Former TMU women’s volleyball player Adyson Wilson on leadership and coaching the next generation of Indigenous players

By Maya Zaid

Adyson Wilson is rewriting what it means to lead and take up space as an Indigenous woman in sport and beyond. The former Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) women’s volleyball player, is making an impact on the court at Keyano College, as a leader for the next generation of student-athletes and coaching regional Indigenous teams. 

“All I want to do is guide my younger peers and athletes,” said Wilson. 

Wilson is an Anishinaabe woman who grew up in Fort Frances, a Treaty 3 town in Northwestern Ontario, where her mother introduced her to the sport of volleyball. However, Wilson didn’t start competing until high school after moving to Ontario.

“I felt like I was outgrowing my town, and they didn’t have the resources so I could flourish,” she said. 

“In grade nine, I made the high school team. We didn't have a club team where I lived because the town was so small.” 

At 16, Wilson was invited to try out for the Ontario Beach program in Toronto and made the team. 

“I had a conversation with my mom, and she said, ‘I will help you do this, I will do everything I can to make sure you succeed if this is really what you want to do,’” said Wilson.

Wilson’s mother, Amy, also coached volleyball in elementary school, was Head Coach for the Treaty #3 Titans 18U team, and Head Coach of the Aboriginal Team Ontario women’s team for the North American Indigenous Games in 2017 and 2022. She led Team Canada Junior Women’s National Team at the 2023 NORCECA Continental Championships to a bronze medal and helped them qualify for the 2024 FIVB Worlds in Peru. 

Wilson says her mom taught her all about coaching the sport, connecting with other athletes and offering support.

“Her view on life and sports is amazing and I learn something new every time I am with her,” she said. 

She says she recently had a meaningful interaction with another Indigenous young woman who struggled with mental health. 

“She never thought she could ever play a sport or go to college or university because of where she lived,” Wilson said. 

“And I told her no, it's colonizers who want you to think like this so you stay complacent in where you are.” 

Inspired, the young woman applied to Cambridge College and got in.

“That solidifies that I’m doing something good and that I am affecting people in a good way,” she said.

After taking a year off during the COVID-19 pandemic, Wilson was recruited by TMU’s women volleyball head coach Dustin Reid. A full circle moment, having watched her first-ever university game at the school during nationals. Years later, her grandfather was moved to learn that Maple Leafs Garden, where she trained, was also the site of his first and only time attending an NHL game.

“I never really thought I would graduate high school, let alone play on a university women’s volleyball team,” Wilson said. 

“I worked really, really hard for what I have. I made sure I got myself to where I wanted to be. I pride myself in being an athlete, that is my whole identity, as well as being an Indigenous woman.”

Wilson was the first person in her family to go to post-secondary school. 

“It wasn’t really for me, it was to give my family a degree or a diploma,” she said. 

“The second reason would definitely be that I want to show Indigenous kids that they can go to university or college and excel.”

Wilson’s time at TMU shaped more than her volleyball career, it was where she built a sisterhood. That sense of belonging stuck with Wilson.

“When I transferred to Keyano, my biggest thing was I wanted to have a team like that again,” she said. 

“I don’t really care about winning as much as I wanted those two things,  a safe environment and really good friends, lifelong friends.”

Now in her fifth year, Wilson has stepped into a leadership role at Keyano College. With many of her younger teammates, she sees it as her responsibility to pass the baton.

“For me to portray my knowledge and all the stuff I’ve gone through to a younger generation, or just even a few women a few years younger than me, it is amazing,” she said.

“You don’t necessarily have to be in a coaching position to help your teammates.” 

This summer Wilson was the Head Coach for the U19 All Nations x Maori’s Men’s team in Edmonton, Alberta, being one of the few women, and even fewer Indigenous women to lead a male sports team.

“The amount of women coaching and head coaching a men's or boys team is very, very little,” she said.

“So, I second guessed myself a lot, but I had to recollect myself and remind myself I know what I'm doing, and even if I don’t know what I’m doing, I can take this as a learning opportunity.”

Wilson was also selected to lead the U16 Team Ontario Boys team at the 2023 North American Indigenous Games (NAIG). 

On the other side of volleyball, Wilson’s passion is fashion, which is something she was exposed to early on through her great grandmother, Nana. Since, Wilson says she is in the process of creating her own fashion brand.

“My brand, ‘Aazhoogan,’ which means Bridge in English, is aimed at creating a ‘bridge’ between culture, fashion and accessibility,” she said.

The name of the brand itself is dedicated to her brother, Bridger, who is diagnosed with a rare brain disease called Polymicrogyria (PMG).

“I feel like people with disabilities are often left out of fashion, and clothes that are accessible to them do not prioritize being fashionable most of the time — I want to change that,” said Wilson.

“Being an able bodied person, my experiences with disabilities through my brother can only go so far, so it is very important to me to collaborate with people with disabilities and get their input on fashion and different needs in the clothing industry.”

Wilson says you truly never know how much you have impacted someone’s life until they tell you days, weeks, or even years later. 

“To some athletes and teammates my role in their life will stick with them forever and vice versa,” she said.

“Some of the most amazing athletes and people I have met have been through university, college, and being able to coach Indigenous kids. I am forever grateful for them.”

As Wilson enters the final stretch at Keyano, she’s focused on growth and hopes to progress her coaching by following in her mother’s footsteps, while also striving to be an Academic All-Canadian.

To the next generation, especially young girls, she offers this: “Take up space and be loud… let everyone know you’re there.”