Lindsay Chung
Observer Contributor
Quesnel’s Special Olympics basketball team has qualified to compete at B.C. Winter Games in Kamloops on Feb. 22-25.
Brock Terlesky of Quesnel is going to be the veteran on this year’s Region 8 Special Olympics basketball team.
Brock, who is 23, has been playing basketball for three years, and this will be his second trip to the B.C. Winter Games for the sport.
Brock’s father, Kyle Terlesky, will be going to the B.C. Winter Games Feb. 22-25 in Kamloops as well, as the assistant coach. He recalls Brock started playing basketball with adults as an eighth-grader when they first moved to Quesnel.
Brock ended up playing soccer and also took up curling and track and field. Brock has qualified for the curling provincials next year, and he competed in the Canada Summer Games last year, where he beat his personal best in the 100-metre and 200-metre sprints on the track.
Two years ago, Brock played for the Region 8 basketball team that won a silver medal. He is the only returning player from that year.
The Region 8 Special Olympics basketball team is made up of athletes from Quesnel and Prince George, and this year, the team – coached by Correlieu Secondary School vice-principal Brian Cullinane – has seven Quesnel athletes and three from Prince George.
Brock says it “felt good” when he found out he had been chosen to play at the B.C. Winter Games.
“I already felt confident that I had a good chance to go,” he says.
“I felt like I improved in just two years of time.”
Brock has high hopes for his team’s performance at the games.
“I’m a bit competitive, so hopefully maybe we’ll have a better chance of getting gold this year,” he says.
“We have Riley Foster on our team as opposed to last time, and that could make the difference. And Josh Tilsner, he’s new, but he can hustle. Hopefully this games, we won’t be under like last time – by the time we got to the last match, we were down to one sub.”
Foster and Tilsner are both from Quesnel, and the other Quesnel athletes on the team are Travis Burt, Matthew Hender, Elizabeth Sherwood and Scott Jonasson. Prince George athletes Samuel Russell, Chris Zorn and Clayton Juliette round out the team.
“Quesnel is always well-represented with Special Olympics,” says Kyle.
“We have an incredible program here.”
This will be Kyle’s first time coaching at the B.C. Winter Games.
“It should be a lot of fun,” he comments.
“I look forward to getting together with the Prince George athletes and getting in some practices and starting to gel a bit.”
Special Olympics basketball is turning into a real family affair for the Terleskys, as Brock’s 14-year-old sister, Dayana, is helping out with the team this year, although she is not old enough to go to the B.C. Winter Games as a travelling coach.
This is the third in the Observer’s profiles of Quesnel athletes who have qualified for B.C. Winter Games. Keep an eye out in future and past editions for more. Quesnel athletes are attending for archery, alpine skiing, gymnastics, ringette and Special Olympics basketball.