In her sights: Basketball player overcomes physical obstacles to make Canada Games team

Olivia Squires is not your typical basketball player.

She's five feet tall and has battled vision problems for much of her young life. But the 16-year-old has earned a spot on this province's Canada Games team currently competing in Winnipeg.

Squires said she was introduced to basketball in Grade 7 by a friend whose father coached a team.

"I fell in love, honestly. I really enjoyed the game," said Squires.

But her road to playing basketball has been filled with obstacles. She was born unable to see through her left eye due to a brain malfunction.

"My brain really didn't know that I had a left eye," she said.

Through therapy she has recovered some — but not all — vision in her left eye.

Squires said she had to make some adjustments when she started playing basketball.

"When I started playing basketball, I was using glasses," she said. "My left eye essentially had no peripheral vision."

Squires said she didn't acquire peripheral vision in the eye until a couple of years ago — but it made the game a lot easier. She currently wears contacts, which have also helped a great deal.

Another drawback to playing a game populated with tall people is that Squires is five feet and a half inch tall.

People aren't used to playing against someone my height.- Olivia Squires

While that may seem like a detriment, Squires said it can also be an advantage.

"People aren't used to playing against someone my height," said Squires. 

She added that having a low centre of gravity can often give her a quickness advantage over tall players.

"I work a lot with my ball handling, and my quickness and my speed. I don't try to play like I'm six foot."

For Squires, competing at the Canada Games is something of a family affair.

Her older sister Rebecca is competing as a gymnast and was the first female athlete from this province to win a gold medal in the vault competition at the 2014 games..

"She's just always been an inspiration to me, always pushing me, making me a better athlete," said Squires.