SAULT STE. MARIE — A Sault resident was recently recognized with one of the top awards that an enlisted person in the Coast Guard can receive.

AEG’s LA Galaxy, hosted a fireside chat with team Defender and former captain of the Japanese National Team, Maya Yoshida, designed to inspire local Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) youth about career paths with the sports industry.

The event was held at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, CA, on May 1, 2025 in collaboration with the Little Tokyo Service Center and Terasaki Budokan, as part of API Desi Heritage Month.

The discussion centered on the role that cultural identity plays in shaping careers and personal journeys, particularly within the high-performance world of Major League Soccer.

Yoshida, who joined the Galaxy in 2023, shared insights into his experience representing Japan on the international stage, navigating cultural expectations, and the importance of representation for young athletes of AANHPI descent.

“This event is about creating a space where AANHPI youth can see themselves reflected in sports—on the field and behind the scenes,” said Yoshida. “I and the LA Galaxy are proud to honor and uplift my community by sharing these stories.”

Following the fireside chat, attendees participated in a dynamic soccer clinic at Galaxy Park in Carson, CA, where they had the opportunity to train with Galaxy coaches and play alongside their peers.

The event is part of the LA Galaxy’s ongoing commitment to celebrating the diverse communities that make up the fabric of Southern California, and to providing meaningful opportunities for youth engagement, cultural appreciation, and community building.

For more information about LA Galaxy’s community initiatives, visit www.lagalaxy.com/community.

Sports Facilities Companies (SFC) has a new deal with Rink Management Services (RMS) that sees SFC assume management of 13 community ice rinks across 11 states. The facilities were previously managed by RMS.

RMS operational leadership and staff will transition into the SFC network, enhancing SFC’s ice rink management capacity nationwide. Under the leadership of President Tom Hillgrove, RMS will maintain a small portfolio of leased agreements while SFC, the country’s leading manager of sports, recreation, and event venues, especially related to youth sports, assumes management of the acquired facilities. Moving forward, the two companies will collaborate on strategic opportunities.

The ice rinks now under SFC management:

• Bryant Park Winter Village Ice Rink — New York, N.Y.
• Lloyd Center Ice Rink –- Portland, Ore.
• Metro Park Toledo Glass City Ice & Roller –- Toledo, Ohio
• Wichita Ice Center –- Wichita, Kan.
• Parks Mall at Arlington –- Arlington, Texas
• Ice Skate USA Memorial City –- Houston, Texas
• Ice in Paradise –- Goleta, Calif.
• Breslow Ice Hockey Center –- Lincoln, Neb.
• Waconia Ice Arena –- Waconia, Minn.
• Industry City Ice Rink –- New York, N.Y.
• Elevance Health Rink at Bicentennial Plaza –- Indianapolis, Ind.
• Washington Harbour Ice Rink –- Washington, D.C.
• McCormick Tribune Ice Rink –- Chicago, Ill.

Additionally, SFC — which has 90 properties in its portfolio and more than 4,000 employees — will take over management of multiple non-ice facilities, including the Romulus Athletic Center in Romulus, Mich., and the Safari Island Community Center in Waconia, Minn.

Courtesy: Bucknell Athletics

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Devin Javens, most recently the head swimming and diving coach at Smith College, has joined Dan Schinnerer‘s staff at Bucknell as an assistant coach. Javens, a former team captain and Division III NCAA qualifier at Denison University, helped rebuild the Smith program during her three seasons with the Pioneers.

“We are very excited to welcome Devin to the Bucknell Swimming and Diving family,” said Schinnerer. “She brings a very strong set of experiences both as a coach and in her own career as a student-athlete. Throughout the interview process, it was clear that Devin placed a tremendous value on creating a strong, positive team culture and helping each member of a team reach their fullest potential. Devin also demonstrated a strong knowledge of our sport and a good eye for technical details. We know all of these things will help our program continue to improve.”

Javens earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and educational studies from Denison in May 2022. She helped the Big Red women’s swimming and diving team to a third-place finish at the 2022 NCAA Championships, and she was the North Coast Athletic Conference silver medalist in the 200 breaststroke as a senior. A native of Hermitage, Pa., and a graduate of Hickory High School, Javens was a CSCAA First Team Scholar All-American in 2022 and was a three-time member of the NCAC Academic Honor Roll.

Javens began her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Smith in June 2022, and the following February she was named interim co-head coach. In May 2023, she was appointed as the full-time head swimming and diving coach, and over the last two seasons, her student-athletes recorded 201 personal bests, three team records, and 56 program top-10 marks. The Pioneers compiled their highest point total in eight years at the 2025 NEWMAC Championships.

In addition to her time on deck at Smith, Javens served as an assistant coach at Harvard Swim Camp last August, and she has worked with Coronado Swimming Team Elite in California, the QT2/Outrival Racing Open Water Swim Clinic, and CycleLife Studio as the youth sports performance head coach.

Javens joins a Bucknell program coming off a successful 2024-25 season. The Bison women finished third out of 10 teams at the Patriot League Championships and then captured the team title at the ECAC Championships for the first time. The men’s squad finished fourth at the Patriot League meet, and both teams combined for seven school records and 69 new entries on the Bucknell top-10 lists.

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With the end of the school year also comes the end of the competition season for the year 2024-25. The last two months since becoming the Sports Editor for the Times-Journal have flown by for me. Spring is a hectic time in the world of sports. You have so many sports happening at the same time, and on top of that, a coaching change or two. 

Since March 17th my job has been to cover sports in DeKalb County and I can tell you that this has been the most fun and this is the most rewarding job that I have ever had. You don’t cover sports as a job but you record memories for kids and their families that they will cherish for the rest of their lives. As I sat here in my office, I looked at the sports page from the September 10, 2006, weekend edition of what is now the Jackson County Sentinel where a photo was taken of me pouring water on my head coach Freddie Tidmore after we defeated Arab. Things like that make this job fun, having the opportunity to capture a moment for kids now that will last a lifetime. 

Another aspect of this job is the people you meet and the relationships you make. In the last two months, I’ve met people from every community in DeKalb County and made relationships that will last a lifetime. I’ve had a lot of positive feedback from parents and coaches about how excited they are to see someone covering sports in DeKalb County like it should be covered. Every sport, every school, and every athlete should be covered by the Times-Journal, DeKalb County’s oldest enterprise. 

The job so far has been full of outstanding stories in just a short period of time. The state championship run of the Collinsville Panther soccer team, Fort Payne’s run in the baseball playoffs, and the soccer match of the year in my opinion. The match between two rivals Collinsville and Crossville that went to double overtime and needed penalty kicks was outstanding to see. 

When I took this job there were certain things and people that I looked forward to covering. And two of the coaches that I was looking forward to the most stepped down my first seven days on the job. First, Glen Hicks at Sylvania and most surprisingly, Robi Coker at Fort Payne. 

As spring has ended and school is now out for summer. I turn to cover summer play dates that begin in two weeks for our county basketball teams and then all eyes will begin to focus on the date August 21. That is the Thursday of week zero and the first DeKalb County football game of the season. Geraldine will host Sardis and Fyffe will travel to Montgomery to take on Maplesville. I can’t wait. 

Football season this fall will be new to me. I will cover games for the first time as a writer and will also be on the airwaves with the Friday Night Football Blitz for the second year. I look forward to recording special moments and telling stories for our country.