five years in, you don't know that they get paid. We got to do better.
But no. So for the first season, first two seasons, um, yeah, first two seasons, we actually. No, first three seasons. Sorry. First three seasons, we had a flat rate of 200 an hour. Or, sorry, 200 a game.
So every player got paid 200.
If you were playing in hoop queens.
[00:28:35] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:28:36] Speaker B: Year three, we introduced a. A salary cap. Um.
[00:28:42] Speaker A: Oh, I like. This is like the league.
[00:28:44] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:28:45] Speaker A: So star players, you know, like, negotiate.
[00:28:48] Speaker B: Yeah. So. So we're we're, we're not in terms of trade deadlines and all that stuff yet, but we're, we're trying to introduce all of that. We're trying to really imitate the.
I guess. Yeah, we're really trying to like figure out how we can collect the bargaining agreement. Yeah.
[00:29:04] Speaker A: Like what I want to figure out what's the best way.
[00:29:07] Speaker B: What I really want to do is I want to kind of emulate the, the, the league, right. The NBA, the WNBAs, like how they can create a salary cap and then let the GMs and let the coaches decide who's going to get paid the highest versus the minimum.
And for us like that gives us a little bit more leverage on like the development side. Right. So some, some coaches have now developed into to GMs and they can get that GM experience and now go apply in the WNBA and go apply the MBA of like okay, I've, I've worked with a salary cap, I've worked with the budget, like how it works and type of those type of things. So for us we created that and it also just like the fair, the fairness of everything. Like not everyone could get paid the same.
You know, if I'm, if I'm playing 40 minutes and someone else is paying five, it's makes you work harder.
[00:29:55] Speaker A: Yeah, I want to get paid as.
[00:29:57] Speaker B: Exactly. So, so as, as we evolve, we want to evolve like obviously the, the budget, the, the salary cap. So from, so from season three, um, now we have minimum player 200, 250 and then maximum player 500.
[00:30:14] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:30:16] Speaker B: So it's about a $3,000 if I'm doing my math correctly, I should know this.
$3,000.
Yeah. Salary for the month I would say.
And that is equivalent to your first overseas pro contract.
[00:30:30] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:30:31] Speaker B: For I would say a season like honestly like that first rookie contract overseas, not a lot of money, but it's very similar to what you would get for a month at Hoop Queens.
[00:30:40] Speaker A: That's crazy because I'm just saying like this didn't exist like until you came around and you brought this to the insane.
[00:30:47] Speaker B: And a lot of. And like 90, I would say 97% of our like investment is our partnership. So the Nikes, Foot Lockers, the Canada basketballs, like they give us money, we pull this money together and then that is how we pay the players. So we don't have big investors, we don't have, you know, big networks giving us money to fund the players. It's really just our partners. So we take our partnerships very, very seriously.
And we try to do the most to make sure that players, fans, everyone knows that these, these are the people who are actually putting their money where their mouth is and investing in women.
[00:31:25] Speaker A: People listen to this. If you got money, you know where to go. Who? Queens. Come to King Basketball show too. But I was going to ask you, what's the level of interest now from players where it's like, hey, maybe some was like, okay, maybe I wanna take the summer off. But it's like, nah, I can make a big buck killing some of my local talent and doing it in front of family.
[00:31:46] Speaker B: Oh, 100%. No, there's. It's big. It's a big time to talk between the girls nowadays.
[00:31:51] Speaker A: That's a lot of chatter, huh?
[00:31:52] Speaker B: Yeah, there's a lot of girls that they kind of know now, like, when they graduate, they're gonna get selected to be in troop Queens. And I think it makes me really proud because a lot. I mean, four years ago, five years ago, nobody knew what, what happens after graduation. So I think it really feels, it feels a gap for me. Like. Like, I love that. You know, I'm proud that people can say, oh, I want to play in Hoop Queens, or I'm getting back in shape to play in Hoop Queens, because then they have an outlet and they have a platform to play.
[00:32:23] Speaker A: So, yeah, and what's it like? How many teams do you have now?
[00:32:27] Speaker B: Four teams.
[00:32:28] Speaker A: How many rostered players? And yeah, so.
[00:32:30] Speaker B: So each team has nine players.
And then for our training camp, we're inviting three extra players just so that GMs can get a GMs and coaches can kind of get a feel of cutting players, how training camp works. So introducing that this year, we also had a combine last year.
[00:32:47] Speaker A: How was that?
[00:32:48] Speaker B: It was great. Honestly, like, every year we're learning. Like, I would never say that. You know, we know it all and like, we're the best.
Um, even though we are, I wouldn't say that. You know, we're. We know it all, but we're, we're definitely learning every year. And we know, like, our standard and the bar is high because of what we set.
So the way we treat players, the way we treat our fans, the way we curate the culture, like it's us. Like, we, we've set that bar really high.
So, yeah, for us, we, we are trying to make sure that the player experience is priority and then fans and obviously partners and things like that is also priority, but making sure the players are learning from this experience and getting as much out of it as, as possible. Is so. Is so important. That's. That's what it's all about.
[00:33:35] Speaker A: Is there anything you're introducing this year that was. That's like unique that you're like, hey, I'm excited to add this element to. Maybe you can tease it maybe, you know, maybe announce later on or.
[00:33:44] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:33:45] Speaker A: I mean, on Instagram.
[00:33:48] Speaker B: So last year we had some hotels, so we housed players.
[00:33:52] Speaker A: Nice.
[00:33:52] Speaker B: Some from Montreal.
We also got the Marental car to come back and forth.
[00:33:57] Speaker A: This is like pro lifestyle.
[00:33:58] Speaker B: We're trying. We're trying.
[00:33:59] Speaker A: I gotta get involved.
[00:34:01] Speaker B: We're trying.
So this year we're trying to house them for the entire time instead of going back and forth.
We also are introducing American players.
[00:34:11] Speaker A: Oh, that's interesting.
[00:34:12] Speaker B: Yeah. So we can have at least one or two American international players similar to the CBL setup.
But we really want to make sure that we are evolving but also being sustainable. Like we don't want to be, you know, doing crazy things and we can't afford it. I'm a finance major, so. Don't want to go in the red ever.
[00:34:31] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:34:32] Speaker B: But yeah, no, I. This year we have a training camp now.
We are trying to introduce. I mean, this is, you know, first. Your first one to break it.
We are trying to get some unsigned players from the WNBA to play in the league. Just because that's. That. That's the goal. Right. Like we trying to figure out how to the W can rely on us to keep their unsigned player or waived players to act like to be active and Because a lot of times there's no system. It's like, hey, call who you know, can this player call come up for 10 days and. And play for this injured player. Like, there's no real system.
So we're trying to be that system. So having those waived players play in the league would be important for us.
[00:35:14] Speaker A: Sort of like the G League of the.
[00:35:16] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:35:17] Speaker A: Of the Toronto Temple. Sort of like, you know, hopefully one day. Hey, Monica, man, you know who to call. She's. She's doing it here. She's.
[00:35:23] Speaker B: Ye. Yeah, you gotta get Monica off here. She's a real one. She's a real one.
[00:35:27] Speaker A: I love to. I'd love to one day. Could we also talk about the growth that you've seen from the youth levels? Like, I feel like every age group team on the women's side is like competing for a medal these days. Yeah, what's that like when you're seeing the talent level college basketball, like, the amount of talent is insane. I'm excited for the next wave of talent. When you see it, when you have a lot of players, young players, young girls that maybe come watch hoop queens.
[00:35:52] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:35:53] Speaker A: And like, that keeps them like, oh, I want to get to that stage. What's that like? When you're seeing the next wave of talent, what are your thoughts on. On it?
[00:35:59] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, I think there's the more outlets that we create, the more platforms that we create, like, there's. There is now a future for young girls to be like, okay, I can play in that, or I can be that, or I can coach or I can officiate, or I can be a part of something.
I think, honestly, I want to give a big shout out to Bartlett. I know he was just on here, but he's turned around Canada basketball. Like, a lot of people now want to be on the national team.
[00:36:25] Speaker A: I don't know if that was a thing a few years ago.
[00:36:27] Speaker B: That was not a thing a couple of years ago. So Bartlett and his team has been doing a good job of really trying to thread the needle between, you know, the playground to podium quote that they go by. But he's doing a really good job. And I think it just takes more conversation between us, between the grassroots, between all the clubs, between ova. Between. So that, like, you know, Canada basketball can. They are kind of like the head. Right. So we gotta. We have to have continuous conversations just around how we can all work together and not work in silos so that there's an actual pathway that the young girls can see. Okay. I don't have to choose between this and this.
[00:37:05] Speaker A: So what are your thoughts on that? Because I hear.
I'll be honest, this is gonna be a hot topic.
Like, not hot take, but, like, the grassroots scene feels disconnected from a lot of stuff.
[00:37:17] Speaker B: 100%.
[00:37:18] Speaker A: Do you feel that sort of just not even. I'm not even just talking about Canada basketball, but I'm just saying in general, when it comes to, like, there seems to be so much politics. Not politics, but maybe like. Like, there's a lot of, like, you know, we're doing our own thing. Everyone else is doing their own thing. Like, it's not a lot of cohesion, you know, like, what's that.
[00:37:36] Speaker B: What's.
[00:37:36] Speaker A: What's that like for you now in this space, doing what you're doing. And do you see that now? It's like, oh, my God, this is, like.
[00:37:43] Speaker B: It's so fun.
[00:37:43] Speaker A: I just. We can. I wish we can all get along, you know, for real. Was this, like, beef from, like, 10 years ago? Like, get over yourself.
[00:37:49] Speaker B: I Think, yeah, there's a lot of egos, 100%, and I still have to deal with it.
There's a lot of politics, a lot of, you know, just people working in cellos. But I get it, because even with hoop queens, I was like, I'm gonna figure it out. If nobody can help me, I can figure out myself, and I'm gonna work in this silo and I'm gonna keep my head down until everybody recognizes who and what hoop queens does and gets the recognition.
But for. I think, for. I understand why people are working in silos just because of the system is so. Bro. It's so, so broken. And there's just so much red tape and politics, and people just don't want to work together because of egos or whatever it is.
But I think we just have to really reel it in. I don't know when we're gonna do that, but we're gonna really reel it in and just talk about, like, the. The landscape right now, because it's really bad in terms of the grassroots.
[00:38:41] Speaker A: Yeah. I feel like on the men's side, it's.
[00:38:43] Speaker B: It's terrible.
[00:38:44] Speaker A: It's terrible. It's like, you can't fix it on the women's side. I'm asking you, on the woman's side, is it like. Do you feel like it's. It's. It's.
[00:38:50] Speaker B: It's getting bad?
[00:38:50] Speaker A: It's not as bad.
[00:38:51] Speaker B: No. It's. It's getting worse. It's getting. It's definitely getting similar to the woman, to the men's side.
[00:38:57] Speaker A: How can we fix it?
[00:39:01] Speaker B: It's the. It's. It's the egos. I'm not gonna lie. It's the egos of. Of people in organizations that obviously want to be the best. Everybody wants to be the best. Great.
But how can we take our egos out of it and put our youth that ultimately, it's all about the youth.
[00:39:19] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:39:20] Speaker B: Put the youth first at all levels, whether it's national team, obviously, they're not youth, but put the women first.
Oba, Put the. Put the youth first. Grassroots organizations. Put the youth first. Like, just. We always have to think about why we're doing this, and I think we just all have to come together and, you know, the funders, the organization, the NGOs, PSOs, grassroots organizations, all just have to come together and figure out, okay, this is the standard that we're going to be operating at and then go from there. We see it in other sports. Like, I don't understand why we can't all come together. I understand basketball is a big sport and everyone wants to make their money, but we gotta. We gotta figure this out.
[00:40:01] Speaker A: Yeah, it's. It's tough. I think about it too, where it's like, I don't know. I don't think it'll get to that point.
[00:40:09] Speaker B: You don't think so?
[00:40:10] Speaker A: I don't think so. It's tough.
[00:40:11] Speaker B: I don't know. I'm optimistic. I think we can.
[00:40:13] Speaker A: But stuff I hear, I don't know.
[00:40:15] Speaker B: I don't know. I think we just have to. We have to really create some guardrails around who's running what, how things are run.
[00:40:24] Speaker A: A lot of regulations, Not a lot of regulations. Not a lot of regulations.
[00:40:27] Speaker B: Got to set it back further and
[00:40:28] Speaker A: people like you said, I think the kids should come first.
It's not a big thing, but yeah, we should be looking at the youth and like, what matters most, you know? But, um, next thing I was gonna ask you was about investment. Do you feel like, in terms of, like, the men's side of things, the women's side of things, is it equal or is it getting to the point where it's like woman's basketballs looked at like, hey, we should be investing this on the same side as on. On the same side of the men's side?
[00:40:59] Speaker B: I think it's different. I think it's a different conversation between the men's and women's. I think people are starting to realize, like, it's not the same blueprint. Um, and I don't think we're. I think we're past that conversation of, like, should we invest in women? I think now everyone's starting to realize, okay, we're going to invest in women. But how. I think that's the conversation that we're at, which I'm thankful for, because we don't have to beg and plead why we need some money or why we need investment nowadays. But I do think the conversations around investment and starting to. Is it starting to get a little bit easier still? Obviously hard, but yeah, I think, I think it's just different about how you invest in women versus men. It's. It's a lot different.
[00:41:43] Speaker A: So, yeah, yeah. Is there one thing you would change, like, immediately about, like, maybe women's basketball infrastructure in Canada, that you're like, hey, this would help a lot. Like, if we can, like, tackle this one thing, like, how much time do we have? We got a lot of time.
[00:41:56] Speaker B: How much time do we.
[00:41:57] Speaker A: We were at the 40 minute mark. We got. We got time.
[00:42:01] Speaker B: What would I change. Oh boy.
I would start from the top down. It comes with it. It starts with funding. Like, I, I know that we. It just got announced this to the 772 million.
[00:42:13] Speaker A: Yeah. I think I'm looking at. Yeah.
[00:42:16] Speaker B: I think it's a. Sports.
[00:42:16] Speaker A: Sports Canada Soccer announced a new like, training grounds.
[00:42:20] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:42:20] Speaker A: Recently. Which is like, wow. I never. I'm like, I should have waited, should have waited till Bartley came on, maybe a little bit after so we could ask him like, is this something that they're.
[00:42:28] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:42:29] Speaker A: Basketball is looking at like a training ground where I think the thing too is like, there's such less access to basketball.
[00:42:35] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:42:35] Speaker A: It's like the amount of fighting that it takes just, just to get access to a gym is insane. It's like, why are we paying X amount when it's like this?
[00:42:43] Speaker B: I'm paying for $300 an hour sometimes,
[00:42:46] Speaker A: like, which is like, why.
[00:42:47] Speaker B: Saying, why are you taxing like, so
[00:42:49] Speaker A: I think that's a big thing.
[00:42:50] Speaker B: I think. Yeah. Like the funding, it comes with the fund. It starts with the funding starts with the. With, you know, Bartlett talking to the government. Like, he is our representative. Like, and it's a lot of. It's a lot on him. It's a lot of Canada Basketball shoulders to figure out. Okay, how do we pay our. Our. Our players? Also how do we create the great experience for the Olympians and people who are. Are leading our country and in sport. But also how does. How does that trickle down? Canton Basketball has been supporting hoop queens since the beginning.
They've paid for our officiating fees. They've. They've supported with our coaching clinics and things like that. So no knock to them. But I think investment, it really starts with like the Ministry. The Ministry of Sport. Like, that is the conversations that we need to start having. And how can that. What is the program? What's the regulations that can directly go to the people who are doing the work in the grassroots area? It's not even, not even just juju hoop queens. It's like, you know, the, the Canada elites, the, you know, the layups. All those people who are actually having those programs so that they don't have to charge 2,000, $3,000 for per kid. Like, why can't we do something that's like subsidized or have a program from the government from, you know, that's in partnership with Canada Basketball and Ontario Basketball. And then it trickled down. Like, there's just so many different ways that we can slice. And I just, I'm like, who are. Who is at the head of this conversation right now? Like, I just don't understand. I just don't understand how we're not having these conversations. And I.
I was, like, I was thinking about it at the beginning of this year. I was like, maybe I should, like, go into policy or something, because that' where the decision making is, is being made.
[00:44:23] Speaker A: Get my vote.
You get my vote.
[00:44:26] Speaker B: So I don't know.
Who knows? But I. Yeah. Just for me, it's like, head down and figure out what we can control as. As a. As an organization and keep working.
[00:44:38] Speaker A: Yeah. Because I think about it now, like, we talk about the expense of it. Like, if I had a daughter, you know, I want her in the gym. I want her to be the next Aaliyah Edwards, you know, Like, I want. I'm gonna put. You know, I want her dribbling with two hands at the age of two. But. But then I think about the cost, and I'm like, it might be tough. Like, is there something that you feel like, still needs to improve, like, for Canada to become a global leader when it comes to, like, women's basketball? Now that the tempo is here, that I'm like, yeah, I have a lot of hope now. I'm, like, seeing what they're doing. It's like, I think it's going to, like, bring a lot of eyeballs.
[00:45:08] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:45:09] Speaker A: And a lot of young girls are going to be at these games. They're going to be looking at Marina Mabry. They're gonna be looking at a key nurse. They're gonna be looking at these players and saying, hey, I am gonna get into the gym.
[00:45:23] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:45:23] Speaker A: To be that. Like, what's that?
Where do you feel like Canada is when it comes to becoming a global leader in women's basketball?
[00:45:30] Speaker B: I mean, we need to bring back house league.
[00:45:32] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:45:33] Speaker B: Like, I played house league. I mean, only for a year or whatever, but, like. Or a summer. But, like, we need to bring back house league. I think everybody needs to just figure out how we can do that first.
Because, I mean, starting basketball, you're not an elite player. Like, the whole world, her whole world word or concept of elite basketball is insanely crazy right now. Not everybody is elite, obviously. You have to get there. You have to develop.
And I think a lot of parents also has to do with that. There's. There's so many factors that, like, we could sit here and talk for, like, five hours about what. Where. Where the game's at right now, but we need to bring back house leagues, men and Women side, like, we need to figure out how we can differentiate between, okay, you're a house league player, you need to now jump into elite basketball or organized basketball.
For us, like junior hoop queens, we're starting a house league in, In September.
[00:46:31] Speaker A: Nice.
[00:46:31] Speaker B: Depending if it's going to be cost free or not, depending on partners, if they fund it. But if they. Not if they don't fund it, we're going to run it no matter what. Because what I'm seeing right now is the, the gap between girls who want to play basketball and they may not want to play, like for medals and compete, but they still want to play basketball and still want to be involved in basketball. So I think with our junior hoop queens program, we had 100 girls come out. We had 100 girls constantly, consistently loyal to the brand. They come out no matter where we are, no matter what part of the city. Drive from Hamilton, from Oshawa to all over the place, just for our junior hoop queens program because it's cost free. Because it's just girls having fun. It's a curriculum developed just for girls.
So for us, we've seen like kind of like a needs assessment. Okay, where. Where in the city do girls want to play basketball?
And we need to bring back the, the concept of how. Of house league, for sure.
[00:47:26] Speaker A: Yeah. I love this. Yeah. And say, yeah, you want to run for, for a role, I'd hire you. I'd. I'd vote for you. You vote for me, I'll vote for you. Five years from now.
It's crazy now. Like it was five years ago or six years ago.
[00:47:41] Speaker B: Six years.
[00:47:41] Speaker A: Where do you see it five years later?
[00:47:43] Speaker B: Wow, good question.
[00:47:45] Speaker A: Because I'm thinking like, hey, you might something with the wnba. That's what I see.
[00:47:50] Speaker B: I mean, our strategic direction. So, like, I mean, obviously when you start a business, it's not going to be the same idea that you had day one.
So day one, we obviously, we had some goals. We hit them, hit some milestones that we had.
I think this year we took the time to, like the first three months of this year, we really took the. The time to figure out, okay, what's our strategic direction, where do we want to go and what is our plan B? What is our plan A type of thing? And what, what's our goals? Like, what is our goals? As we've kind of hit everything that we wanted to do, we paid the girls, we've had a great location.
You know, we've had D1 players come into our league and have a phenomenal time and get drafted to go overseas. Like, we've. We've done all the things that we really wanted to do. Now. What's the next step? So I think for us, from what I can say is really being able to have the opportunity for organizations or people to own the teams.
So right now we have four teams. Our goal is to get to six or eight with having team owners and people invest into the league.
And for us, it's really just growing the game and growing the opportunity for girls to get paid if they can't make it to the W and if they can't get overseas. So that's the strategic direction right now. And within five years, we want to be, you know, have a media rights deal. That's the big one.
And also just be international, whether it's the U.S. whether it's, you know, Europe.
Figure out how we can get this blueprint that we've created internationally.
[00:49:34] Speaker A: Yeah. What's been the most rewarding thing for you? Seeing the journey of hoop queen, Seeing the process. What's been the most rewarding thing?
[00:49:41] Speaker B: That's a good question.
The most rewarding thing for me is seeing those young girls in junior hoop queens.
They just want to be a part of a sisterhood.
And I think I continuously say, obviously hoop queens is a league, and it's amazing. I love everything about it. But the junior hoop queens is where my heart, my heart and my soul lies.
Those girls being able to come to the hoop queens games and say, oh, okay, I can play on that team one day.
Them having the inspiration to actually meet players, you know, do a tunnel walk and, yeah, just simulate kind of like, hey, this is. This is what you can be one day. Whether you're a coach, whether you're, you know, a GM or a player.
Just having. Just seeing those young little girls being able to be inspired is. Is rewarding. Very rewarding for me.
[00:50:33] Speaker A: Yeah, anything. I look at your journey too. I feel like I don't see you. Once KU Queen starts, I'm like, where's Kisa? I don't see her. What's that?
We've talked about the preparations in season.
[00:50:45] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:50:46] Speaker A: What's your life like? Like, what's that? Juggling that and. And what's it. What's the dynamic like between that and for you? How do you juggle all of it?
[00:50:56] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. Such a great question.
So before I was like, anxiety provoking everything, just anxiety attacks. I didn't even know what anxiety was. Before who Queens. I was so stressed. I, you know, obviously I felt like my face is on this now. I, you know, I have to make sure this is successful.
I was so. I had so much pressure. I put so much pressure on myself to perform at a peak level.
There was one year, but I think the third year, or maybe the second year, the second year, going into the third year, I realized, like, I just wasn't the same person. I wasn't the same bubbly person. I wasn't the same welcoming, warm person that I am. And I, I. And I got the feedback that I. I love feedback. I love to, you know. You know, talk to people and. And see how they feel and stuff. And a lot I've got. I've got a lot of feedback of, like, you know. You know, when you're in your hoop queens mode, you're in your hoop queens
[00:51:46] Speaker A: mode, you're just like, no one can see you.
[00:51:48] Speaker B: No, no, don't. Don't talk to her. If the building's on fire, then talk to her, but don't talk to her. You know, don't message her. Don't. Whatever, whatever. And I think I really wanted. I really worked hard to, like. I mean, I'm still like that a little bit, but I really wanted to work hard to change that narrative because I didn't want to be that person of, like, I'm just, like, tunnel vision, just making sure that the game is great and the product is great and the fans weren't happy. I was like, I want my fans to know me, see me, hug me, be able to.
I just physically, mentally was not there for the first two seasons, but now I'm starting to. I feel like myself. I feel like now I'm, like, I'm really comfortable in my own skin of, like, if things go wrong, it goes wrong. It's supposed to go wrong, you know, like, maybe that's just not our. Our time yet. Like, I think I'm so. I'm so comfortable with, like, the result of things.
I'm a big, big believer. Go to church every Sunday.
And I think with that, my spirituality has really grown, and I'm really confident in, like, what God has planned for me. What God has planned for who queens?
So, yeah, I mean, who queens now? I'm really present. I really try to stay present in the journey because, you know, we all. We're. I think we're all like this. We're all like, all right, let's set this goal where we. We get to the goal, and then it's like, hey, what's next? It's like, no, we got to really, really enjoy that journey. I know everybody always says you got to enjoy their journey, you got to enjoy the journey. Like, that's the quote from everybody.
But actually taking the time to, like, enjoy the moment that you're in is, is so, so important. And I think relishing, you know, the people around you and making sure that, you know, the people you're in the environment and you're, and you're physically taking it in and creating those relationships and those bonds and those memories with people is super important for me. So, yeah, I mean, this season, during the season, it's not really as stressful. I think it's the, the preseason. The preseason is like, where you do all the work and then you get to the game and then, you know, you practice so many times, you're, you know, your, your shot's going to be the same as kids. You can't just change because it's game time. So I take a lot of, a lot of concepts of basketball into planning hoop queens, and it's, it's all in the preparation. So the preparation is definitely stressful. I try to work out every day mentally at Good Life. Good Life is like my, my savior because I have my 5am workout.
[00:54:06] Speaker A: I'm a YMC type of guy. I'll be honest.
You gotta get a, you gotta get crowded.
[00:54:11] Speaker B: No, man, you gotta go early. That's why you gotta be a part of the 5.
[00:54:14] Speaker A: 5am I'm not a 5am Good luck.
[00:54:17] Speaker B: No, but it's ingrained in us as we played sports. Like, you know, you, you get in early and you get out and you start, you start your day. So, you know, I wake up at 5am, work out. That's my me time.
I make breakfast, you know, do a little Bible study, do some reading, do some research on hoop queens and figure out how we can like, you know, be better and stuff. And then I start my day. I also work at 9 to 5 at MLSE. A lot of people don't know that.
So I work my night to five, come home either, take a nap, take some calls.
I try to use my time as much as possible to just be, be really organized. Sometimes I'm not, but yeah, time management is super important. So preseason and in season is. It's kind of busy times, but the postseason is where. Kind of like where all the, all the work gets done, all the relationship building gets done, all the planning gets done. And then preseason is like, all right, lets it go.
[00:55:13] Speaker A: So, yeah, now I know not to hit you during the preseason right before
[00:55:16] Speaker B: the season starts, but no, we're all good. And now I have a team. I'm. I want to shout out my team. I got to, got to give a big shout out to my team because.
[00:55:24] Speaker A: Shout them out. Yeah.
[00:55:24] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, like, season one, it was like me, it was like Olivia. It was. There was people who were just kind of like doing it inside of the desk and like, just helping. Yeah, just. Just helping me, like, figure out partnerships and figure out pitch decks and all these things that I learned that that first season.
I now have a team of six.
So, like, I, I have a. Yeah, I have a team of six and they are just amazing. Like, they're way better at things than me and I'm just so, so happy that I have them there and I trust them with my full, like, heart and soul and I trust them to do the things that, that, that they want to do. And they're now kind of like the, the leading roles of hoop queens. Like, I'm really kind of just the. Okay, yes, we should manage this this way because I've, I've done it by, like, I've done each and every role by myself. So I kind of know what to expect and what to, what not to so I can kind of guide them. And learning as a leader, like, I'm learning, I'm still learning as a leader. Like, I'm still growing as a CEO, still growing as a founder. And you'll learn that too. Like, yeah, the first year is not going to be the same as five years, you know, so I've made a lot of mistakes, but I've also learned from them. So it makes me a great leader of just being, being surrounding myself with, with people who are just like minded and they have good, good hearts and, and they're good human beings.
[00:56:43] Speaker A: Yeah, I learned that recently too. You can't do everything yourself, you know?
[00:56:46] Speaker B: Yeah. You gotta let it go, bro. You gotta let it go. You go. Because you can't. Like, my, my CEO Delia says she's chief of operations.
She was like, you know, how can I help? How can I help? How can I help? I was like, it's okay. I got it. Like, I got it, I got it. Because, you know, if you don't, if it turns out a certain way, it's your baby. It's like, ah, damn, I gotta go now and fix it, so I'll just do it myself.
But a part of being a leader, I learned, like, you gotta let people flourish. You gotta let people, you gotta set them up for success. And that's a part of being a good leader. So for me, we go back and forth all the time, but she's like, now, now she knows that, you know, I trust her and she can run with things and things like that. So I've learned as a leader and also now teaching her how to like, manage a team as well. For her. So it's growth and it's fun. This, this whole journey is just, is just so fun. Before it was like, oh, this is a little stressful.
[00:57:36] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:57:37] Speaker B: But now, no, it's, it's, it's fun learning how to, I wouldn't say grow up, but like grow up and be, you know, a CEO and founder. What it, what it really takes to, to lead a team and lead an organization that's super impactful.
[00:57:50] Speaker A: Yeah. I list off your accomplishments at the beginning of this episode, but you talked about working too. Juggling a job while doing this. Is this something you wish you got credit for? It was like, hey, damn. Yeah, we're going through your schedule. And I'm like, this is, this is tough.
I couldn't do that.
[00:58:05] Speaker B: I think a lot of people, I mean, I also don't let people know that I, I work a 9 to 5 unless they ask or unless it comes up in conversation. But yeah, I work a 9 to 5 and it's scary hours if one once that 9 to 5 is, is not 9 to 5 anymore. It's scary hours for hoop queens and a lot of people in this basketball space. But I'm gonna let them have it for a little bit. But Yeah, I work 9 to 5.
I think the things that I don't get credit for, like, I don't really.
I wouldn't say I won't. I don't care.
But I think what irks me is the people that deserve the credit that don't get it, that I have relationships with that, you know, that are in organizations that have done so much work
[00:58:48] Speaker A: that like, lead the foundation.
[00:58:50] Speaker B: Yeah. You know, I think, I think for me and being the connector, being that person, it's like, ah, like, you know, the whole black ball situation, you know, everyone, you know, talks about that. But yeah, I think it's just, it just, it just sucks. It just sucks that a lot of people don't get credit for the work that they've put in because of the, the powers of this world and Canada and how it's set up and the systems that it's set up in. I think a lot of people don't realize though, like, outside of your job title, who are you? Yeah, you Know what I'm saying? It's like, you can get fired at any point.
I can't get fired from Hoop Queens.
[00:59:24] Speaker A: I could get fired from Toronto Star. Don't. Don't put the energy out there.
[00:59:28] Speaker B: No, but, like, you know, you can't get fired from this. You. This is you. This is all you.
I mean, your team could fire my team.
[00:59:33] Speaker A: Fire my team. Like, you're not working. I'm like, what am I supposed to do?
[00:59:36] Speaker B: But. But, like, outside of your. Your job title, like, who are you? How do you treat people? How do people remember how, you know, their. Their conversations and their relationship with you? So I think people forget that a lot.
And for me, yeah, like, that's the difference between me and you. I can't get fired.
[00:59:55] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah.
Last thing I was gonna ask you, talking about the Tempo. Do you have. Course I see your season tickets. Like, did you get them? Like, do we gotta talk to Monica? I gotta reach out and be like, where's her? What are you going to? Tempo game opener.
[01:00:11] Speaker B: I got tickets on behalf of cibc. Ooh. So CIBC gave us tickets because we were part of the. The Champions of Ambitions program.
[01:00:20] Speaker A: Nice.
[01:00:21] Speaker B: For Friday.
So I did not get season tickets.
[01:00:26] Speaker A: It's a hot ticket now. It's.
[01:00:29] Speaker B: Yeah.
[01:00:30] Speaker A: So it's a tough ticket.
[01:00:31] Speaker B: I think a lot of. I think a lot of people deserve tickets, though. People who actually built this basketball, you know, scene for women. But, you know, that's neither here, there. They got to make their money.
[01:00:41] Speaker A: Y. A lot of money.
[01:00:42] Speaker B: But, yeah, it's another topic for another.
[01:00:46] Speaker A: Yeah. Another day I go for free. So, like, as media.
[01:00:48] Speaker B: Oh, okay.
[01:00:49] Speaker A: You know, sorry for the movie, but I gotta pay for tickets. But I haven't paid to watch a basketball game in a while. Which is kind of, you know, kind of good in a sense.
[01:00:57] Speaker B: Yeah.
[01:00:57] Speaker A: I also want to experience as a fan sometimes.
[01:00:59] Speaker B: Yes, yes, you definitely got to invest and pay for tickets. But there's also the respect thing too. Like, you've put a lot of people on in terms of stories and shining a light and spotlight on people who. Who've. Who would have never got a.
A feature. So you definitely deserve that. And there's a lot of people who. Who deserve that. And I don't. I don't want to sound entitled. Like, I really hope I don't sound entitled when I say this, but it's like, yeah, there's. There definitely should be some people who. Who get, you know, pay homage to. To the people who actually created this. So.
[01:01:30] Speaker A: Yeah. And the people that know.
No, you know, I think that's the bottom line. Yeah. Kisa, I can't thank you enough.
[01:01:36] Speaker B: Appreciate it.
[01:01:37] Speaker A: Queens, July. Do you have a date yet?
[01:01:39] Speaker B: Or is it July 10th?
[01:01:40] Speaker A: July 10th.
[01:01:40] Speaker B: We're tapped in July 10th, so it's actually.
[01:01:42] Speaker A: Do I got free tickets?
[01:01:43] Speaker B: Of course.
[01:01:43] Speaker A: Okay. Okay. I just want to make sure. I need the gear too. Like, what's going on? Yeah, I. I used to have an orange when I got too small. Oh, you know, like, I got to
[01:01:50] Speaker B: get to the weight room.
[01:01:51] Speaker A: No, no, I think it just got too small. I still have it in my. In my.
[01:01:53] Speaker B: He's got to crop it a little.
[01:01:54] Speaker A: Crop it.
I don't know. That's my style, but, you know, I need to get. I need to get an extra large, you know?
[01:01:59] Speaker B: Okay. I got you for the crew, too.
[01:02:01] Speaker A: You know, let's background. We got to bring them all out. We got to bring them all out, you know?
[01:02:05] Speaker B: Okay. No, we'll definitely. We'll definitely get you suited. But yeah, July 10th is our opening day, so it's Friday, Sunday this year.
And then our championship game is July 26, so hopefully everyone can come out to that.
It's at TMU. It's gonna be at 4 o'. Clock. And yeah, look out for all our postings and all our content coming out soon.
[01:02:25] Speaker A: July 10th, tap in with Wakisa who queens on Instagram. Go tap in over there, and if you don't, I don't know what you're doing. She's a pioneer, a trailblazer. I'm excited to watch who queens this summer, especially during a time where it's gonna be a busy summer.
[01:02:43] Speaker B: Very busy, busy summer.
[01:02:45] Speaker A: Carabana.
[01:02:46] Speaker B: Everything's happening.
[01:02:46] Speaker A: I might be outside this summer. Oh, yeah, I don't know about that. I'm joking, but a lot of stuff happening.
[01:02:51] Speaker B: Yeah.
[01:02:52] Speaker A: And Kisa, can't thank you enough again for joining us and just what you've done for basketball, for women's basketball here in Canada.
[01:03:00] Speaker B: So I appreciate you. Thanks for having me. And then this is the honor. Honestly, this. This podcast is definitely needed. So thank you for creating this. This platform, and you deserve your flowers, too.
[01:03:10] Speaker A: Appreciate you. This has been the Canadian basketball Show, your go to spot for the latest news stories and analysis on Canadian basketball. I've been your host, Lee Ben Osman with Keesa. We out.
