There are thousands of girls who play high school basketball around Canada each year. Most of them are doing it because they love to do it, but others are doing it in the hopes of being good enough to use it as a launching pad to bigger and better things.
Presley Hopf is one of those who was lucky enough to do something bigger with basketball and ended up parlaying her success at the youth level to Mount Royal University in Calgary.
And now, the real work begins.
Hopf, who's a member of the Deninu Kue First Nation, is about to embark on her rookie campaign with the school's women's basketball team after signing a full-ride scholarship this past January. She's planning on majoring in business administration with a focus on marketing.
She's all moved in to her dormitory and said it's a mixture of emotions as things begin to get more real.
"I'm nervous, for sure, but I'm also really excited," she said on Monday. "I'm getting settled in and I'm just hoping to make an impact here. It feels natural being here (in Calgary)
Hopf was born in Yellowknife and moved with her family to Kelowna, B.C., at the age of 10. She began playing basketball in the GO (Girls Only) Ball program, which has been operating youth programs for young girls in the city for several years, when she lived in the city.
She's played some of the highest level of hoops in North American courtesy of her roster spot with AthElite Basketball, a high-performance club based in Surrey, B.C. AthElite is aligned with the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), considered to be one of the best sports organizations in the world. Some of those trips included stops in Colorado, Texas and Kentucky, among others.
Her first bit of action with Mount Royal was a rookie camp this past June where they helped with the hosting of a tournament, which included a training camp for the ladies. The next training camp is scheduled to get underway this coming Monday which will precede some pre-season tournaments.
One of those tournaments will be at the University of Alberta-Augustana, which just happens to be the alma mater of her father, Greg Hopf.
Who will Papa Hopf be cheering for? He's not picking sides.
"Mount Royal could win, Augustana could win, but I'm a winner either way," he said.
There are also tournaments scheduled for Terrace, B.C., and Toronto ahead of the start of the regular season on Nov. 1 when the ladies will open things up against Edmonton's MacEwan University.
Hopf's inclusion on the Mount Royal squad has some history attached to it as she's the first Indigenous player, male or female, to crack a basketball team in the school's history.
That fact isn't lost on her father, who said it's proof that Northern kids can succeed.
"It's more special because she's Northern Indigenous," he said. "This is the type of thing you elevate because other kids get to see what she's done and it's the right thing to do. I'm so proud of her for everything she's done so far."
Presley knows her family has been a big reason she's had the success she's had to date.
"They stuck with me and I just want to thank them for everything they've done for me," she said. "They've been watching over me and it means so much to me to be able to play for them and represent the North. Hopefully, I'll be able to come home and see everyone when the year's done."
