Warning: Back To School (Sports) Coming Soon

For youth across Chatham-Kent, three dirty words are slowly creeping up…back…to…school. For sports in Chatham-Kent however, it’s a good sign, as the local high school, college, and University athletes get back into the swing of things.

This year, there will be no work stoppage at the high school level, allowing for a full year of competition and the return of several local sports which didn’t get off the ground last year.

In 2012-2013, the high school sporting year culminated with Alex Kiar of Dresden and Alicia Baertsoen of Wallaceburg winning the Dr. Jack Parry Award, as Chatham-Kent’s top student-athletes.

The Wallaceburg Tartans football program missed the work stoppages, winning the Kent football championship in the Fall, and the Junior Kent football championship in the spring.

Locally, several cross country and track and field athletes also grabbed multiple medals at OFSAA, including CKSS’ Quinn Canella and Josh Kellier, Pain Court’s Morgan Desjardins, and UCC’s Anastasia Maslak. In volleyball, the CKSS Golden Hawks senior boys won OFSAA gold just before extracurriculars were cut.

In rugby, the Blenheim Bobcats won their third straight Kent title, and proved that our local high school athletics systems can be an international development system, as Blenheim’s Breanne Nicholas lead her Bobcats to a Kent title, and then helped Team Canada to a Nations Cup championship this summer in England.

At the elementary level, ETFO took a harder stance toward the labour relations, so a new school year will mean many elementary students will have their chance to return to the field and court.

Many Chatham-Kent athletes will also be returning to their University’s and College’s to compete in post-secondary athletics. Some names expected to have big seasons yet again include Max Allin (basketball), Zach Herreweyers (lacrosse), Erin Sarapnickas (basketball), Thomas Bednarik (track and volleyball), and Shauney Fischer (basketball), while newcomers to the University game including Brady Campbell (hockey), Jonah Pataki (football), Dominique Pegg (gymnastics), and Crawford McKinlay (golf) will be athletes to watch.

Whether you like it or not, school sports are coming to a city near you, soon.