Meet Team NT's only Fort Liard basketballer who's bringing his skills back to the community

Since coming back from nationals, Corbin Wilson has spent hours sharing what he's learned on the court of his hometown. 

Wilson, 17, is the only athlete from Fort Liard, N.W.T., to play on Team NT's basketball team and he's using those skills to give back to his community.  

"I've been teaching them a lot of drills and stuff that we did at nationals, which has really helped them progress," he said.

Earlier this year, Wilson made the territorial basketball team and in August he travelled to Toronto for the Canadian nationals. 

"It was really cool," he said, "getting on the court and the announcers yelling out your name and your number, it's just a whole other feeling."

As the only Fort Liard resident on the team, Wilson spent weeks in Yellowknife training with other athletes who had already been playing together for years. 

"Not having my teammates there, my friends there the whole time to support me through stuff was a bit weird but at the same time I got to make a bunch of new friends," Wilson said.

"It was a really good experience, especially with the guys that were on the team."

Since returning to his community, Wilson has helped out with coaching younger players as well as his own teammates on the Fort Liard Warriors — the hamlet's high school team. 

He says he loves sharing not just the skills of the game, but the larger lessons of sport. 

"Like having that work ethic and learning to be a hard-working person."

Coach Finno Celestin says that work ethic is one of the things that makes Wilson a great player. 

Celestin, who coaches the basketball team in Fort Simpson, had been helping to coach the Warriors before Wilson since the team didn't have a coach of its own. 

He says Wilson's skills and good attitude stood out from the start. 

"Sometimes I look at him and it's almost like it reminds me of things I need to do for my life as well. He's very disciplined." Celestin said. 

"He's not the type who is trying to be a star and everybody looks at him. He really tries to better everyone and he's very humble."

For Evelyn Wilson, Corbin's mom, she's proud of her son and she says the community is too. 

"For the kids, for him, you know, we'll make anything happen for them to follow their dreams," she said. 

Corbin is in Grade 12, which means it's his last year of playing with his current teams but he says he plans to try out for the basketball team wherever he ends up for post-secondary. 

But for now, he's focused on his own training and working with others in the community to up their skills on and off the court.