When St. Catharines Falcons general manager Frank Girhiny wanted to announce to the team the good news that forward Mitch Armstrong had been named the 2022 St. Catharines Athlete of the Year and coach Tyler Bielby 2022 Sportsman of the Year, Armstrong didn’t want any part of it.
It’s not that Armstrong didn’t appreciate the award — on the contrary, he was thrilled to be selected — it’s just that the 19-year-old St. Catharines native didn’t want to create any distractions as the Falcons were about to embark on the playoffs and looking to repeat as Sutherland Cup champions.
So when asked if he had received official conformation from the city, Armstrong told a little white lie.
“Frank wanted to tell the boys and Army said he hadn’t got the e-mail yet so he didn’t want to talk about it because he hadn’t formally be notified,” Bielby said. “He told me later that night he had got the e-mail but said he didn’t want any focus to be on me.
“In that moment, I knew you guys (selection committee) got that pick right.”
Looking back, Armstrong feels it was the right call to hold off on the announcement.
“I wanted to wait because the Sutherland Cup is a huge thing and we had a huge playoff series coming up so we were getting dialled (in),” he said. “It was a week before our first game so I just wanted everything to be about the team.
“The award is always going to be there but we’re right here in the moment and I think it should be about that.”
Read the full article on BP Sports Niagara.
