A lifelong passion has earned Timmins basketball sensation Jadyn Weltz a full scholarship with Binghamton University, a Division-1 NCAA program in upstate New York.
The former O'Gorman Knight point guard, like all amateur athletes, has been unable to play any competitive games for over a year now due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent restrictions.
For the past two years, and after two standout years with the Knights, Weltz has attended St. Mary's Catholic Secondary School in Hamilton to play for the highly regarded Lincoln Prep program which operates out of the school, and is a member club of the Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association (OSBA).
“I came here in Grade 11, and got to play my first full season here. We ended up falling short in the playoffs, which was unfortunate, but everything happened season-wise. Then our off-season was cut short, and we didn't get to build off our previous season,” said Weltz.
The frustration and disappointment of the lack of game action has been sweetened considerably with the scholarship offer, which has been a lifelong dream of hers.
The shutdown has forced her to revamp her training regiment.
“It's been a lot of trying to be creative, and trying to come up with ways that I could still get effective training in, with everything going on. So it's been a lot of individual work, rather than teamwork and competition.”
Weltz and her teammates are still holding out hope that some of the OSBA season can be salvaged.
“It's been pushed back multiple times. They're looking to start it again somehow. Not sure what that's going to look like or if that's going to happen, but they've been talking out a way that we could get maybe a couple of games in, because the whole season has been altered,” she said.
Weltz will bring a very solid resume to the Binghamton Bearcats program.
She is a two-time OFSAA 'A' gold medallist with the Knights, and was invited to two Canletes Provincial High School All-Star Showcases in Toronto, which includes Ontario's best players. She represented Team Ontario's Under-15 team at the 2018 Canada Basketball National Championships in New Brunswick winning a silver medal, and was later awarded the Hazel Miner Award by Ontario Basketball, which goes to players “who uphold the finest qualities of sport in their pursuit of athletic excellence.” Weltz has also played summer ball in the Kia Nurse Elite program, and has been invited to tryouts for Team Canada.
Her former coach with O'Gorman, Marcy McCarty, was ecstatic with the news of Weltz's achievement.
“Pretty big. It's been a dream of hers, and we've worked behind the scenes to see that come true, so it's been nice being part of that process a little bit too. To finally see that happen for her is absolutely awesome. I can't even put into words how proud I am of her.”
From her first day of high school, Weltz had a big role to fill on the Knights, as her big sister Emma had been recruited to play for Southwest Academy in London, which left the highly important starting point guard position available.
“I was in Grade 9 when I got that experience of playing on the senior team. That in itself was a challenge, having to adapt to a new environment, going from Grade 8 to Grade 12 right away kind of. It was a great experience all around because we hosted OFSAA that year, and we had a lot of support from people in town,” she said.
“Basketball-wise, I would say it pushed me to be a leader early on in my playing career, because I was this Grade 9 playing on the Grade 12 team and I was expected to do things that maybe I didn't think I was ready for. But it taught me how to push through those uncertainties, and be a leader when I had to be, and what I had to do, and how hard I had to work in order to prove that I belonged there.”
She proved much more than that, leading the Knights to the provincial championship, including a dominant performance in the finals.
Although that kind of responsibility being placed on a Grade 9 is rare, particularly for a program as successful as the Knights, McCarty was more than comfortable with it.
“To have her basically walk in to a starting point guard position on a senior team in Grade 9 was an easy fit for me and Cathy (Beard) as coaches. But it was big pressure, it was a big year for her.”
She wasn't completely new to the coaches, as Weltz's days down the street at O'Gorman Intermediate provided her with some early experience. McCarty and Beard have been tireless promoters of the talent of local girls.
“When she was in Grade 8, we really started to push these girls down south, and to travel and to really say 'hey we've got a great group of girls here who really have a passion, and that want to go places.' So we started to travel, and we brought her up to a couple of big tournaments when she was in Grade 8. So she had some experience playing for Cathy and I at that level, and we knew she could.”
Weltz appreciated the responsibility.
“She put a lot of trust in me early on, which really helped push me to be the vision she had of me. She put a lot of faith in me and helped me become the player that I am.”
According to Weltz, McCarty deserves a tonne of credit for her development.
“She knew how competitive I was, and knew how hard I wanted to work. She really influenced how I developed as a player early on, and how I play today as well.”
Weltz is also a product of the Timmins Selects youth basketball program, which she played for six years, starting when was just eight years old.
“I would say that definitely helped as well. I was coached by my dad, so that was obviously very motivating. A couple of my other coaches, like Jamie Lamothe, played a huge part in my success as well. They taught me the early basics of the sport, and what I needed to do in order to get to where I am today,” she said.
“They guided me, and helped me a lot with decisions like coming to Lincoln Prep, and preparing me for this experience.”
Considering all of the complications surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, Weltz said she feels fortunate to have earned the NCAA scholarship.
“It's been a different recruiting process for everyone I'd say, because normally you'd play tournaments and games, then coaches would come see you play, or you'd send game film of yourself. But right now, everything you're sending is from a year ago, and you're a completely different player usually.
“It's a completely different process, having to send video of yourself just training instead of playing. I got lucky.”
Her father Ted, a former Ottawa University baller himself, is proud of the achievement, especially with the challenges of recruiting over the past year.
“For sure, but over the years, she's played for Team Ontario, and she's had tryouts with Team Canada, and is in the Team Canada training regimen. So between Team Ontario, Team Canada, Lincoln Prep, and her summer teams with Kia Nurse, she's been exposed over the last three or four years, and she's had a number of schools approach her, and she finally made the decision to go with Binghamton,” he said.
She will officially sign in April, and is leaning towards studying business, one of Binghamton's most reputable programs. At this point, she's still uncertain of when exactly she'll be joining her new team.
“Normally I would go down in early July for a month, and train with the team, and get set up at school and stuff like that, but they're not really sure how that's looking. So we'll wait and see on that, but I'm still going to be doing some individual training, and hopefully get to have my season a little bit. I really want to take this time to prepare because like everyone says, once you get to university, the level just exceeds even more. Everyone is faster, and stronger, and smarter.”
McCarty is very confident that Weltz will be more than ready for the next level, like she was just a few years ago as a Grade 9 playing senior ball.
“To see her develop from then, to where she is now, has been wonderful. She attacks everything head-on. She has a huge passion for the sport which just drives her to take not only herself but her team with her, and she usually does that flawlessly.”
Over the next few months, Weltz is planning on putting in plenty of hours in the gym to prepare for the new atmosphere she'll be entering.
With sister Emma in her second year on the varsity team at Queen's University in Kingston, she has a bit of inside information on what to expect the jump to be like.
“She's told me the same thing. You think you're ready to go, and then you get there, and it's just completely different from what you're used to. You're pushed beyond your comfort zone. But she said if you work hard in the summer and you put the necessary work in, you'll succeed.”
