Justyna's Sports Column: my new-found love for sports

Covering sports has been a blessing in disguise. With the weekly duties of filing the paper and covering events, it has become a beloved weekly getaway from the chaos.

There’s nothing quite like standing behind the basket as players rush full throttle in my direction, hurtling their bodies and the ball towards the basket and ever so close to me. With all the close calls, the rush of adrenaline is something I’ve come to thrive on.

And it helps to know the community thrives on the same action that I do.

The support and spirit I see at the games is heartwarming. It’s apparent that the community cares and thrives on the hometown sports, coming together as one force and proudly displaying their support, which is splattered on their clothing, their cars and within their hearts.

As I covered this last season of basketball, I have found a love for the sport that I didn’t know I had before. And that love goes farther than the games and stretches to the support shown at these games.

I want to thank all the coaches who have have been more helpful than I could have hoped for. I want to thank Chadd Laws for the great quotes he provided to me on a weekly basis and for the love he has for basketball and his team. For the Thompson Falls Lady Hawks, I want to thank both Jason Reimer for working with me and Sandra Kazmierczak for the pleasant conversations. As for Noxon, thanks Mike Tessier. The fact that you hold the team to such a high standard and do not focus on individual stats shows your passion for the sport. As for Ashleigh Singbeil, I hope to create a relationship for next year’s coverage of the Lady Devils.

Thank you John Hamilton, for all the tips and conversation. You are truly a master of the craft and I cannot express enough how far your advice has taken me.

As the season came to an end, I know that sports won’t. And that’s another part of the journey I highly anticipate.

With practices beginning throughout the county for Spring sports this month, I am more ready than ever.