Before Dianna Ros was set to make her coaching debut for Canada this summer, she was a standout point guard at McGill.

A prized recruit after starring in CEGEP at Montmorency College, postsecondary offers — both north and south of the border — were abundant for the St. Laurent, Que product.

The McGill Martlets were one of those interested suitors after head coach Ryan Thorne already established a relationship with Ros after serving as her head coach with the Quebec provincial team. That’s where Thorne came to know Ros and understand what she was all about — a hard-working basketball lover with a drive to be great. Thorne knew she was someone he wanted to recruit.

Growing up, Ros lived with her great-grandmother outside of Montreal, and while money was tight, food was always on the table, and the lights were always on. Her great-grandmother was her caregiver and became someone Ros relied on.

But her great-grandmother passed away days before Ros a recruiting visit to McGill. In a state of uncertainty and without someone to truly lean on, Ros reached out to Thorne and requested to postpone her visit to McGill. He responded by crafting a card signed by the entire roster — players and coaches — and gifting it to Ros.

“That made me feel like I was walking into a family, and that was the most important thing to me — I just lost my family,” said Ros. “That was the part that got me. I knew Ryan was going to be taking care of me.”

After that, Ros, who speaks English, French and Vietnamese — committed to McGill and enjoyed a five-year playing career with the program, where she was named the RSEQ Rookie of the Year, a member of the CIS (now U SPORTS) All-Rookie Team and a two-time RSEQ Second-Team All-Star, all while helping the Martlets to five-straight conference championships and national championship appearances in each season.

Today, Ros is attempting to create a culture similar to that she experienced as a student-athlete at McGill — this time across the province in Sherbrooke, Que. In the summer of 2022, Ros was named the new head coach of the Bishop’s Gaiters women’s basketball team, and in her first season at the helm, she led the Gaiters to a 14-2 regular season record — tops in the RSEQ — and a berth in the conference championship game.

Following the year, she was named the RSEQ women’s basketball Coach of the Year and a national award finalist.

It’s been a rapid rise up the Canadian coaching ranks for Ros — a career path she never thought was possible.

She decided to attend McGill without having even been accepted into an academic program — her leap of faith was successful. She graduated from the school’s physical therapy program with an undergraduate and master’s degree before beginning to work in Montréal.

After her playing career at McGill ended in 2016 following a senior season riddled with injuries, including playing through a partial fracture in her tibia, which derailed any hopes she once had of playing pro basketball and forced her to hang up her shoes and unwillingly close that chapter of her life. 

“When you start playing basketball, you always have 11 teammates that will be your friend,” said Ros, who was a co-captain in each of her final two seasons with the Martlets. “After university, I was walking into this world, and I thought, ‘I don’t know if I can survive on my own — I won’t have a team.’”

After taking time off work and travelling to Asia for a five-month trip to reset, a new chapter of her basketball journey began upon returning to Montréal. 

Rikki Bowles, an assistant coach while she played at McGill and today the Martlets head coach, became the bench boss at Vanier College. Soon Ros was balancing an assistant coach role with Vanier and the Quebec provincial team while continuing her day job as a physical therapist.

Soon, Ros realized it wasn’t physical therapy that was driving her. When the clock hit 3:00 p.m. each day, she was bustling out of the office door, hopping into her car and heading off to practice with newfound energy. It became clear that basketball was not just what she wanted to do but needed to do with her life.

“I never thought I would be coaching, and I don’t know if she did. But it’s just the passion for the sport — her love for it that drew her there,” said Thorne.

That’s a sentiment echoed by Ros.

“I never wanted to coach; it kind of chose me,” said Ros, who, after four seasons at Vanier College, returned to her alma mater and spent the 2021-22 season as a full-time associate coach at McGill.

When the Bishop’s opening came up, it wasn’t a role Ros believed she was truly ready for. 

But after talking with TMU women’s basketball head coach and Senior Women’s National Team assistant coach Carly Clarke, a proud Bishop’s alumna, Ros realized that with only 48 U SPORTS women’s basketball head coaching jobs across Canada, this was an opportunity too good to turn down.

Ros, who was 30 years old at the time of the hiring, became one of the youngest head coaches in the country.

This summer is shaping up to be a busy one for Ros, who will balance her Bishop’s duties as she will serve as Quebec’s girls 17U head coach when the team takes part in the Canada Basketball National Championships beginning on July 31 in Calgary.

It all has come full circle with the provincial team for Ros. 

As a Quebec provincial team head coach, the one-time standout floor general is now the decision-maker on the sidelines. But it’s also an age group she truly enjoys being around as there is an opportunity for her to mould young people into the people they want to become — similar to how Thorne helped her along her journey.

“That’s probably one of my most precious relationships. [Thorne] and his wife and their two daughters are like my sisters. They’re really family at this point. That relationship is extremely important to me. I’m not the person I am without him,” said Ros.

As if her summer wasn’t busy enough, Ros will make her coaching debut with Canada Basketball this summer, joining head coach Fabienne Blizzard’s staff as a performance analyst for Canada at the FIBA U16 Women’s Americas Championship 2023 (June 13-19). 

“I think [coaching for Canada] has been a dream of hers for years,” said Thorne. “Anytime you get an opportunity with the National Team program and to represent Canada — you want to continue down that road. I believe she’ll be able to contribute.”

When Ros dons the maple leaf this summer — it won’t be the first time she’s represented her country. In 2013, Ros was on Canada’s national development team at the FISU Summer Games. She became a carded athlete. She received federal funding, which led her to approach Thorne.

Thorne says that action best encapsulates Ros’ character.

 “I even said, ‘Dianna, no, it’s good. You’re okay.’ But she was adamant about it. She was like, ‘No, no, no. We can help another player. I don’t need this. I would say that the word need is a big one. This is not someone who came from money and had every bill taken care of,” said Thorne. “That’s just the kind of person she is. She wants to help others. She’s been blessed in certain situations and wants to bless others. I think that is what allows her to succeed and makes her so special.” 

“That was a natural thing for me to do in a way — we were like, ‘Alright, we need to get to this national championship, and we were close,’” said Ros. “I had enough [money] to live — my entire life, I didn’t need much [money] to live.” 

A year after Ros graduated, the foundation she helped establish at McGill led the team to the Bronze Baby, as the Martlets women’s basketball team won their first-ever national championship in program history in 2017.

Now she’s hoping for similar success in Sherbrooke. Thorne notes that Ros is someone who, when provided a task, will follow it to the letter. Her next mission: bring Bishop’s back to the U SPORTS Final 8 for the first time since 2004 — something Thorne believes is more than attainable.

“I see her being the head coach of a championship-winning team,” said Thorne.

And her one-time head coach, now the head coach of the men’s basketball team at McGill, continues to be a sounding board for Ros whenever she needs it, even despite her colour of choice changing from Martlet red to Gaiter purple. 

“The foundation and the familial relationships that I have at McGill go way deeper than the colours you wear,” said Ros. “When things didn’t go well this year, I called Ryan. He’s my guy.”

“She’s like my daughter,” said Thorne. “The battles are one’s that I’m there to support her in all she does.”