Reaching for the Top: Damika Warner

By David Grossman

When you’re the head coach of a college basketball team, and your season ends without a win in 16 games, tucked away at the bottom of the league, the likelihood is you’re not about to do too much bragging.

That’s not the case if your name is Sean Douglas. He is the head coach of the women’s team at Sheridan College and is well aware that in the world of amateur sport there are teams, especially with mounting turnovers in personnel, that can have up-and-down times.

Despite the zeros in the win column, Douglas did see good efforts and has reason to be quite jubilant and ecstatic about one specific player. He witnessed a remarkable performance by an individual who, in her rookie year, showed crystal clear signs of unmitigated dominance in years to come.

Damika Warner. Make note of the name.

When you meet her, Warner may come across as apprehensive, shy, and quiet around people. But that just might be a fact in having come from being one of the oldest students at Brampton’s St. Roch Catholic high school to one of the youngest at Sheridan.

Takes a bit of time to adjust. There is no adapting on the basketball court. Give her a ball – and step aside.

The six-foot power forward launched her post-secondary career in classic style. In 11 of 16 league games, she led Sheridan in rebounding, and rocked the home crowd with 23 rebounds in a four-point loss to Redeemer University of Ancaster back in January of 2023. Sheridan plays home games at its Brampton campus.

So much for the initiation to the College game and goodbye to first year jitters. Warner transformed from average to power and dominance. To some, watching her on the hardwood translates to a game of grace, style and mastery in an area that hurts opposing teams.

Stationed under the basket, forget about Warner having potential. She is a commanding threat. Get her the ball and it usually ends up in the mesh.

“I didn’t think I would do so well in my first year,” she said in a telephone conversation. “It surprised me a lot, but there was also a need to build confidence and deal with frustration because of our record.

“I remember the first time in the Sheridan gym, I was petrified and not prepared for that level of play. I got to learn to grow with teammates, things started to get comfortable, and my coach was there to help me boost my confidence.”

For Warner, there is the constant reminder about having the prestige to overcome, to thrive, to flourish, to challenge and even when it all seems unattainable, to deliver with glowing success.

As for the coach, Douglas had been scouting Warner. He had lost track when the pandemic shut down sports at all schools and colleges.

“A few years ago, I was scouting another player at Central Peel Secondary and was impressed when I saw (Warner)”, recalled Douglas. “She was raw, but the efficiency was there. I could see she wanted to learn. We had lost contact with her until an older former high school teammate of Damika’s, reached out to her for me, and convinced her to take us up on our offer.”

Warner, who had been doing her school studies on-line during the pandemic, was also away from the sport for two years.

Douglas has coached for 14 years and during that period claims that with Warner, he hasn’t coached anyone who became so dominant in a game – and so fast.

Quite the gift. Warner capped the season averaging 11 rebounds a game which was good for fourth best in the league and fifth in blocked shots. A rare left-handed shooter, she was also Sheridan’s top scorer this season and selected to a spot on the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) all-star rookie team.

“I listen to the coach and tell younger basketball players to work hard,” added Warner who has earned an athletic scholarship, is studying Police Foundations at Sheridan’s Brampton campus, with plans to work in law enforcement and has an interest in border security and detective work.

Born in St Vincent and the Grenadines, an island country in the Caribbean, Warner came to Canada when she was eight years old. It was as a 12-year-old at Balmoral Drive Senior Public School in Brampton, that she signed up with Girls Addicted to Basketball (GAB) – a skills development program that includes training, house league competition, clinics with a focus on building confidence, enjoyment in the sport and improving performance.

While in high school, Warner also played briefly with the Brampton Warriors of the Brampton Minor Basketball Association.

For Warner, who like most young players have dreams of making it to the professional ranks, her focus is to always aim at producing terrific results. Hold on, we’re not just talking about what goes on in a game, but in the areas of advancement, maturity, and career development.

 

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David Grossman is a veteran multi award-winning Journalist and Broadcaster with some of Canada’s major media, including the Toronto Star and SPORTSNET 590 THE FAN, and a Public Relations professional for 50+ years in Canadian sports and Government relations.