Women’s basketball fans stateside may know Kia Nurse as the UConn alum and New York Liberty rookie that made quite the splash in her first season in the Big Apple.
As big a deal as she is emerging into in the WNBA, she is an even bigger deal north of the border.
One of the faces of the women’s game in Canada, she now hopes young girls in her home country get the same opportunity she had to be seen by top American collegiate programs, as she has launched the Kia Nurse Elite, a Nike-supported AAU program that will compete in the Elite Youth Basketball League beginning next summer.
[Canada Drive] was a big part of my ability, and a lot of my teammates’ ability to be recruited and be seen by schools in the states, to play down there. So me and my family talked about what I wanted to do with my legacy and how I could help build a program.
–Kia Nurse per the Canadian Press
Her program is following in the footsteps of a similar one — Canada Drive — started by her father which allowed young Canadian girls – such as herself – that opportunity to be seen by collegiate programs in the United States.
We don’t have any Canadian women’s Nike teams or EYBL teams at all that go to the states to play in those tournaments. This is the first one.
–Kia Nurse per the Canadian Press
Currently, she is playing overseas in Australia’s WNBL for the Capitals in Canberra.
Given her elevated status that basketball has provided her, she understands that the time is now to give back and potentially foster the next wave of Kia Nurses.
I think I’ve taken that as a big responsibility and made sure I’m aware of what I post, I’m aware of the little eyes that are on me from all different directions, and understanding I’m giving these girls an opportunity to see they can do whatever they want to do, at any level, if they put their mind to it.
–Kia Nurse per the Canadian Press
