EDITOR RUMAN KANG THE VOICE, THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012 8 ALEXANDER SKERDZHEV photo Carling Muir, 24-year-old cancer survivor and Falcons star, poses outside of the gymnasium at Langara. Langara bids farewell to Muir Falcon basketball star is flying the coop to pursue her dream career MUIR'S awards By ALEXANDER SKERDZHEV alcons veteran Carling Muir will be saying goodbye to her basket- ball career after five years with the team and a battle with brain cancer. The blonde-haired, six-foot-one star is leaving her hoop dreams be- hind to focus on the social sciences before pursuing her dream of becom- ing a family patient counsellor at B.C. Children’s Hospital. “My five years at Langara have been great, I’m sad to see it end,” said Muir. “But I’m excited to start a new chapter in my life too, and move on.” Muir has been fighting a brain tu- mour for the last five years. She was diagnosed with cancer after collaps- ing in the gym during team practice. “My first year here was the year I had my seizure. I had to have brain surgery and go under a year of che- motherapy,” she said. Far from taking this as a sign to quit basketball, Muir was back on the court shortly thereafter, and stron- ger than ever. “Half way through, when I felt I got strong enough, I decided to come back and... that’s the year when I got [the B.C. College] Player of the Year, All-Canadian and I was able to lead the league in scoring.” Falcons coach Mike Evans said that even more inspiring than her comeback and subsequent triumphs on the court was the way she handled her situation. “T was at the hospital ‘til midnight with her parents, waiting to find out what was going on,” he said. “T didn’t go to work the next day, I went straight to the hospital, I walked into her room and it was her, her family and some friends. We were there to cheer her up but it was the other way around. She was cheer- ing everybody else up.” Muir laughed as she recalled that incident. “As weird as that sounds, I felt a sense of guiltiness. The last thing any parent wants to hear is that their child got sick, and I was 19 when I was diagnosed,” she said. “T felt like I was putting them through so much heartache and hurt, so I wanted to protect them.” Muir says she views her cancer as a blessing, and is thankful for it mak- ing her the person she is today. “Sometimes it hurts my mom to hear me say that, but I think it’s brought so many more positives to my life than negatives, that I couldn’t imagine myself not going through and having those same experiences,” she said. On how she manages to deal with her situation, Muir said she simply likes to focus on the lighter side of life. “When my hair started falling out, I made a funeral video and I posted it on my Facebook page,” she said. “Just to make people laugh and say hey, you know what, I’m going to be bald and out there in your face and I’m not afraid.” Having survived her ordeal and with her cancer in remission, Muir offers a few words of advice to those who may be in a similar situation. “Try and stay positive, it’s a hard situation, it’s scary,” she said. “Even at your sickest moments, if there’s something positive you can focus on, that makes you a survivor, because in the end, cancer’s not controlling your whole life.” BCCA 1st team All Star: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 & 2011 BCCA Athlete of the week November 2010 Sports B.C. Athlete of the year in 2007 BCCA Athlete of the year in 2007-2008 Harry Jerome Comeback Award in 2008 Falcons look to fly high at nationals Badminton tournament showcases Canada’s best By DANA BOWEN Young will be representing British Columbia at the PacWest national badminton championships in Kam- loops. Couture will be playing on B.C. Team One, along with the gold medal winners across the province, while Young, will be on B.C. Team Two with the silver medal winners. Couture grew up playing hockey, volleyball and running, but it wasn’t until recently that he decided to de- vote himself to badminton. Despite his late start, Couture is currently ranked ninth in Canada. “T would like to think that my suc- cesses are to come...but it’s really not about winning medals, it’s about getting better everyday,” said Cou- ture. Originally from New Brunswick, Couture said he finds it exciting to be representing B.C. “My heart and soul is for New Brunswick and I’ve always made a strong point in representing New Brunswick, so this is funny and excit- ing for me to wear the BC jacket,” said Couture. Young, a true British Columbian, is a born and raised Vancouverite. She started playing badminton in high school, where she competed in the provincial competitions every year. Young was drawn to badminton because she enjoys playing the solo sport. “I’ve never been a fan of any team sports. The only reason I like badminton is that the biggest team is two people,” said Young. After leaving high school Young left badminton behind, choosing to focus on her studies, but with a little encouragement she was back on the court. “T wasn’t planning on joining be- cause I was doing five courses, and I didn’t think I would have time to commit to classes and the team, but then the coach called and we man- aged to work something out,” said Young. She says she is looking for- ward to the nationals because it will be a great experience and a lot of fun. The tournament is March 1 to 3 in Kamloops. ae Luke Couture and Alisa Men's team seeks championship at provincials The Falcons are preparing mentally and physically for a challenging weekend By OMAR SHARIFF ball team will be facing off against the Capilano University Blues on March 1 for their first game of the Pac- West Provincial Basketball Champion- ships. The Falcons are heading into the tournament ranked fourth in the league and will have some hard work ahead of them in order to take the ti- tle. Coach Jake McCallum explained that the biggest challenge for the team will be winning three consecu- tive games in three nights to go all the way and win the championship. T: Langara Falcons men’s basket- “We'll have to win Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night, so that’ll be tough. Physically it will be exhausting,” said McCallum. Some members of the Falcons pin- pointed two teams as their main competition. Jit Lohcham, a second-year player, identified the Vancouver Island Uni- versity Mariners as one of the Fal- con’s biggest threats in the playoffs. “They have the best record in the league right now and they won the provincials last year, so they know what it takes to win,” said Lohcham. McCallum agreed with Lohcham and also cited the University of Northern British Columbia Timber- wolves, ranked second in the league, as another obstacle to overcome. “Their teams are a little older than our team. They’ve got some guys that have played four or five years so they have some talented kids,” said McCallum. Even with all the pressure of the game looming over their heads, the players are trying to remain calm and treat their first game against the Blues like any other game. “Tjust think of it as a regular game, we just have to go out there and win,” added second-year player Bro- dy Greig. McCallum identified a few areas that the team will need to stay on top of during the tournament. “We have to have a complete team effort as far as rebounding, running what we’re supposed to be running, being where we're supposed to be on the court, and just making sure we’re playing together out there,” said Mc- Callum. The tournament will be from March 1 to 3 at Capilano University. OMAR SHARIFF photo Garret Ling-Lee (left) Randjodh Hare (centre) and Vince Tolentino (right) practise their game last week.