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Late to the party

My following statement is going to come to a shock to some readers, considering the country we live in, but it doesn’t make it any less true. Until recently, I didn’t know very much about hockey.
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Nouvelle Viewpoint

My following statement is going to come to a shock to some readers, considering the country we live in, but it doesn’t make it any less true.


Until recently, I didn’t know very much about hockey.


I grew up watching the Toronto Blue Jays, spending my summers at ball parks watching my brothers play softball, and becoming a scorekeeper.


My parents aren’t huge hockey fans, and it was something I generally avoided unless a someone insisted on watching it.


I once asked a friend while watching a Toronto Maple Leafs’ game how many innings there were, which resulted in a laugh from my friend, and a polite explanation that there are periods, not innings.


As some may have noticed, I’ve been covering some of the Bonnyville Pontiacs games.


The possibility of covering a sport I wasn’t familiar with was daunting at first, and I bombarded my editor with dumb questions about hockey. I’ve stumbled my way through some phrases during interviews, and struggled to read game reports. My photos weren’t great at the start, but I have to admit, I’ve improved.


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I’m a pretty determined person, and when I set my mind to something, I’m going to make it happen. That occured for me when I was writing one of my Pontiac stories. I became annoyed with how little I knew about the sport. A working knowledge of hockey wasn’t going to help me out now, and I was determined to learn more about Canada’s favourite sport.


At some point, everything started to click when I was covering a game. As I watched through the camera lens, I realized I knew what was unfolding on the ice. I was able to follow the puck a little better, and could figure out the best angle to get some good shots.


Most of all, I started enjoying going to the rink to watch the Pontiacs play. I’m not sure if that’s because my knowledge of the game is slowly growing, or if it’s the atmosphere that Bonnyville fans create at games. Seeing the support from the community was great, and watching kids run to give the players high fives in between periods was great to see.


While I’m no expert at hockey, things about the game are starting to make sense for me. I don’t feel so out-of-place now when I’m talking to coaches and players, and my articles are improving slowly throughout the editing process.


I wrote this to thank Pontiac fans for inspiring me to learn about a sport I’d had no previous interest in, and creating an atmosphere I genuinely enjoy being around.




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