It’s nice to look back

At this time of year, it’s nice to look back at the highlights of the previous 12 months – for me, in fact, a lot more satisfying than looking ahead and trying to make predictions.

There’s no question 2008 was a great year in local sport. I can’t mention everything in this space, but there were a handful of accomplishments worth review.

The top story of the year was the accomplishment of the Acadia men’s basketball team, going all the way to the CIS final before running up against a Brock team destined to win. Among others, the Axemen got top performances from conference MVP Leo Saintil, AUS Defensive Player of the Year Achuil Lual, a CIS tournament all-star; and Peter Leighton, who hit a number of clutch perimeter shots. The high point of the season for the Axemen was their double overtime, semifinal victory over the four-time defending champion Carleton Ravens. Some felt Acadia was forced to expend so much eliminating Carleton they had nothing left for Brock. I don’t totally agree: the final could have gone either way. Brock’s championship run did have a local connection: Joe Kendrick, a first-year player with the Badgers, who got to taste national victory in his freshman year. At last notice, Joe was in the Badgers’ starting line-up this season.

Speaking of Joe Kendrick, his former teammates at Horton had a pretty decent year, capturing a second straight provincial D-1 boys’ title and going almost two full calendar years without a loss before their winning streak stopped last month at 73. Horton’s thrilling two-point win over Citadel in the provincial final, on home court in Greenwich, was second only to Acadia’s win over Carleton in terms of excitement generated.

Any look back at last year has to include football. Central Kings joined NKEC, Horton and Avon View in playing high school football, and the fledgling Gators made an immediate impact, winning three times and earning the chance to host a playoff game. The year, though, belonged to the Valley Bulldogs. All three Valley teams qualified for the playoffs in the same year for the first time. The peewees won the provincial Tier II title, and the bantams won both the provincial and Maritime Tier I titles. It was, without question, the high point of the 10-year history of Valley Minor Football, as well as channeling a host of talented young players onto the NKEC, Horton and C.K. high school rosters.

In soccer, the Valley United U-18 girls won the provincial title and became the first Valley team to represent Nova Scotia at Tier 1 nationals. At the high school level, it was a “green-letter” year for Central Kings, which swept the NSSAF D-2 boys’ and girls’ provincial soccer championships on the same day.

C.K. alumnus Jason Shepherd made an immediate impact in university basketball, earning a starting job with the Memorial SeaHawks and making the AUBC All-Rookie team. Horton graduate Emma Duinker had a similar impact on the girls’ side, earning a starting berth with Acadia and being named the conference Rookie of the Year. Fellow Horton grad Jasmine Parent of Saint Mary’s joined Duinker on the AUBC All-Rookie team.

In fact, a host of local athletes made it onto university rosters in a number of sports, not the least of which was soccer, in which 16 graduates of Valley high schools – five women and 11 men – played for the Acadia varsity teams alone during the 2008 season.

Perhaps the neatest moment for me in sport over the past year was seeing proud Nova Scotian and Acadia graduate Tracy Cameron and her rowing partner, Melanie Kok, win bronze for Canada at the Beijing Olympics. I remember Tracy well as a student therapist at Acadia.

All in all, it was an exciting year and, as I always do, I’m looking forward to more of the same in 2009.