David Willsie
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| Born | March 28, 1968 Dorchester, Ontario, Canada | ||||||||||||
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David Willsie (born March 28, 1968) is a Canadian coach and former Wheelchair rugby player.
Willsie was born on March 28, 1968, in Dorchester, Ontario, Canada[1] to parents John and Jean.[2] His father was an international ice hockey referee, and his cousin Brian Willsie played in the National Hockey League.[1] Willsie was born and raised in London, Ontario, and earned a marketing diploma from Fanshawe College.[3]
Willsie was a semi-pro baseball player and a cross-country runner before being left quadriplegic following a recreational hockey game in 1995.[2] While recovering in the hospital, Willsie was recruited by a local coach from Strathroy to play para-rugby.[4] At the time, he was not interested in wheelchair sports because he felt they were more of a "consolation" sport. However, after visiting a local wheelchair rugby group and seeing their intensity, he pursued the sport.[5] Following this, he started playing wheelchair rugby with the London Annihilators in 1997 and made the Ontario team in 1998.[3] He officially joined the Canadian National Wheelchair Rugby team in 1999.[6]