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Dhaliwal signs with UBC

Athletic and academic excellence is running strong in one Mission family.

Mission Secondary School's Arshi Dhaliwal will play football for the UBC Thunderbirds this spring, following in his older brother's footsteps — almost.

Jason Dhaliwal graduated from MSS in 2009 with a 4.0 grade point average, and has been playing basketball with the Queens University Gaels ever since.

Both boys grew up in Mission, in an environment that fostered a desire to succeed.

“We grew up competing with our brothers, cousins and friends who were always older, stronger, and more skilled than us,” explained Jason, who noted himself and Arshi are the youngest two.  “I believe that this built a competitive foundation that we were able to benefit from during our later years.”

“We were able to build character and discipline by following our family values," said Arshi.

Arshi had a breakout season with the Mission this year, and was named a provincial all-star.

“When Jason took the leap to play CIS basketball it was a motivation builder, and gave me the confidence that I too could become a CIS athlete if I continued to train hard,” he said.

Jason, who stands 6'1", is a Queens University Sophomore 6-1 basketball guard Jason Dhaliwal, was happy to hear about his brother's success.

UBC "is an outstanding academic school, with an excellent football program that has lots of young talent and the potential for a great upcoming season. I am very proud of Arshi, and I believe that he has the capabilities of becoming a valuable asset for the UBC football program," he said via e-mail.

Jason was also recruited by the UBC Thunderbirds football program when he was in Grade 12, and said it was a hard choice to pick basketball over football.

Jason and Arshi said they enjoyed growing up in a small, close knit community as it has provided them with an opportunity to be positive role models for many student-athletes.