I’d say 2018 was the most eventful year in Plant City-area sports since I’ve been here.
This year gave us several champions, surprise runs, big plays, signature moments and regional attention. We had dozens of athletes stand out among their peers and accomplish great things on and off the field. We experienced just about every emotion on the spectrum at some point, from reaching the highest of highs with a championship win on the field to, unfortunately, mourning after a tragic loss off the field. For me, that meant it was the first time I was able to tell some stories I’ve always wanted to write and some stories I’d hoped I’d never have to write.
Let’s focus on the positives. I had a really hard time picking this year’s top five teams and athletes. This is especially true of the latter because there were so many great resumes to look back at and choose from. I like to think that’s because Plant City is a hotbed of athletic talent that people from out of town just don’t know about. There were close calls and tiebreakers and instances where I could have made a strong case for five kids from one single team, but I’m satisfied with both that list and that of my top five teams after careful consideration. If you kids keep this up, I might have to switch the format to Athlete and Team of the Year next year so it’s not quite as agonizing.
Athletes: no matter what kind of year you had in 2018, I want you to reflect on it over the next few days and think of what you can bring with you into the new year. Whether it’s lessons learned, skills acquired or things you wish you could have done differently, plan to keep that in mind once January kicks in. Use 2018 as a springboard to give you a boost now that you’re getting kind of a blank slate here (I know winter sports seasons are still ongoing, but it still won’t hurt to think this way). Keep 2018 in the back of your mind as you get ready to take on 2019 in high school, college or whatever level you’re going to, and stay positive.
The past year was a whirlwind for us, too. We’ve got changes of our own on the way and, since I survived 2018 and we have big changes coming soon, I’m also taking that last paragraph to heart for work-related reasons. You’ll see what I mean next week.
With all that said, I’m as excited for a fresh start in 2019 as I would imagine many area teams and athletes are.