Louise Forsyth does not say much on or off the court, but it is obvious her play is doing some talking.
The 15-year-old Brookswood student is off to Toronto to attend the Canadian national cadet basketball identification camp. It runs Dec. 13 to 17.
Forsyth is one of two members of the Bobcats among the 65 invitees to the camp as she will be joined by her Brookswood teammate, Grade 11 point guard Aislinn Konig.
The invitees are born between 1996 and later.
“Having a pool of world-class athletes who are committed to the long-term development of podium athletes for the senior national team is a key contributor to our successful system,” said Denise Dignard, director of women’s high performance.
“When we gather individuals who are striving for excellence, the energy is tremendous and sparks the passion for continued growth.”
“She fits the earmark of what Basketball Canada is looking for,” said Brookswood senior girls coach Neil Brown.
“She has long arms, she can shoot the ball, she has got good genetics.”
Still just in Grade 10 — and a member of the senior girls team since she arrived at the school in Grade 8 — Forsyth already stands six feet tall.
That should come as no surprise considering her dad is six-foot-seven and her mom is five-foot-10.
Her mom also played under Brown back in the early 1980s at UBC.
Forsyth admits to some nerves ahead of the camp, but knows this is a great opportunity ahead of her.
“I just have to do my best and prepare,” she said.
And preparation is a quality that definitely stands out for the soft-spoken teen.
“She is very focused on what she wants out of the game and goes about the game very business-like,” Brown said.
“She is very mature for a kid her age.”
“(Louise) comes to the gym every day, says hello, picks up her ball, gets to a corner (and) works on every aspect of her game,” the coach added.
“Just a very, very focused kid.”
So far this season, Forsyth is averaging about 20 points per game in her first year as a starter.
“It has been hard the first two years against the older kids, but Mr. Brown has really helped me improve,” she said.
And while most players with her height may play along the forward lines, Forsyth is the team’s shooting guard and is comfortable shooting, driving or running on the fast break, she said.
The athleticism should not be a surprise as Forsyth is also an accomplished track and field athlete, specializing in the triple jump and long jump.
In the triple jump, she was second at the junior provincial championships and fourth at the Canadian Legion national championships.
She trains in the sport with the B.C. Flyers Athletics Club.
But if push came to shove and Forsyth had to choose one sport over the other, basketball would be the one.
“Track is kind of a lonely sport,” she admitted. “I love the team aspect of basketball, and the competing.”
And she should have a future in the game judging by the interest she has generated from universities in both Canada and the United States, Brown said.
Forsyth spent part of the summer playing in tournaments in the U.S. with a club program, B.C. Elite Basketball Development.
“She has a long way to go, but she has a huge, huge upside,” Brown said.
“People forget she is only 15 years old; they look at her because she has been with us for three years.”
Following the Basketball Canada camp, Forsyth and Konig and the rest of the Bobcats team are off to Phoenix for a pre-Christmas tournament.
Gary Ahuja/Langley Times
Brookswood Bobcats point guard Aislinn Konig defends against Little Flower Academy’s Jessica Hanson during opening round play at the Tsumura Basketball Invitational at the Langley Events Centre Dec. 5 to 7.
