Each year there are amazing accomplishments in all areas of sports, and also insightful perspective from those involved in them. The following is a compilation of the most memorable quotes from the past year. Enjoy and recall the highlights of 2024, and have a very Merry Christmas:

“That’s my guy. We’ve been playing together since second grade, so we’re kind of the Batman and Robin duo. He’s really been that guy I’ve leaned on ever since. He’s leaned on me and I’ve leaned on him. I’m so thankful to have him on my team.” – Groton senior Lane Tietz on playing with teammate Jacob Zak

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“Sometimes, it’s just like we say in life, we have to fail to learn and if we don’t give them that opportunity to fail, they’re never going to learn.” – Aberdeen Cougars girls’ hockey coach Rob Weinmeister on giving all of his players a chance to compete

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“I just do whatever I can for the team. I’m just trying to set momentum for all of us. Blocking shots gets the bench pretty rowdy and it’s a good feeling when I can get things started on the bench.” – Aberdeen Cougars defenseman Jaxon Danielson after getting hit 20 times by a puck during one game

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“He’s 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5, can shoot it, can drive, so once you’ve got it between the ears where he was confident … like he took 20 shots tonight. Now, for me to get him to take 20 shots at the beginning of the year, I would have literally had to use a taser.” – Aberdeen Central boys’ basketball coach Brent Norberg on the progress of junior Brendan Phillips

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“We would make a shot, she’d answer back. We’d make a shot, she’d answer back. It seemed like every time we punched, she punched back, and I don’t think we were ready for that.” – Roncalli girls’ basketball coach Derek Larson on the hot-shooting of Redfield’s Katie Rozell

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“I was just thinking about getting my escape, and then trying to go for takedowns, but when that presented itself, I was going to jump on board.” – Redfield’s Grady Fey who recorded a quick pin in the State B championship match after his opening left an unexpected opening

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“I think he got it from Nemo or something. That’s kind of a motivation. You can’t hang your head on anything. Just go out there and do your best.” ­– Groton’s Logan Ringgenberg on basketball coach Brian Dolan telling the players to be like a goldfish and have a 10-second memory

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“It’s like if you want to go get (Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick) Mahomes, you better get a linebacker in the backfield. Don’t let him sit in the pocket and just throw. – Groton boys’ basketball coach Brian Dolan on getting ball pressure to prevent teams for getting the ball in the post

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“There were a couple of times I had the lump in my throat, like mid-inning. I just could not even think … how proud I am of them for overcoming so much.” – Aberdeen Central softball coach Cassidy Neer on her players following the program’s first ever victory over Rapid City Central

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“It’s all about improvement. Whether they’ve got a number one time in the state or the worst time in the state, it’s the exact same process. You evaluate what you did and how can I make it better?” – Ipswich track and field coach Todd Thorson on the development of his athletes

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“Oh, that was fun. Winning is fun, but I love battling with people. It really reminds me of how I love racing.” – Milbank’s Ashlynn Batchelor after finishing second to Heidi Olson in a tight finish during the 1,600-meter run

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“That’s the thing with her work ethic and just her mentality to do whatever it takes. I’m sure if the track coach came up and said, ‘Hey we need you to run the mile today,’ she would just go run it. She wouldn’t like it, but she’d go run it.” – Aberdeen Central girls’ soccer coach Merle Aske on multi-sport senior Ciara Frank

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“When I landed over here I touched ground and I see nothing. I see fields, grass and I’m like where are we right now? I’m confused. We drove on the highway for an hour and I hadn’t seen anything.” – Hamlin’s Cristhian Rodriguez of Puerto Rico on his first impressions of rural America

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“It’s really not about competitors. It’s really about playing against par and playing the best you can, and playing your game.” – Aberdeen golfer Olivia Braun talking about facing upcoming stiff competition following a career-best round of 68 at Moccasin Creek Country Club

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“Tennis is a lot more mental than soccer. If I get mad in soccer, I can just accidentally push over a kid. In tennis, if I get mad, I’ll just start accidentally hitting it out.” – Mika Dannen explaining the differences between soccer and tennis

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“Oh no. I could never … Maybe I’ll be a forever customer service agent.” – Aberdeen Central senior soccer player Kirra Stillman, known for her vocal leadership on a possible career with the Marines

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“It’s always kind of hard, but I love the wind, personally. It’s like the breath of God on me, so I just really take it like that.” – Roncalli freshman Addison Cassady on running in windy conditions at the Sahli/Salmi Cross Country Meet

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“We get so used to playing on the road and tennis gets to be such a squished, truncated season, that I don’t think we know where we are half the time.” – Roncalli girls’ tennis coach Jason Haskell on his team’s schedule

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“Bemidji kind of felt like the boogie-man to me a little bit. The north has been run by Bemidji and Duluth the entire time since the North has existed in the NSIC. Those guys are kind of like the thing out there that you want to try and catch all the time.” – Northern State football coach Mike Schmidt after the Wolves defeated Bemidji 14-13 on Gypsy Days

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“… a lot of the girls that we have out, they might be the sweetest girl, but once they slap on a headgear and they go out to wrestle, it looks like someone else.” – Aberdeen Central girls’ wrestling coach Jake Flakus describing team members

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“Northern basketball was good long before I got here and it will be good long after I’m gone, and all those memories should be celebrated. Not every program has that history and tradition.” – Northern State men’s basketball coach Saul Phillips on playing a game at the Aberdeen Civic Arena

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“If you’re first or second, you get a trophy that stands by itself. If you’re third, fourth, fifth or sixth you have to buy a little stand for it.” – Aberdeen Central boys’ cross country coach Greg Murley on the motivation to finish high at the state meet

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“When you have a player the caliber of Foley, the focus also is on Foley, and some of those peripheral kids also maybe get free government cheese off of Foley, so to speak.” – Northern State volleyball coach Brent Aldridge on St. Cloud State National Player of the Year Kenzie Foley

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“Grit and good preparation this week from our scouts, our coaches, from our starters, from the whole kit and kaboodle.” – Warner quarterback Drew Bakeberg on what it would take to defeat Howard in the playoffs

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“Obviously, people say that volleyball is more than just a sport, but it’s true, when you step on that court, you just need to know that however you play, your ability doesn’t define you as a person.” – Hitchcock-Tulare senior Katelyn Schroeder on her perspective on the sport