Growing up in Chelsea, Que., Catherine Traer couldn’t imagine being where she is now.
The Carleton Ravens fifth-year forward has won a U Sports gold medal, been named an Ontario University Athletics all-star and is representing Canada on the international stage.
“I always dreamed of it,” she said. “I stayed resilient throughout my university career and I was able to improve to the point where now I’m on the radar, still on the national team pool.”
Traer will play at the Commonwealth Games this April after representing Canada at the Summer Universiade last summer.
However, she didn’t think she had a national team future after being cut three times when she was younger.
“It was devastating,” Traer noted. “Back then, I was really young and I think that’s what was really hard too because you’re not as mentally strong when you’re young.”
Traer’s resiliency was tested during her third season with the University of Ottawa (U of O) Gee-Gees in 2014-15, as she tore her hip flexor and her godfather passed away.
“It was a really really hard time for me and being away from the basketball team was really hard because I didn’t have that support system, I didn’t see the girls every day,” she said.
Yoga became the solution to her injury as the Gee-Gees’ therapy staff introduced her to it and now, she said she loves it so much she’s thinking of being a yoga teacher post-basketball.
“It really really saved my life and really saved my career I think and it made me a better player,” Traer stated. “When I came back, I was poised, I was composed, I was more mature and I was really ready to take on the challenge to win a national championship.”
Traer transferred to Carleton in 2016 to pursue a masters of political science degree and a national title, after falling short twice at nationals with the Gee-Gees.
Teammate Heather Lindsay said Traer has a lot of character and is a great leader. Lindsay said she recalls messaging Traer after she committed to Carleton to meet up, where they talked about winning a national championship.
That dream has been fulfilled, in large part thanks to Traer’s winning floater against the McGill Martlets in the U Sports semifinals.
Traer’s injury in her third season gave her an extra year of eligibility, allowing her to play this season at Carleton. It also provided her a chance to get into her other passion of refugee studies and helping people through her political science degree.
“Honestly, it was great,” she noted. “It pushed me to go out and socialize with fellow classmates of mine that I never really had time to socialize with before because of basketball. I got closer to some people that I had lost track of because of basketball.”
Traer also works with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and said it has given her perspective on life.
“Makes me realize the struggles I have on the court are nothing compared to . . . what refugees go through,” she explained. “As much as you want to whine and you want to cry on the court, at the end of the day, it’s just a game.”
Traer said her work in the resettlement unit has helped her realize with refugees, “there’s always more we can do and as people, as individuals, there’s always more you can do.”
Lindsay pointed out how Traer helps younger players. Traer herself emphasized respect, unselfishness and humbleness a key part of her and her teammates’ characters and success.
“I’ve kind of done that my whole life: not let things take the best of me, whether it’s an injury or having so much success,” she explained. “At the end of the day, someone’s working harder than you and you have to catch up. You have to keep working because nothing’s going to be handed to you.”
She acknowledged how fortunate she was to play at the university and international level, having represented both the U of O and Carleton. Traer calls herself “the dual citizen of Ottawa basketball.”
She doesn’t reflect much on her past but did so after winning nationals.
“I did feel, while I was reflecting, ‘Oh, I don’t think I’m done yet though. I don’t think this is it for me,’ ” she said.
Traer said she will get an agent after the Commonwealth Games and look to continue her basketball career and United Nations work in Europe.
“It is really hard and it is something that’s on the back of our minds because we want to play basketball as long as we want to but at the end of the day, you need to pay the bills and you need to justify why you’re in school,” she said.
For now, she is committed towards continuing with basketball.
“As a female athlete, it is hard to find these [basketball] opportunities and if they keep coming up, I don’t know why I would stop,” she added.
As for her university legacy, Traer said she hopes her character stands out as much, if not more than her basketball accolades.
“It’s great to be recognized, for younger generations to see that there are really good athletes in the Ottawa area,” she said. “At the end of the day, I want to be recognized as a good person really, not just a great athlete.”
