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Sports has always been my passion.
That passion still stands even though COVID has meant I haven't been able to get out and tell the stories of local athletes and teams as much as I did before the pandemic shut things down initially in March 2020.
With the local sports scene opening up somewhat in the fall, 2021 has allowed me to get back to what I love most, which is telling those stories.
While my role has changed a bit here at SooToday, some of the stories I have written over the 12 months that were 2021 have remained on my mind as the year came to a close on Friday.
Whether it was finally being able to get back in the rink to cover hockey in the fall or featuring some of Sault Ste. Marie's outstanding athletes, there are a lot of great stories to be told.
One that stands out for me is that of local powerlifter Holly Lasante.
Having represented Canada at the World Classic Powerlifting Championships, an event she won a gold medal in while competing in Sweden in 2019, Lasante has established herself in the sport quite well over the years.
I caught up with her during the summer while she was preparing to return to the event, set to be held in Sweden in September.
While talking to her for a feature story, Lasante told me of how training "kind of saved my life."
"A few years ago, I had a really bad bout with depression," Lasante said at the time. "I've always dealt with depression, but it was really bad (at that time). I was at a point in my life where I didn't want to leave the house, I didn't want to do anything."
Lasante said that her daughter "dragged me to the gym and it kind of saved my life."
She added that a focus on her lifting helped her "set these crazy goals and to see that I was able to achieve whatever I set my mind to. It just made me realize that I could do so much more than I was even giving myself credit for. That newfound sense of confidence kind of rolled out into every aspect of my life. I love power lifting, but I’ve really learned from it, and it empowers me to feel like if I can do this, I can do whatever I want."
In February, I was able to catch up with local skier Mac Marcoux.
Always a fun interview, much of the story centred around how he was training during COVID as well as what life was like for the competitive skier with the pandemic playing such a major role in limiting the chances for him to compete.
In the spring, the Lake Superior State Lakers capped off one of the best college hockey seasons in recent memory for the Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.-based school as it won the Western Collegiate Hockey Association title to advance to the NCAA men's ice hockey tournament for the first time in 25 years.
Though the tournament didn't have the fairy tale ending the team and the school were hoping for, following the run made by the team was entertaining. One of the more interesting stories to come from it was actually following their loss in the national tournament.
I spoke with LSSU coach Damon Whitten about what it meant for the program to finally get over the hump and win a league title and advance after having some recent regular season success.
Whitten spoke of how different college hockey is with less turnover compared to what we see in pro hockey and how it would be a challenge to continue the success.
While the Ontario Hockey League has returned this season, the league wasn't so lucky in 2020-21.
There was a lot of optimism from many that the league would be able to get in a season of some sort. OHL commissioner David Branch said the league did come close to being approved for a return, but a rise in COVID cases in the spring led to the OHL officially putting the hopes of a season on ice.
In gathering reaction for a story on the news of the cancellation in April, a quote from Soo Greyhounds coach John Dean will always stand out for me.
When he heard the news from general manager Kyle Raftis, he said "it brings that sinking feeling in your stomach."
It was the toughest news players, coaches, and other team staff around the league could have received and considering how close they came to being able to return at the time, it's hard to blame them.
Getting reaction on the cancellation was tough because you could tell just how much the sport means to those involved.
When training camp opened at the end of August with the team on the ice together for the first time since March 11, 2020, Dean called opening day "just a good day to be a hockey coach."
It's not very often a game story from an OHL game would be among the most memorable or favourite stories of any give year.
When it's the first time you've been able to cover a game in person in well over a year-and-a-half, it stands out a little bit more.
Getting a chance to be back in the rink covering regular season OHL hockey on Oct. 8 stands out for me because of that sole fact, it was a return to something I considered normal for so long.
During the pandemic and while the OHL was shut down, I can't count how many times discussions surrounded how much we take for granted and the amount of time I spent in the rink covering the Greyhounds was certainly one of those things.
To be back covering a regular season game between the Greyhounds and North Bay Battalion or a regular season game in general is certainly something I won't be taking for granted anytime soon.
Speaking of not taking things for granted, at the end of October, covering high school football is another thing I won't be taking for granted anytime soon either.
On Oct. 29, the Korah Colts beat the Superior Heights Steelhawks 27-15 at Superior Heights to win the city title.
Though I had been able to write a bit about the high school football regular season in the fall, the city final was the first chance for me to be in attendance for a game. The Colts would go on to with a NOSSA title before winning the OFSAA Northern Bowl, all locally.
To be back at the football field, on what was actually a perfect fall night for a game, was a good feeling.
Looking back on the past 12 months, I'll always consider myself fortunate to be able to tell the stories that encompass Sault Ste. Marie sports and hope the next 12 months allow me to do a lot more of the same.