Former Spartan Shay Colley takes pride as a national athlete
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia 鈥� Shay Colley, is a Canadian women鈥檚 national basketball player who played 32 national games within four years of her basketball journey. She averaged 9.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game when Canada medaled silver with the senior women鈥檚 national team at the FIBA AmeriCup in 2019. It was her first tournament for Canada as a team member of the senior women鈥檚 national team.
The 25-year-old Colley became a part of Canada鈥檚 senior women鈥檚 national team when she had been with team Ontario. 鈥淚 went through every phase within the Team Canada program to finally get to the senior level,鈥� Colley. 鈥淚t was a true blessing because it helped my game and my exposure to get a scholarship [to university],鈥� she added.
Colley grew up fully engrossed with basketball as it was the most popular hobby and pastime sport of a small community that she belonged. She learned basic lessons and all intricacies of basketball from her father.
鈥淚t’s honestly from humble beginnings. Nova Scotia is small. My community is small. Being a female from a small community to be able to use my platform greater than what the sport is, it鈥檚 a huge blessing. And I just thank the people that came before me, that helped me be a better person to inspire the next generation that’s coming up,鈥� Colley .
Colley was physically stronger than females of her age while she was in middle school, and some of her fellow girls used to blame that her body was being on steroids. But it didn鈥檛 keep her away from winning the competitions. Her words on this 鈥淧eople are always going to talk about you. Never let that distract you or throw you off mentally. All body types are beautiful. The body of an athlete is beautiful. You are beautiful!鈥�
She debuted with the national team when she became included in the roaster of the U17 FIBA World Championships in 2012, and the team brought bronze to home. Colley bagged the seventh position in the 2013 U19 FIBA Worlds with the junior national team. She led Canada鈥檚 junior national team at the U18 FIBA Americas Championship in 2014 and won a silver medal.
Colley joined with Michigan State University in 2017, and in 2019, her team defeated Indiana for 77-61 and kept MSU undefeated. The MSU coach Suzy Merchant鈥檚 on Colley鈥檚 victory, “She was a beast, I mean, an absolute beast. She was as good as I’ve seen her on both sides of the ball. She played almost 38 minutes and didn’t have a foul. She had to guard whoever was hot and whoever their best player was. It was her best performance, I think, top to bottom since she’s been here at Michigan State and we really needed it.”
She played well in women鈥檚 basketball at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 against South Korea and averaged nine points, one assist and seven rebounds.
She keeps a good relationship with her Canada teammates and staff even during the COVID-19 situation. Being a fantastic player and lover of family, Colley is a great inspiration for today鈥檚 youth.
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