I never set out to be a sports journalist.
But life — much like sports — is unpredictable.
At just seven years old, as my mom stepped through the doorway sobbing after returning from the hospital where she had said goodbye to my grandmother, I ran to her, hugged her tightly, and said, “Everything happens for a reason.”
I likely didn’t fully understand the depth of what I had just said. Yet, over time, I came to understand that I wouldn’t be the storyteller — or the person — I am today without truly experiencing the meaning of those five words.
Just an hour and a half west of Stockton, the way my high school basketball career ended would be considered front page: we had just beaten our rivals on their home court, eliminating them from playoff contention in a game no one expected us to win.
As I ran up the bleachers to hug my parents, overshadowed by the uncertainty of what was next, my mother, with her calming presence, embraced me and, for the first time, simply said, “Everything happens for a reason.”
If not for Beloit College basketball, a global pandemic, a flaked moving plan, a former college teammate’s last-minute offer, and Arizona State’s rolling admission, I might still be searching for my purpose. Instead, those twists led me here — and six years later, there’s nothing else I could imagine doing.
Now, at 24 years old, I am back in the state I called home for the first 18 years of my life as the new high school sports reporter for The Record.
Relieved, surely, but excited is a better way to describe my feelings.
When I first stepped foot in Stockton, I was met with a surprising sense of familiarity. Though I had hoped Karl the Fog would follow me from the Bay Area, I instead found a level of sports enthusiasm I hadn’t expected to rival my hometown.
I remember the feeling of seeing my name and picture in the local paper and the confidence it gave me, and my parents being just as excited, smiling ear to ear.
Thanks to the Seattle Times, Cronkite News, The Arizona Republic, the Sports Journalism Institute’s 32nd class and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, I get to see my name in the paper once again.
Back then, just as now, I didn’t fall in love with seeing my own name in print.
I fell in love with what it could mean for someone’s life — and I hope to do the same for the 209.
Despite my short time on the job, I’ve gained a clear understanding of how much the San Joaquin Valley has missed its sports coverage.
From city rivalries to community connections and uncovering the stories that need to be told, I’m eager to learn it all.
While I take pride in delivering the best coverage, features and breaking news, my role as a sports journalist must extend beyond that to truly connect with this special community.
If you had asked me that day in my grandmother’s living room in Toms River, New Jersey, how a philosophical statement that gave my mom hope would shape the challenges I’ve faced and the human experiences I share with the athletes whose stories I aspire to tell, I’d remind you that I still have no idea how those words came to mind.
With that, my purpose is clear: to provide hope, inspire self-belief and perseverance, ignite dreams and emotions, build and encourage community, share information that can brighten someone’s day, and do whatever I can to make a difference.
To any coaches, athletes, parents, administrators or San Joaquin County sports fans with a story that needs to be told, please reach out to me at DAckermann@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Meet Dylan Ackermann, new high school sports reporter for The Record
Reporting by Dylan Ackermann, The Stockton Record / The Record
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
