Emma Wolfram Is Sure To Turn Heads This Summer

Before most of the summer schedule has been launched, there is an air of expectation surrounding Emma Wolfram, one of Canada’s top prospects in the Class of 2013. But one wouldn’t easily pick up on that as she takes it all in stride.

Wolfram has been in many high pressure situations in the past, so she has had lots of practice. What is one more trial when you’ve already won a Canadian National Championship 2010, won Bronze at FIBA Americas with the Canadian National Cadette team 2011 in Mexico, competed on the Canadian Senior Women’s Pan Am team and earlier this year erasing almost 50 years of South Kamloops Secondary Titan futility, by winning their first Senior Girls AAA Provincial title since 1964?

Although each of those experiences are widely different, each of those experiences have made her stronger.

And, after a triumphant, roller coaster season with her South Kamloops High School team, part of  the lesson was that respect and perseverance pays off.

“It was the ending of a season that involved a lot of hard work and many ups and downs. This fantastic ending shows you that the pursuit of your dream through hard work and dedication can really pays off”, reflected Wolfram. “To win the second AAA provincial title in over 50 years was hard to imagine. After meeting Mrs. Buckham, a member of the 1964 winning team, we realized that the opportunity was there and that we just had to embrace it. We became a very close team that trusted each other on the court. This allowed us to fulfill our goal and become provincial champions.”

When looking back at her experience at the National level, it forced her to take stock of her game, in order to determine what it takes for her to meet her ultimate goal.

“International competition has forced me to raise the level of my game both athletically and with my skill development. It has allowed me to pursue my goal of someday representing Canada in the Olympics.” said Wolfram. “Playing on the Pan Am team gave me an opportunity to play with some of the players that I aspire to be like.”

After taking stock, Wolfram has plenty about her game to like.

“Offensively I like to run the court, so I always look for transition hoops. Back to the hoop post moves are my favourite. If I don’t have a move inside because I’m double teamed I will kick it out for a shot. Defensively I use my length to block shots, intercept passes, and contest shots. I try to make entering the key uncomfortable for the opposition.”

But, she concedes that she would like to continue working on a couple aspects that would allow her to take her game as a Power Forward to the next level. “I want to work on my strength so that I can be more effective in the post”, she reflected. “I [also] want to improve my leadership skills so I can lead my high school team through my senior season.”

After seeing fellow British Columbia U17 Provincial teammates Alisha Roberts (5’7″, G, 2012 Pepperdine commit) and Ruth Hamblin (6’6″, C, 2012 Oregon State commit) get scholarships, the goal of playing University ball is well within her reach. While not ruling out playing in the CIS if the right scenario didn’t materialize, her ideal NCAA situation would be landing a D1 scholarship somewhere on the west coast, hopefully close enough to home for family and friends to come watch her play. And, not totally ruling out playing in the CIS home next year all the more real in landing .

“I do have aspirations to play in the NCAA and have been pursued by several universities. At this time I am not close at making a decision. I am also still considering CIS schools. My academic plans for the future will be to get a degree in kinesiology so that I can pursue athletic or physical therapy. ”

But, all of that is down the road. For now, her early part of the summer summer will see her playing again with the B.C. U17 Provincial Team as they are scheduled to play in the University of Portland Invitational and the End Of The Trail Tournament from July 5 through to July 9. She will also be playing in the Showtime Tournament in Los Angeles from July 22 to the 25 before looking to resume training solely with the Canadian U17 Cadette team in mind, as the prepare for the World Championships in Holland in August.