Prep sports stories leave lasting impact

Events of each year leave lasting impressions, especially with those reporting on them

Here we are again. Mid-June, with another high school year gone by.

And, what a year it has been.

Triumph and heartbreak. Wins and losses. Thrilling finishes. This season had them all.

The longer that I find myself in the prep sports coverage universe, the more I realize just how much it is impacting my life.

There are many times that I get asked how I can be fine covering high school events. People will ask me if I get sick of writing and seeing the same thing over and over again.

My stock joke response to that question is only Browns reporters write the same thing over and over again.

But, then my serious response is that, while it does sometimes seem like things continue down the same path — Bay is always good at soccer, Lorain at basketball, Keystone at softball, etc. — I find myself looking at each event in a new light.

And with that new viewpoint, I find that the coverage of prep sports is simply amazing.

Take, for instance, Avon’s Ben Brooks, one of the top swimmers in the area.

I’ve been covering Ben since he was a freshman making waves — pun totally intended — in the area scene.

Could the stories have always been the same? Yes. I could have started every story with “Ben Brooks won the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke by a large margin at (insert event name here).”

But I felt I owed more to Ben (and our entire swimming contingent for that matter).

And I think it led to one of my best stories of the year, covering Ben as he placed third in the 200 IM and second in the 100 breaststroke at the state meet this year.

Getting to know Ben made it easy to see the story through his eyes. The hard work he put in to make it. The way he put every ounce of effort into his two swims. The elation he felt as his finishes.

The way he represented Avon each and every time he stepped into the pool.

That is what the story was about.

But Ben is only one example.

Consider the emotional situation of Christian Velez.

We all know the story of how Christian’s father, State Trooper Kenneth Velez, was killed in the line of duty days before Christian’s first start.

The story of how Christian became the rallying point for the Comets, and how Amherst knocked off Berea-Midpark in tremendous fashion.

You know what, though?

How many people actually remember the final score of the game? I’m guessing very few. Why? Because it was a game that represented more than just football.

It was the story about Christian’s struggle, his teammates’ response and the love of a football brotherhood that helped lift a player who was hurting. It was a story that was most definitely not “the same thing you see over and over.”

Or, what about Lake Ridge baseball coach Jason Dimacchia’s dramatic return to the field?

After coaching from a hospital bed and being confined to a wheelchair last year, Jason returned to the bench to lead the Royals this year.

And it was more than just a return via Facetime or Facebook Live.

No, Jason literally returned to the bench — sans wheelchair — to lead the team and players that he loved. I could keep going:

• Olmsted Falls hockey’s victory for its first ever Baron Cup II title.

• Lorain’s football playoff run that defied the odds.

• Elyria softball’s state championship that was anything but ordinary.

• Elyria Catholic and Rocky River hockey teams honoring a Brush player who died the evening before, wearing his number on their helmets during the playoffs.

• Lutheran West baseball making it to the program’s second ever regional appearance.

I’ll end the list there, because going on would take up far too much space in the paper.

But I hope you get my point. Each event is unique. Each event offers a new perspective.

Each event has made me better as a person.

And each event has made me better as a writer.

So, no, I don’t get sick of covering high school events. And I never will. Because as much as these players, coaches, parents, teachers, fans, etc. tell me that they appreciate what we as The Morning Journal staff do for their kids, there is no way they can understand how much covering them does for us — on so many different levels.

JON BEHM — THE MORNING JOURNAL Avon senior Ben Brooks looks to the Avon cheering section as he stands on the podium following his second-place finish in the 100 breaststroke at the D-I State swim meet at C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton on Feb. 25. Brooks posted a time of 56.28.

RANDY MEYERS — THE MORNING JOURNAL Christian Velez leads the Amherst Comets onto the field and holds the Fallen Officers Memorial Flag in honor of his father, Trooper Kenny Velez, on Sept. 16. Trooper Velez was killed in the line of duty on Sept. 15.

JON BEHM — THE MORNING JOURNAL Lake Ridge coach Jason Dimacchia, center, talks with his team prior to a game against Max Hayes on April 4. Dimacchia made his return to the Royals’ bench this year in spite of his ongoing battle with chronic pancreatitis that forced him to spend last...