Gee-Gees guard hopes lengthy university journey ends on a high note on his home turf

Ottawa (by David DiCenzo) - Capital Hoops is a time of celebration in the city of Ottawa. But Sean Stoqua’s memory of the lone time he participated in the event isn’t so fun. The fifth-year Gee-Gees guard from Stittsville was in his first season with his hometown university back in 2018 when disaster struck. With just one minute left in the game between uOttawa and the rival Carleton Ravens, Stoqua went down with a serious injury. He tore the ACL in his right knee – and he knew it immediately.

The year ahead was a long road of work and rehab, which Stoqua knew very well. The ACL was the second major injury the former two-sport athlete had suffered, after fracturing his fibula and dislocating his left ankle back in 2013 at an Acadia Axemen football practice. The scars on both of his legs are reminders and represent Stoqua’s unique journey through university sports, where he has gained an extensive education about the human body both on the field play and in the classroom as a Kinesiology and Physiotherapy student.

“One of the things that played a role in me returning from these injuries was just having been there before,” he says. “My dad (former Ottawa Rough Riders slot back Pat Stoqua) put me in situations when I was younger that made me tougher both physically and mentally. That certainly helped when I did get hurt. That prepared me and it’s something I’m grateful for.

“It’s also your belief system. Are you willing to take responsibility for what happened? Rarely are athletes doing everything they can to stay healthy and achieve their highest performance. That’s a pill you have to swallow first. What could I have done differently in my preparation and what can I do better? That’s an important question.

“It empowers you to know that you can change the outcome going forward.”

Stoqua is indeed committed to controlling his own fate. It’s nothing new for the well-travelled student-athlete, who enjoyed a successful basketball and football career at Acadia before making a quick stop at Carleton and eventually uOttawa. Stoqua has needed to be resilient, not just to get back from injury, but also to achieve his goals playing the sports he loves and in the demanding academic programs he’s pursued. There have been detractors along the way. But it hasn’t stopped the determined 26-year-old.

And now in his final year of U SPORTS eligibility, with the Gee-Gees hosting the men’s basketball nationals, Stoqua would love to close this chapter of his life with a title on home turf. It would be a perfect ending to a university career that began so brightly in 2011 as a rookie in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.

Stoqua was firmly on the basketball radar as a teenager where he played for the local Ottawa Guardsmen club team and at Sacred Heart High School under head coach Tony House. He didn’t try football until he was 16. It made sense for a highly-rated local hoops player to go the Carleton route and follow in the footsteps of Pat, who is a member of the Ravens’ Hall of Fame. But Stoqua had his own ideas. Carleton didn’t have a football program at the time and Acadia, where his good friend Anthony Ashe played, was the only school that offered him an opportunity to compete in both sports. The Eastern school also had a strong Kinesiology program, an important consideration.

“I was pretty much sold,” he says, understanding that given his evolving football IQ and limited experience on the gridiron, a role as a defensive back wasn’t guaranteed. “What could be a more exciting opportunity and challenge than playing two sports at a school?”

Some family and friends had different feelings. They expressed concern that Stoqua would have trouble keeping up in school and that he was throwing away his potential on the court by participating in football. But the talented freshman had an amazing first year in Wolfville. He was one of two rookies to dress, had an interception in a big game, and the team capped the season with an AUS championship. Stoqua loved the town, his Kinesiology program, and the transition to hoops went smooth. One day after competing in the Uteck Bowl against McMaster, he joined the basketball team. Stoqua finished the year on the All-Rookie team and just like the Axemen football squad, Acadia won another AUS title.

“To come in, especially with all the backlash, make the football team and win both championships, gave me some vindication,” he says. “It was an unbelievable experience. The friendships I built and the team success will always be what I cherish most.

Stoqua came back for second year in better shape and the good times continued with another AUS football crown. The basketball team was strong again and made a run to the national semis before bowing out to Carleton. But with two years of a gruelling schedule under his belt, Stoqua was noticing the pain. He says his ankles felt like “papier-mâché” and eventually, his body gave out.

At a practice on September 18, 2013, he broke his left leg and dislocated the ankle, which ended up pointed in the opposite direction. He had surgery the next day and was left wondering what the future held.

“I had some doctors tell me that it could have been a career-ending injury.” Stoqua says. “It took a lot of work just to get back.”

He felt like the responsibility to play again was solely his. Stoqua missed all of his third year but rebounded the next season, stronger than he had ever been. He played every football game, leading the team in interceptions and proudly, the country in blocked kicks. On the court, Stoqua produced a career-high 12.9 points per game with more rebounds than he had ever had, as well.

With his injury keeping him out, Stoqua had two full seasons of eligibility left. After getting invited to the CFL Combine, an achievement he took pride in with just two years of U SPORTS football, he ultimately decided to attend grad school outside of Wolfville. Stoqua also had a surgery to remove some of the metal in his leg that he felt was hindering his range of motion and causing pain.

He completed his Kinesiology degree before a brief stop at Carleton, where Stoqua wanted to study Neuroscience. Though he had never been diagnosed with a concussion while playing, he began to read about the effects of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in Dr. Bennet Omalu’s book Play Hard, Die Young.

“I felt differently about the game because of some of the things I had learned and the statistics I had seen,” says Stoqua, who had heard some difficult stories from his dad’s CFL friends. “I didn’t think football was in the cards for me anymore, which was tough because I had put in a lot of time and effort and thought I would have had an opportunity to play in the CFL.”

Carleton didn’t work out for Stoqua and after a year of doing odd jobs like closing pools and working in a supplement store, he applied to the Physiotherapy program at uOttawa. There was one problem – the entire course was in French. Those around him expressed the same worry when Stoqua said he wanted to play two sports. But he was undeterred. Stoqua took the risk and spent multiple months learning French just to get the interview.

“The decision to play two sports at Acadia and how that went gave me the confidence to take that risk academically,” he says. “Even if other people didn’t believe in me, I believed that even if I didn’t know how I would get it done, I could figure it out along the way.”

Stoqua started at uOttawa in September of 2017, embracing the challenge of a new academic program in a second language, as well as returning to the court. Playing one sport was a novelty for him and with his family and friends able to see him in his own backyard, Stoqua was energized.

The ACL tear in 2018 was a setback. But this gritty student-athlete has never backed down. He did what was necessary, including sitting on the floor of class the entire year after knee surgery to maintain better hip mobility. Stoqua has found harmony in his final year. He’s averaging seven points and four assists per game on the court, while putting his physiotherapy education to use three days a week at local clinic Human 2.0, owned by Dr. Chris Raynor, the surgeon who repaired his ACL.

“I really enjoy being able to share the things that I’ve learned over the course of my journey with people who are trying to overcome injuries or just stay healthy,” he says.

Stoqua has been keeping good care of his own body and might be one of the only U SPORTS athletes qualified to give himself acupuncture and dry needling. This season has been like a fun victory lap to celebrate a long road that began in Wolfville almost a decade ago.

Up next is another shot at Capital Hoops. And the main goal after that is to help the 15-4 Gee-Gees win their first national championship, which has provided inspiration for him and his teammates.

“I’m just grateful to be able to get out there again with my friends and play a game that I love,” says Stoqua.

“I have enjoyed being able to finish my university career on my own terms.”