In late September of 2022, Sadie Frantz
finished first in the Novice Girls (grade 9) division
of the Rumble on the Rocks cross-country race hosted at
Laurentian University.
She was in grade 7 at that
time.
Last spring, she broke a
pair of city records at the Rainbow Elementary Track &
Field Championships, sweeping to victory in the 100m,
200m and 400m races.
Her time of 1:02.33 in the
400m while still only 13 years old puts her certainly
within shouting distance of becoming only the second SDSSAA
female high-school freshman, next spring, to break the
one minute barrier at that distance in the past 25 years.
Olympian Rebecca Johnston
is the other.
Yet it is not on the track
or the trails where the heart of the multi-faceted grade
8 student from Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School lies.
“I’ve always
prioritized hockey over everything else, always enjoyed
coming to the rink,” said Frantz. “It’s
my favourite thing to do.”
Let’s be clear: Sadie
Frantz is an extremely talented young hockey forward,
one who has realistic dreams of playing beyond her minor
hockey days. She just happens to also be good at most
everything else that she does, athletically speaking.
Case in point: Frantz attended
the recent RBC Training Ground workouts in Sudbury (you
need to be at least 14 to attend) and has moved on to
the next round of testing as national team coaches look
to identify teenagers who may be predisposed for national
level success in the bobsled and/or skeleton and a few
other off-the-grid sports.
“It was a great experience
for me,” said Frantz. “I think it’s
good just to go down there and see where I stand in my
age group. If it doesn’t work out in other sports,
then that’s kind of an option.”
At this point, of course,
we circle back to the start of the discussion regarding
her love of sports.
“I obviously enjoy
hockey the most,” she said. “I’ve been
doing it for such a long time and I’m pretty good
compared to my peer group.”
It’s not just the natural
and traditional skill set on the ice – the skating,
shooting and passing, if you will – that sets Frantz
apart. In many ways, it’s her mind for the game
– and that, generally speaking, augurs well for
success at higher levels of hockey, a key attribute that
can be carried from youth to upper levels quite easily.
Her knowledge and understanding
of hockey jumped out as she described her progress as
a first year player on a more than solid Sudbury U15 AA
Lady Wolves team this past winter. “I think I developed
a lot more with my offensive play, being able to move
the puck with older girls,” she said.
“Now, I find it more
about the smaller details, where you are on the ice, focusing
more on calling for the puck and putting your stick in
the right area.”
For as much as hockey is
her thing, Frantz is still young enough to comfortably
partake in a variety of school sports as well, fully cognizant
of the benefits of being as well-rounded an athlete as
possible, with transitional elements of her workouts carrying
over from one sport to the next.
“I don’t really
do any cross-country running outside of school, but we’re
now training for track and field – I’m pretty
excited for that,” said the elder of two children
in the family. “It’s fun and you use a few
different muscles. I’m kind of well-balanced between
being long distance and short distance.”
“Cross-country helps
with my stamina throughout a hockey game and the sprinting
is good because in hockey, you’ll have 30 or 40
second shifts, going as hard as you can and then getting
off the ice.”
A clear leader on what should
once again be a competitive U15 AA Lady Wolves team in
2024-2025, Frantz already has her sights set on those
areas of the game where improvement is required in order
to maintain her upward trajectory.
“I think I can work
on my release, getting my shot off quicker,” she
said. “At this age, you have less time and space.
When you have an opening, you need to get rid of the puck
fast in order to catch the goalie off-guard.”
Sadie Frantz is indeed fast,
in so many ways – even if one speaks to her far
more than the rest.
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