Saying goodbye to local sports is going to be hard
Jun. 24—When I look back on my 17 years of covering Sports for the Commonwealth Journal newspaper, I can't even put in words all the great memories and great people I have encountered during that time period.
Each season, and each year, local sports brought a whole level of excitement and anticipation to me and my staff of sports writers.
It was always so fun to see new young athletes break onto the local sporting scene, and then follow them through their high school sports journey. It was also emotional to see them participate on Senior Night in their last game in their high school uniform.
I was fortunate enough to see, and report on, two local football programs win their first-ever football state championships. I got to follow the Lady Warriors' amazing journey to the KHSAA Girls Basketball Tournament Championship game. I also got to see several local athletes claim multiple individual state titles.
In my own high school track and cross country career — a long, long time ago — I was fortunate to have been on two state championship teams. Finishing individual state runner-up twice in my high school career, I how tough it was to win a state title and the amount of work it took high school athletes to compete at that level.
And while winning a state title is one of the ultimate goals in high school sports, there were thousands of other special milestones I was fortunate enough to witness and write about as a sports journalist.
Teams winning region titles, heartbreaking season-ending losses, the bond between teammates, and the high school coaches' tireless dedication to make their team athletes better was always an interest to me, and I tried my best to share those events with the readers.
As I start out my new duties with my new position, I am driven to keep up the Commonwealth Journal's same level of sports coverage, but under new leadership. Local sports has always been a big part of our community and everyone wants to know the outcome of all local sporting events from high school to the Cal Ripken and Little League Tee-Ball games.
Whether your want to know how you old high school team fared in a big game or reading about a local athlete, who you might know or you are kin to, it seems like everyone in the community is interested in sports. That is why I feel like it is so important to try to recognize and write about as many sporting events and individuals as possible.
In my mind, our community somewhat revolves around local sports. Yeah, I know adult life is much more complicated than a game of baseball. But the young athletes, who play the game, will one day be our future citizens and leaders.
I guess now you know I am passionate about sports, and always will be. But now my career, and focus, has shifted to a different part of life in the Somerset area — Local News. And it is my goal to bring the same level of comprehensive coverage to News, as I did with Sports.
STEVE CORNELIUS is the CJ Editor and can be reached at scornelius@somerset-kentucky.com. Follow him on Twitter at @CJSportseditor.
