Expectations follow a person throughout their life, whether from others or from themselves—there is a constant battle to prove that they belong. From moving to the U.S. to play college basketball at the age of 17, to returning to Ontario University Athletics (OUA) at 28 to pursue a national championship, Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s basketball forward Eternati Willock has continued to exceed expectations.

Coming out of high school, she was touted as one of the best prospects in North America, being ranked 59th on the 2016 SportsCenter NEXT 100, a list that featured names like Sabrina Ionescu and Crystal Dangerfield. The precedent was set early for Willock.

As a highly ranked prospect, there were presumptions Willock had to deal with, mostly in regards to her performance on the court. She felt the pressure, she said, often looking to those closest to her for comfort when she had downtime.

“I was just hanging out with my friends and seeing family and just taking the time and moments for myself to recover and not think about it too much because it was a lot,” she said.

It was not long before Willock made her mark on the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as she was unanimously chosen for the 2017 Big 12 All-Freshman Team.

After almost a decade and three teams later, she is still having an impact on the court, recently helping push TMU to a Critelli Cup championship and a nationals appearance.

In this stage of her career, Willock said her attention to detail when it comes to taking care of her body has become ever so important. She often finds herself making sacrifices to sustain herself throughout the season. 

“You have to roll out. You have to eat properly. You have to not go out to that one party because you have to stay home and stretch,” said Willock. “There’s certain things you have to do because when you don’t do it, it definitely wears you down.”

Barring any setbacks in health, the peak performance of female athletes generally apexes around ages 25 to 28, commonly known as a “prime.” As Willock approaches the end of her prime, her post-game and post-practice regime have become more important, especially as she lives with a sickle cell trait, meaning she carries or has inherited a single copy of the gene that causes sickle cell anemia.

Even though she doesn’t necessarily have the disease, she said it still has an effect on her athletic ability.

In her time at TMU she’s been able to receive the proper care she needs to perform on the court, receiving patience and attention from team staff who make sure she stays on top of her training and preparation.

“It’s hard. I just have to stay on top of it,” said Willock. “Starting workouts or when starting out on a new team in general, it takes me longer than everybody else to get back within it.” 

Willock recalled her recent experience at the U Sports Championship in Laval, Que., and her conversation with strength and conditioning coach Serra Henderson, where she felt the toll of missing certain workouts to prepare her for the physicality of the game.

“I was on the court and I was like, ‘hold on,’ my lungs were burning. I was like, ‘oh my gosh, [Henderson], we forgot to do extra workouts and I could feel it,’” she said. Navigating her condition, balancing her undergraduate degree in early childhood education and competing at such a high level is a task few experience.

According to Stats Canada, the average age of a student that completes their undergraduate program is 25, while the National Library of Medicine mentions that the average age of Division 1 women-identifying athletes hovers around the age of 20.

Despite Willock being on the older side of these spectrums, she doesn’t allow her age to limit her drive to compete. 

“I think it’s just breaking that barrier. Because I feel like there’s no limit for anyone to stop playing basketball,” said Willock.

Willock witnessed others in the basketball space around her moving on to other ventures in life, starting families or beginning new careers, making her “have that thought” if she should continue to play or not. 

Being in the role she is now, she has become an inspiration to her peers to get back into the sports they love, recognizing there is much more left for her within the world of basketball.

Along with playing for her late mother, Willock said her love for the sport drives her to inspire a new generation of hoopers, preaching the message that there’s no singular route to success.

“I want to show little girls that there’s not one straight path to playing basketball or achieving your goals when it comes to being an athlete, or a student athlete at that,” she said.

Willock also attributed her love of basketball and her push to continue playing at a high level to the support systems in her life. From her Bold teammates to her family back in Scarborough, Ont., these aspects of her life are what “keeps [her] going.”

In her constant pursuit to defy the odds and being supported by everyone behind her, Willock emphasized taking it one day at a time and sticking to your passions regardless of what anyone says. 

“Don’t be afraid of what people say. People are always going to have something to say. Everyone always has something to say,” said Willock. “So as long as you know in your heart that this is your path, this is something you want to do, and this is something you’re passionate about, keep doing it.”