Star of Hamiota Collegiate Ky Solomon was named as 'A' Girls Athlete of the Year by the Manitoba High School Athletics Association.
Solomon, who claims Shoal Lake are her home town, says she was as surprised as she was thrilled to get the news she had won. "I was not expecting it at all" the 18-year-old says with a big smile. "I was driving to practice and I got the email. I instantly called mom and dad and told them, it was really exciting."
Getting to tell her parents right away meant the world to Solomon. "They were very proud," the star explains. "I don't know if they were expecting it, but when they found out, they couldn't stop talking about it for a week."
To say Solomon is a multi-sport athlete sells her short. "This year, I've played cross country, golf, volleyball, basketball, badminton and softball," she declares proudly and says balancing it all can be quite challenging. "It's not easy. I've been playing softball and volleyball at the AAA level since I was 12. I dropped volleyball and focused on softball, so I've just been used to balancing everything for the last six or seven years. This year, I wanted to play everything I could for my final year. It's focusing on school while making time for practices and games, making sure to make time for a social life, with friends and family. It's hard, but I did it I guess."
This year, Solomon's achievements in basketball really stood out as steered the basketball team to a Zone title, leading the league in scoring, claiming Player of the Game honours at provincials, and taking home the school’s Varsity Girls Basketball MVP Award, all of which she says was made better by sharing it with teammates. "We had a really good year. In Hamiota, we've always had a solid basketball team and going in this year, we believed it was our year to win. We wanted to go into provincials and dominate. We had a disappointing turnout at provincials, but the rest of the year was really solid. We did really good against AA and AAA schools, who have some really impressive players. I'm just so proud to be a part of a basketball team like that, cause I really love the sport, even being 5'2", it's a good sport to be a part of."
Being a star athlete is one thing but being a star student as well adds to it, but Solomon says this year was a bit easier on her. "This was actually one of the easier years for me, just because being in grade 12, you have a lot of spares. My second semester I only had two classes to balance, but they were physics and chemistry, both pretty hard. It takes a lot of organizing when I'm doing homework, when I'm going to the gym, when do I have games or practices, on top of trying to find time to take a minute for myself. It's a lot, but you have to make it work if you want to do it."
Not only an incredible athlete and student, Solomon also is an incredible person in the community and she will always work to do what she can to make peoples lives better. "It feels so good to do things that better my home town. Shoal Lake is a very small community, my grandparents have always been super involved with the garden club and things like that. It's always been a good feeling to give back and help with everything I can. It's so refreshing to see community members faces helping out and being a young student but able to help out, it's really, really cool."
The future is bright for Ky Solomon and the next few steps of her athletic and educational journey are set. "So, I am heading to North Dakota State College of Science this fall. I'm going to be playing softball and I'm taking pre-health profession, so I'm hoping to become something in the medical field. I haven't really got there yet on what it's going to be. I'm really excited to play ball here, it's a strong school, the coach is awesome and they just won nationals this past year. I'm really excited to see where I can be an asset to this team."
While her home town and the community of Shoal Lake cheer her on, Ky Solomon can also boast she has an entire provincial region behind her, no matter where she is or what she does.