Weighing in on a touchy debate

Posted by Sudbury Northern Life 

To be honest, it's a debate that for the most part, I've steered clear of. By its very nature, the discussion of a male and female high school athlete of the year implies that I would have far more people upset with my selections than pleased.

Still, the talk of worthy recipients has gathered momentum with every passing year, so perhaps the time has come to weigh in. What would I do were I handed the sole responsibility of awarding a male and female high school athlete of the year?

The starting point has to be determining the parameters of the award itself. While many may not agree with the ultimate choices, at the very least they should understand the process by which the decisions were reached.

For starters, my award would be limited to assessing the athletic achievements of students while donning their school colours and participating in high school sanctioned events. Keep in mind, this honour is to be bestowed to the "High School Athlete of the Year", not the "Top Athlete Who Happens to be in High School."

Is this fair? Of course not.

Unless Jordan Mulloy and Michael McCue can somehow convince OFSAA officials that trampoline and squash, respectively, should be quickly added to the all-Ontario championship charts, the talented duo will have to be satisfied knowing they are merely among the most elite athletes in their given field in the country.

And what of soon-to-be top end NHL draft selection Marcus Foligno, recently spotted with his St. Benedict buddies looking for provincial soccer glory? Sorry son - OHL stats won't mean a thing when it comes to making the list.

This requirement will skew the potential list of winners substantially - while some sports allow secondary school athletes to compete at the highest level under the umbrella of NOSSA and OFSAA, other sports do not dovetail themselves nearly as well.

Track and field participants, who can find themselves up against the best in the province, will easily have a head start on the boys hockey crew, which must deal with a ruling that does not allow AAA players (or AA or A for that matter) to compete in high school hockey.

Next, while it is commendable to recognize the efforts of those student-athletes who also combine academic excellence and a heavy involvement in the general well-being of their institution, that's not what my high school athlete of the year is all about. We're looking at accomplishments on the fields, courts, tracks and rinks of Ontario.

Also, excellence across a variety of different sporting venues trumps elitism in just one field of play. If you're a one-trick pony and you expect to beat out the three-sport all-star, you had better be one of the best that I have ever seen.

Again, try to keep in mind the context of my "imaginary" award. If I were blessed with the basketball talents of Tiye Traore, I would absolutely spend every available moment developing my on-court skills to their fullest, foregoing participation in a wide variety of school athletics - most of which, I have no doubt, she would excel at.

Makes perfect sense in terms of achieving her goals - it just won't help her as much when it comes to earning bragging rights in my mythical little world.

As much as possible, every effort will be made to recognize the level of competition that one faces in racking up noteworthy performances.

Morgan McCrory is, without a doubt, one of the city's top female hockey talents. But racking up a bushel full of goals against netminders who are tackling the position for the first time in their lives (or strapping on the skates for the first time ever) won't carry the same weight as putting up those numbers against lifelong A and AA goalies.
So, there you have it - the framework through which I came up with a list of top five nominees.

Without any further adieu (and in no particular order), I give you my top 10 for the high school athletes of the year:

Female: Kendra Lilly (LCS), Danielle Rancourt (CND), Serena San Cartier (LEP), Alicia Violin (CFD) and Caroline Ehrhardt (ESP) - yes, I know, technically, Espanola does not compete within the SDSSA ranks for the majority of high school sports. But Ehrhardt's performance at OFSAA was so truly remarkable that I didn't have the heart to keep her off my list. Honourable mentions would have to be given to the likes of Christie Sitko (LIV), Alannah MacLean (LEP) and Kyla Pettigrew (LEP).

Male: Joey Martellacci (STB), Eric Roque (CND), Brett Walter (LEP), Austin Roy (STB), and Ross Proudfoot (LEP). My honourable mention list features names such as Justin Richardson (ESMC), Samuel Jean-Louis (LCS), Josh Haslam (LEP), Stephane Jacques (LEP) and Scott Wiseman (LEP).

As with most who appreciate high school sports, the reality is a tip of my hat goes out to every young athlete who commits the time and effort needed to succeed at this level. Don't let this debate detract from what we all agree is a positive increase in exposure for high school athletics.