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.
