Fresh off her third and final season with the Camosun College Chargers, women’s basketball forward Mia Roberts is back into the swing of things – training full-time, coaching part-time and preparing for university life on the east coast where she will suit up for the Acadia Axewomen (Wolfville, Nova Scotia), who finished sixth at the 2019 U Sports National Championships.
Equipped with an impressive resume, the 5’10” PACWEST Rookie of the Year (2016-17) and 1st Team PACWEST All-Star (2017-18) scored big points with Acadia Head Coach Len Harvey (2017-18 Atlantic University Sport Coach of the Year) to secure a spot on the squad where she will play her final two years of post-secondary eligibility in Canada’s U Sports league and complete her first two years of study in Engineering.
Over her three years at Camosun, Roberts helped the Chargers to two PACWEST Championship medal finishes (silver in 2018 and bronze in 2019) while earning a diploma in Exercise and Wellness as well as a year’s worth of university transfer courses which she will apply to her education at Acadia.
“Mia adds more length to our perimeter and is a dedicated, tireless worker,” said Coach Harvey in a previous interview. “She has aspired to play at this level and has worked extremely hard to accomplish her goals. She was a fantastic player for Camosun and provided solid leadership there that helped toward them gaining championship experience. I think she will be a great fit in our locker room and be a nice addition to the team.”
With 11 varsity programs and a tradition that dates back to 1875, Acadia was the top choice for Roberts, who will join her new teammates in vying for their third-consecutive Atlantic University Sport (AUS) Championship title and consequential trip to the U Sports nationals.
“I’ve been hoping to make the jump to U Sports for a couple years now,” says Roberts who played basketball, soccer and field hockey competitively in high school at St. Michaels University. “During my third year here at Camosun, I decided it was going to be now or never. When I reached out to the coach at Acadia, he got back to me right away and everything just started to fall into place. Acadia is a small university, and like Camosun, has smaller class sizes which was really appealing. Being able to complete my first two years of university while playing my final two years of eligibility is the perfect scenario. After that, I’ll focus on my last two years of studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax, and finish my degree.”
Having mastered the balancing act as a student-athlete at Camosun, Roberts is confident that the transition to university will be a smooth one.
“I honestly think that coming to Camosun was one of the best decisions I’ve made,” states Roberts. “There are a lot of students who go from high school to the U Sports level when they’re not ready to take that step. There are definitely exceptions, but for me personally, Camosun was a great start to my post-secondary career. It was the perfect fit from the beginning and it taught me how to balance basketball and school and my social life and life in general, which is so important.”
”I’m registered for classes and will be living a five-minute walk from the university,” she adds. “I haven’t been there yet, but Acadia is definitely a university town. I feel like it’s going to be a cool community and being part of the team is pretty much like having 12 friends right off the bat.”
Roberts leaves Victoria in July and will make a two and a half week trek across the country with a short stop in Montreal. Although this will be the first time she will be living away from her mom and siblings, she says she is excited at the prospect of living somewhere new.
“We’ve always moved around as a family so there’s a part of me that likes change every once in a while,” explains Roberts. “I’ve lived in Victoria for six years now, so I’m getting a little bit antsy. I just happened to pick one of the furthest places possible within Canada.”
“Camosun made my dream of playing post-secondary basketball come true. It wasn’t just a stop on my way to my final destination; it was its’ own chapter of my life. For the past three years, Camosun and the Chargers have been my home. I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to be a Charger, and for the people that I met along the way.”
The Chargers wish Mia all the best as she moves on to the next chapter of her life.
Mia and the Axewomen open the AUS regular season at home versus the Cape Breton Capers on Saturday, November 2 at 6pm.
