At its core, nostalgia is defined as “a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past”.

What isn’t defined is the notion of exactly how far back should one have to go in order for given memories to be considered nostalgic.

As regular readers of this column can readily attest, the largest majority of my Nickel City Nostalgia stories will bring back imagery of the Sudbury sports scene of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

Yet as I near the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the creation of SudburySports.com and my leap into the world that is my never-ending passion for local sports, I am reminded that it’s now been quite a while since those very first articles would see the light of day (internet-ally speaking) back in the summer of 2004.

Nostalgic?

Perhaps.

Appreciated by those who were there, as we revisit the era with a couple of local athletes?

Absolutely.

“I don’t remember what city hosted OFSAA, but I definitely have the memory of the race in my mind,” confessed 2004 junior girls 1500m champion Kaitlyn Tallman (now Toohey), then representing Manitoulin Secondary School. “It’s one of the most memorable races because everything came together, everything just clicked.”

Showing signs of prowess in middle and longer distances early in her youth, Tallman was pointed in the direction of coach Darren Jermyn and the Track North crew during her final year of elementary studies. “I got a lot more structure to my training, started to take it a lot more seriously,” she reminisced.

The potential of the young woman who would go on to capture an NCAA gold medal in cross-country as a member of the Villanova Wildcats was not veiled in the least. Tallman would qualify for OFSAA in both cross-country and track and field in grade nine, reaching the podium three times in 2003, just never to the top step.

Though some could see that ultimate breakthrough coming, Tallman was not among that group.

“I wasn’t even thinking of winning,” she said. “I remember being in a zone and really wanting to follow the race plan that Darren gave me: stick in with the pack, run on the line of lane one and kick at the end. I just wanted to be as competitive as possible.”

“I wasn’t even thinking of winning at all until that last 100 metres when I started to pull ahead.”

It wasn’t until several years later that Tallman would actually come across academic terminology that would encapsulate her experience in early June 2004. “When I was in university, I minored in psychology and had a positive psychology course and learned about the state of flow,” she said.

“That’s what I experienced that day. It all just came together.”

While Tallman, who now helps out as a coach both with Track North athletes as well as the Laurentian University cross country runners, would go on to enjoy a number of other athletic achievements, she would also deal with the inevitable ebb and flow of success, including times at which the recollection of her OFSAA victory would come in particularly handy.

“I had some success early on, which I was very thankful for,” she said. “I had some drought years, not racing to my potential. Having those memories of the good races, the good times helped keep me going, knowing I had so much support. You have to realize that every time that you step on a line to start to race, you’re not going to have that perfect race.”

And to this day, she remains thankful for the unwavering support of her parents and family, of friends and coaches, so very pleased that some of those key allies were on hand to celebrate the gold medal win of 2004.

Carter McDavid is thrilled with the state of local rep baseball these days.

“The biggest thing that you’re noticing now, since Jean-Gilles (Larocque) has started with the Baseball Academy and the Voyageurs and the PBL (Premier Baseball League of Ontario) is just the exposure the players receive,” said the 35 year-old graduate of St Charles College who went on to play one year with the Baltimore City College Panthers (JUCO) before closing things off with the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies in Michigan, an NCAA Division II school at the time.

“The Northern Elite League (NEL) had a fair bit of high level talent that was never able to get to the next level because there was no exposure,” McDavid continued. “There were a few of us that were fortunate enough to take advantage enough to play baseball collegiately south of the border.”

As the summer of 2004 opened for the NEL, the Valley East Vipers, Sudbury Lakers, Soo Cambrian Black Sox and Timmins Whiskey Jacks were all on hand for Showcase weekend, as McDavid joined the likes of Chris Gagnon, Alex Shedden and Sooite Steve Christian in putting up solid numbers on the mound.

While the league itself only survived for about four years or so, it was not without name attractions. McDavid recalled receiving his first call-up as an underage 15 year-old, jumping in with a team that featured former Los Angeles Dodgers’ draft pick Mark Fraser as head coach, with teammates Chris Duhamel (UNC Asheville) and James Pidutti (who signed a pro contract with the Toronto Blue Jays in the early 2000s).

Beyond that, one venue more than any other appealed to the nostalgia of the NEL, in the mind of the current coach of the Sudbury Jr Voyageurs. “I always enjoyed going to Timmins,” said McDavid. “They had a really nice ball park there.”

“It kind of had that minor league kind of feel to it with the bleachers behind home plate and everything enclose. The fact that we always seemed to have really good games against Timmins always made it very enjoyable to go and play there.”