Brent Mutis, CapU Sport Information & Compliance Officer

Ordinarily, landing a top player from the province’s No. 1-ranked Quad-A basketball team would be news in itself.

Throw in some strong family ties and it makes for a unique story.

That’s the latest news angle on the Capilano Blues women’s team as Riverside Secondary small forward Venica (pronounced va-NEE-sa) Davignon has inked to join CapU for the 2022-23 season.

The name is familiar because her older sister Alanya is in her third year with the Blues, and her second season on the hardcourt after the cancelation of the 2020-21 season.

Despite the sister connection, it was not a slam dunk that Venica would be coming to the North Vancouver campus. Her game has drawn notice from other college and university programs around B.C. and when you factor in her MVP performance at December’s prestigious Tsumura Basketball Invitational – where Riverside won it by upending crosstown rival, and at the time No. 1-ranked Terry Fox – more were sure to come calling.

“It’s her decision and I'm really biased,” says Alanya, who was named to the PACWEST All-Rookie team in 2020. “I wanted her to come to Capilano obviously, so it was a little hard just trying to help her through the whole process and everything.”

“Yeah, it was very stressful,” says Venica. “I was afraid I was going to make the wrong decision. I made a pros and cons list for the schools I wanted to go to, but at the end of the day, I definitely think I made the right choice.”

For their mom, Debbie, the decision brought joy but also some relief.

"Beyond excited," she says. "As a parent, just trying to cheer if they were playing against each other, that would be an issue. Watching your kids succeed is great; it’s going to be so fabulous watching them play in unison."

While they are different players on the court, Alanya being a versatile 5-foot-7 defensive disrupter (and the only Blues player listed as a guard/forward) and Venica a 5-foot-10 forward with probably a more developed offensive game at the same age, both sisters are Riverside products and both credit longtime Rapids coach Paul Langford for their hoops development, going back to before they were high schoolers.

Langford first got to know the Davignons through club basketball. Alanya played in the Tri-Cities Youth Basketball Association and also with a club Langford created that he dubbed JABOGS (Just A Bunch Of Girls). Venica would inevitably tag along and soak up the surroundings and also had a connection to Langford through softball, which he also coached.

“(Paul) said, ‘You should come to some of our open gyms for JABOGS so I came there, ended up loving it and continued basketball through to Riverside with him as a coach,” says Venica.

“He’s been there for everything. He was supposed to retire in Alanya’s Grade 12 year. He was supposed to retire about three times and then I forced him to stay. I said, ‘You're going to be my coach if you want to or not.’”

Alanya and Venica’s dad J.F. recognizes the influence of Langford and Riverside co-coach Jeremy Neufeld on his daughters.

“We are grateful to Paul Langford and Jeremy Neufeld for bringing them to this level,” he says. “It’s coaches like that who put in the time without a lot of dollars, who start teams and programs for the kids, get them equipment. We really appreciate them.”

With Langford’s tutelage, and more recently that of Neufeld, Venica knew what kind of basketball experience she wanted at the post-secondary level. Watching Alanya and getting a sense of Blues head coach Chris Weimer’s style and the way he runs his team was ultimately what sealed the deal.

“Honestly, it's the girls on the team… how welcoming the team was, how fun they were to play with,” says Venica. “It was kind of the same style that I had when I wanted to play, and I feel like that's what basketball is to me. It's creating new friendships, having fun while still being competitive but that was the main factor for it.”

The added bonus for the Davignon family, including mom and dad, is being able next season to go to one gymnasium per weekend and see both Alanya and Venica.

“It’s pretty special to me,” says J.F. “It’s exciting as a parent to see your kids playing with the same team. It’s a dream come true.”

Debbie feels the same parental pride.

"Being able to cheer for the same team is great," she says. "One of the best things that’s going to happen (is)... they are going to be so much fun to watch because they’re going to be in sync."

Both sisters are happy to give their parents this gift.

“They’re super excited,” says Venica. “They're happy to not have to cheer for two different teams. They can just wear one (type of) shirt.”

“I think they're also happy because that we get to stay together just because Venica is my best friend,” says Alanya. ”And they know that, so I think just having us stay together on and off the court and still have dinners at home together and everything is really important to them.”

Blues coach Weimer will benefit as well. Having recruited Alanya and now Venica, he gets to add not only their hoops acumen to his team but also their character which enhances the Blues culture, making it attractive for other recruits.

"I'm very excited to add Venica to our program," Weimer says. "I believe she will have an immediate impact, on and off the court. She is a versatile talent that is effective at both ends. Because she's tall, long and athletic, she's able to play offense and defense inside and out.

"I'm looking forward to watching her develop and grow with our Blues family."

Obviously, that's not the only family that is looking forward to this next chapter.