NAIG 2017 Profiles: Jasper Paul
- EFN Staff | March 16, 2017
Jasper Paul will be slam-dunking at this year’s North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) to be held in Toronto on July 16-27.
Jasper is a 13-year-old athlete in Grade 8 at École St. Pius X in Regina. She’s been playing basketball since 2010 as the point guard.
She has never attended NAIG before and is excited for the experience.
“I am looking forward to building a great team to compete in the games and to take home some hardware. Also I am excited to be going to Toronto to play a sport I love with my culture highlighted,” she says.
Jasper looks up to Toronto Raptors basketball players Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan because she considers them exceptional players due to their great work ethic, heart and love of the sport. She looks up to her parents because they are great athletes who never quit.
“I pushed harder in basketball because I love playing and being a better player each time I step on the court. Experiencing challenges during sport gives me life skills that make me believe in myself,” she adds.
Jasper faced many challenges but pushes herself harder to succeed at achieving great things. Her future goal is to become a doctor to help people.
“I want to be a doctor because my dad is a nurse and I think that doing things to help people can make their day and help you become a great person,” she says.
Her advice to any youth who want to pursue their passion in sports to make it into the games is to push yourself no matter how hard it gets.
“Keep your head up and believe that you can be in NAIG. Then all you do is put in time and work ethic and you can achieve your goals!”