Sarah Nurse skates during the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, two years after her cousin had her Olympic debut in basketball.
photo: Matt Zambonin / HHOF-IIHF Images
Growing up in an athletic family not only provided Sarah Nurse with excellent competition, but it also provided inspiration for the Hamilton, Ontario native. Watching her cousin, Kia, compete first at the 2015 Pan American Games and then at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, had Sarah pining for her own Olympic moment.
“I’d say that I was very inspired by her when we were in high school,” Sarah Nurse said. “She got the call from Canada Basketball, the senior team, I think some time in high school, very young. Seeing her excel with the senior national team was amazing and so cool to see.”
Kia Nurse debuted with the women’s senior national basketball team in 2013 helping Canada qualify for the 2014 FIBA World Championship. A University of Connecticut alumnus, Kia Nurse then led Canada to gold medal victories at both the Pan American Games and the FIBA Americas Championship in 2015.
The 23-year-old made her Olympic debut in Rio where she was Canada’s leading scorer.
“Her being in the Pan Am Games really put her on the map and was huge for the country so that was a proud moment for me,” Sarah Nurse continued. “Then obviously when she went to the Olympics, was awesome. Just seeing her being there in Rio and thinking, ‘hey I can be in Pyeongchang in two years’ was very cool.
“I think when she got back from the Olympics that summer we kind of sat down and said, ‘this is going to be cool, we could have two Olympians in the family. We could have a medallist’ - it was pretty cool. Definitely something our family is very proud of us for. They’re so supportive in everything that we do.”
“I’d say that I was very inspired by her when we were in high school,” Sarah Nurse said. “She got the call from Canada Basketball, the senior team, I think some time in high school, very young. Seeing her excel with the senior national team was amazing and so cool to see.”
Kia Nurse debuted with the women’s senior national basketball team in 2013 helping Canada qualify for the 2014 FIBA World Championship. A University of Connecticut alumnus, Kia Nurse then led Canada to gold medal victories at both the Pan American Games and the FIBA Americas Championship in 2015.
The 23-year-old made her Olympic debut in Rio where she was Canada’s leading scorer.
“Her being in the Pan Am Games really put her on the map and was huge for the country so that was a proud moment for me,” Sarah Nurse continued. “Then obviously when she went to the Olympics, was awesome. Just seeing her being there in Rio and thinking, ‘hey I can be in Pyeongchang in two years’ was very cool.
“I think when she got back from the Olympics that summer we kind of sat down and said, ‘this is going to be cool, we could have two Olympians in the family. We could have a medallist’ - it was pretty cool. Definitely something our family is very proud of us for. They’re so supportive in everything that we do.”
Sarah Nurse fulfilled her own Olympic dream last February suiting up for Canada in Pyeongchang. The 24-year-old forward scored a goal in five games helping the Canadians earn a silver medal.
Though the loss to Americans in gold medal game was a disappointment, the overall Olympic experience is one the Nurse won’t soon forget.
“I think for me, just being in the village - it was a completely different world over there,” Nurse explained. “We’re kind of in that Olympic bubble and just thinking back about how crazy that experience was - I think it’s hard for me to even explain it to people just because it’s such a unique experience.
“I think learning about so many different athletes coming from so many different walks of life - you get so many different experiences. It was very cool to meet so many different people and kind of hear their different stories and hear where they came from.”
The time in Korea also allowed for the University of Wisconsin product, and her teammates, to take in other sports they wouldn’t otherwise see.
“I think for me; it was the speed skating. That’s always been one of my favourite things to watch at the Olympics so being able to actually see that was very cool,” Nurse said. “To meet the athletes who compete in (speed skating) was absolutely unreal.”
Growing up in Hamilton, 65 kilometres southwest of Toronto, Nurse was always around athletics. In addition to Kia, Sarah’s other cousin, Darnell Nurse is a veteran defenceman with the Edmonton Oilers.
Sarah’s two younger brothers are also hockey players. Issac Nurse, 19, is in this third season with the Ontario Hockey League’s Hamilton Bulldogs while Elijah, 21, is playing Tier III junior hockey.
Her uncle, through marriage, is former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb.
Though the loss to Americans in gold medal game was a disappointment, the overall Olympic experience is one the Nurse won’t soon forget.
“I think for me, just being in the village - it was a completely different world over there,” Nurse explained. “We’re kind of in that Olympic bubble and just thinking back about how crazy that experience was - I think it’s hard for me to even explain it to people just because it’s such a unique experience.
“I think learning about so many different athletes coming from so many different walks of life - you get so many different experiences. It was very cool to meet so many different people and kind of hear their different stories and hear where they came from.”
The time in Korea also allowed for the University of Wisconsin product, and her teammates, to take in other sports they wouldn’t otherwise see.
“I think for me; it was the speed skating. That’s always been one of my favourite things to watch at the Olympics so being able to actually see that was very cool,” Nurse said. “To meet the athletes who compete in (speed skating) was absolutely unreal.”
Growing up in Hamilton, 65 kilometres southwest of Toronto, Nurse was always around athletics. In addition to Kia, Sarah’s other cousin, Darnell Nurse is a veteran defenceman with the Edmonton Oilers.
Sarah’s two younger brothers are also hockey players. Issac Nurse, 19, is in this third season with the Ontario Hockey League’s Hamilton Bulldogs while Elijah, 21, is playing Tier III junior hockey.
Her uncle, through marriage, is former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb.
“We always challenged each other growing up,” Sarah Nurse said. “We’ve had this compete level since we were younger, we’ve always wanted to be the best at what we did so even when we would workout together, they’re both younger than me, we’d still try to beat each other.
“Any time we’re playing a game, whether it’s a video game or sports, we wanted to beat each other so it was definitely a good environment to grow up in.”
Nurse is now trying to channel her competitive edge while helping Canada get back on top at the 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship 4-14 April in Espoo, Finland. The Canadians have settled for silver at each of the past four World Championships losing to the Americans each year.
Having won the recent three-game Rivalry Series 2-1 over the Americans, Nurse and the Canadians have a better understanding of where they sit heading into April.
“I think it’s so important for us just for the development of the team,” said Nurse. “We don’t get together a lot throughout the year and so having Four Nations, (the Rivalry Series) and then going into the World Championship is huge. We’re kind of treating this as our regular season games in preparation for the World Championship. We’re working out little kings and finding out little things we need to fix.”
Under new head coach Perry Pearn, Nurse admits the team is looking a little different this season.
Pearn joined Canada’s women’s national team prior to the Four Nations Cup in November and brings a wealth of knowledge to the bench having coached in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks.
“I think we’ve put out a different product than we have in the past. I think we’re playing a physical game. We played a real team game that I’m really proud of and I haven’t seen from this team in a little bit,” said Nurse. “I think it just comes from getting back to where we came from. We want to be that hard-working, gritty team that also has talent. We want to be able to show that. Hard work and that physical aspect of the game really throws teams off and I think it’s something that they’re not ready for.”
Canada opens the Women’s Worlds on 4 April against Switzerland.
“Any time we’re playing a game, whether it’s a video game or sports, we wanted to beat each other so it was definitely a good environment to grow up in.”
Nurse is now trying to channel her competitive edge while helping Canada get back on top at the 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship 4-14 April in Espoo, Finland. The Canadians have settled for silver at each of the past four World Championships losing to the Americans each year.
Having won the recent three-game Rivalry Series 2-1 over the Americans, Nurse and the Canadians have a better understanding of where they sit heading into April.
“I think it’s so important for us just for the development of the team,” said Nurse. “We don’t get together a lot throughout the year and so having Four Nations, (the Rivalry Series) and then going into the World Championship is huge. We’re kind of treating this as our regular season games in preparation for the World Championship. We’re working out little kings and finding out little things we need to fix.”
Under new head coach Perry Pearn, Nurse admits the team is looking a little different this season.
Pearn joined Canada’s women’s national team prior to the Four Nations Cup in November and brings a wealth of knowledge to the bench having coached in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks.
“I think we’ve put out a different product than we have in the past. I think we’re playing a physical game. We played a real team game that I’m really proud of and I haven’t seen from this team in a little bit,” said Nurse. “I think it just comes from getting back to where we came from. We want to be that hard-working, gritty team that also has talent. We want to be able to show that. Hard work and that physical aspect of the game really throws teams off and I think it’s something that they’re not ready for.”
Canada opens the Women’s Worlds on 4 April against Switzerland.