I can certainly relate and respect those professional athletes that have gone through being traded and required to uproot their families on multiple occasions.
My career as a sports reporter has taken myself (and my family) to places such as Ottawa, London, Sudbury, Calgary, Canmore, Owen Sound and finally here to Airdrie.
And though it may sound selfish, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
As a nomadic sports scribe, I have been, and continue to be, fortunate to cover the feats and failures of athletes of various skill levels from across this vast country over the course of my decade long career.
From professional and Olympic athletes winning prestigious championships to a team of ‘Little Johnnys’ ecstatic to win a local little league title, it has been an honour to share stories of sport triumphs (and unfortunately some tragedies) with readers of the numerous news outlets that I have had the opportunity to write for. And nor will it be any different for me here in the rapidly growing city of Airdrie.
Having children enrolled in minor sports has given this reporter a more appreciative outlook on the community sports scene. As a parent, I can relate to the feelings of pride and the value felt in reading about how our son or daughter’s soccer, baseball or hockey team fared over the weekend. It is publications such as the Airdrie City View that promote this sense of community and I couldn’t be more proud to play a small part in that.
Our family has called Airdrie home for only a week and we have already been privileged to cross paths with residents that prove this community will be a tremendous place for my wife and I to finally settle down and raise our two children.
From Airdrie Minor Hockey Association administrator Cindy Kunitz, who had our eight-year-old son signed up and on the ice before we even had a chance to register him for school (true Canucks we are!), to our gracious landlord who baked us a delicious apple crumble pie as a welcoming gift, it has instantly become a pleasure to call this area our home.
I would also like to acknowledge that since becoming a sports writer ten-plus years ago it has given me an appreciation for all sports – team and/or individual. I have witnessed first hand how gruelling daily training sessions can be by aspiring Olympic athletes. I have had the best seat in the house to watch a disabled athlete not only compete but prevail in an able-bodied sport. I have covered a plethora of athletes that have struggled through career-threatening injuries only to become champions. And some that have gone through those same career-threatening injuries only to be thrilled to still have an opportunity to simply compete.
I have played, coached and have even donned stripes on occasion for various sports (what a thankless job that is). And though I have had some degree of success in all three of those roles, it has been covering athletic personalities and their accomplishments that have provided me the most satisfaction.
As we were packing our belongings before our return west my wife came upon some old schoolwork (and unfortunately some awkward school photos) my parents had saved from when I was a child. I had written a short story in Grade 2 on the topic of wanting to be a sports writer. I am doing the very thing I had always wanted to do for a living and I count myself a lucky man for that opportunity.
Having since grown up (my family and friends may debate that fact) and covered such esteemed sports events as a Memorial Cup, the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and a variety of World Cups, it is honestly no different to me covering ‘Little Johnny’ from Airdrie winning a local swim meet. And, really, why should it be?
If you or someone you know has a sports story that you believe the public would be interested in reading, please allow me to share that story. You can contact me at [email protected]
