Kathy Ludwig Named Team Ontario Head Coach
Ludwig returns to lead Junior Provincial Wheelchair Basketball Program for 2023 Canada Games
The Ontario Para Network (ONPARA) is proud to announce the re-hiring of Kathy Ludwig as the Head Coach of the Ontario Junior Provincial Wheelchair Basketball Program. She has agreed to a four-year commitment and will work with a pool of Junior-age athletes starting in the 2019-2020 season and leading up to the Canada Winter Games in 2023.
Ludwig returns following her tremendous on and off-court success over the past four seasons, culminating with a silver medal finish at the 2019 Canada Games in Red Deer, AB. She also previously served as Team Ontario Assistant Coach at the Canada Winter Games in 2011 (Halifax, NS) and 2015 (Prince George, BC) where Team Ontario finished 2nd and 5th, respectively.
“I feel so honoured to be selected as the Junior Head Coach for the next Canada Games quad,” said Ludwig. “I am so excited to begin working with our young athletes as we prepare for 2023.”
Ontario will have a very young team of athletes over the next quad, with only two athletes who are age-eligible to return to the program from the 2019 squad. Ludwig will be responsible for overseeing the team’s selection, training, and development over the next four years, in addition to providing mentorship to the Team Ontario Assistant Coaches. She will work closely with ONPARA to ensure that all Ontario Junior-age athletes have sufficient and appropriate development opportunities.
Kathy is currently the Head Coach of the Cruisers Rockets, the Division 1 team of the Cruisers Sports club, a large multi-sports club for people with disabilities serving the regions of Halton & Peel. She has been coaching with the Cruisers since 2008 and has been the Director of Basketball on their board for a number of years. She is a Competition Development-certified coach with over 25 years of experience in the sport at the grassroots and provincial levels. ONPARA has tremendous confidence in Kathy’s ability to lead the Ontario Junior program and develop the next generation of Team Ontario athletes.
The Ontario Junior Provincial Wheelchair Basketball Program is open to athletes of all genders, both with and without physical disabilities, making the sport one the most inclusive in Canada. “Junior-age” wheelchair basketball players must be born in or after 1999 (24 years or younger the year of Canada Games). Please visit the ONPARA website for more information about Team Ontario and the 2019-2023 quad.
2019 Canada Winter Games | Photo: Jonathan Strome
About the Ontario Para Network
Formerly known as the Ontario Wheelchair Sports Association, our mission at the Ontario Para Network (ONPARA) is to grow adaptive sport opportunities across Ontario. As the governing body for wheelchair sports in the province, we strive to offer opportunities for individuals with disabilities to participate in wheelchair athletics, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair tennis at recreational, competitive and high performance levels.