Rosie Awori – Local Journalism Initiative
For Terrian Julien, earning another place on Canada’s national netball team is both a personal milestone and part of something bigger: the growing visibility of Quebec players on the national stage.
The Montreal-based athlete has been selected to represent Canada for a third time, continuing a journey that began decades ago on the courts of Grenada.
“It’s a dream come true,” Julien said excitedly to the CONTACT. “It’s nice to see yourself working towards something and being able to reach that goal. It’s a really nice feeling and a privilege to be able to live my dream right now.”
This year, that achievement comes with added excitement. Julien is one of four players from Quebec named to the Canadian team, alongside Ayana Ashton, Alexandra Gotts and LaDonna Lamonth.
For Julien, seeing Quebec’s representation increase is significant.
“Last year we were only three,” she recalled. “This year we have four and I’m very excited. I’m very happy that we’re four, and I feel like our numbers are growing.”
Born and raised in Grenada, Julien began playing netball at around eight years old. She represented her elementary and high schools before going on to represent Grenada at the youth level, including at under-16 competition.
When she moved to Montreal approximately 13 years ago, netball quickly followed her.
Her father played soccer with Hilltoppers, and during one of their first weekends in the city, Julien discovered that a netball team was practising in a neighbouring gym. Her cousin Rachel was already playing with a Quebec club.
“I went over, and I’ve been playing in Quebec ever since,” she recalled.
Not long after arriving in Canada, she saw Quebec players preparing for the national championships. Watching them compete gave her an immediate goal.
“I was like, ‘That’s going to be me. I want to play,’” she said.
She began training, was evaluated through several games, and tried out for the Quebec team in 2014.
“Surprisingly, I made the team,” she said. “I was very happy about it, and I’ve continued playing ever since.”
Her rise from provincial competition to the Canadian team has also demanded growth beyond physical skill.
Julien says netball has taught her the importance of mental toughness, but equally, the value of having a community around her.
“There is a support network,” she said. “You have people who care and you’re never really alone. And it’s okay to ask for help.”
That support stretches beyond the court. Coaches check in on players’ overall well-being, she explained, while teammates regularly share training ideas, videos and areas they want to improve through their group chats.
“That sport connection, knowing besides your friends, besides your family, there are people who actually care, people who are there for you and support you and cheer you on no matter what you do, that’s something I’ve learned.”
As a defensive player who moves between goal defence, wing defence and goal keeper, Julian has also had to become adaptable.
International competition has exposed her to different approaches to the sport and challenged her to constantly adjust.
In 2024, she travelled with the Canadian team to Singapore, an experience that gave her an opportunity to encounter a different netball environment and style of play. More recently, the team competed in Saint Martin, where Julian was able to face teams from across the Caribbean region.
“The netball is still the same, but there might be different levels in fitness and different challenges,” she said. “You have to rise to the occasion with every challenge that comes with the different teams that you play.”
Those experiences, she said, have helped her improve both individually and as part of a team.
Julien approaches that development with a deliberate sense of curiosity. Despite her years of experience, she says she never wants to reach a point where she believes she has nothing left to learn.
“Netball, as well as any other sport, keeps evolving in terms of rules and style of play,” she said. “Being able to continue to stay curious and learn more has helped me adjust my style of playing and work harder towards improving my skills.”
Julian hopes to remain part of the Canadian program for years to come, while helping expand a sport that still has a relatively small footprint across Canada. She said Quebec, British Columbia, Ontario and Alberta currently form the core of national-level competition.
The increasing number of Quebec athletes on the Canadian roster therefore represents an encouraging shift.
During one previous international trip, Julian recalled only two Quebec players making the team. That number later grew to three and has now reached four.
She hopes the progression encourages other players in Montreal and across the province to see the national team as an attainable goal.
“Hopefully we have more players from Quebec who try out for the team and make the team,” she said. “Then we can push that influence of netball within Quebec itself.”
That mission also intersects with Julian’s professional ambitions. She currently works as a substitute teacher and is pursuing a future in physical education, where she hopes to introduce more young people to the sport she has loved since childhood.
“I would love to continue playing so that I can inspire people around me, younger students as well,” she said. “Hopefully they can develop the love that I have for netball for themselves, and netball will become bigger in Quebec, bigger in Canada and bigger in the world.”
She noted that Canada’s team includes athletes from several racial and cultural backgrounds, including Black and Asian players. Three of the Quebec players, she said, are Black.
Seeing that diversity reflected on the court can make a difference to the next generation.
“It’s kind of like seeing yourself,” Julien said.
And with four Quebec athletes now wearing Canada’s colours, there are more opportunities than ever for young players in the province to do exactly that.
The Americas regional qualifiers for the World Cup in Sydney will be held in Barbados from October 19 – 26 2026.
