I grew up in west Michigan, and sports have always been an important part of my life. If I wasn’t playing sports, I was glued to a television, watching my favorite teams play on the baseball diamond, football field, ice rink or basketball court. Of course, I had other interests not related to the sporting landscape, but I have always been passionate about sports. While I felt, at the time, that I knew anything and everything about the sports I loved, I also realized two things about me:

• I was 5’5” and had limited athletic ability, so a career playing sports was not an option.

• I was going to do whatever I could to still be on the sideline as often as possible.

To do that, I decided I needed to learn how to write, so I could be a journalist like my idols at ESPN, like Wright Thompson, or like Mitch Albom, who started as a sports writer for the Detroit Free Press. I pursued my dream and now, thankfully, here I am in Athens, Alabama, working at The News Courier.

I graduated from Bowling Green State University in Ohio with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in communications. It was a great school; I loved my experience as a BGSU Falcon despite all the judgment I received as a Michigan fan living in Ohio.

Yet, because I didn’t transfer there until my junior year, I didn’t get a chance to write for my school paper until the last semester of my senior year. Due to my lack of seniority, I did not get my choice of what to cover, and I was given the tennis beat.

Covering the BGSU women’s tennis team, despite my initial doubts, was an absolute blast. They didn’t end the season with the greatest record, but the stories I was able to learn and tell about eight athletes who came from all over the world, about their backgrounds and passion for the game of tennis, were incredible. I learned a lot more about the game, and I was able to get an even better understanding of what the phrase “following your dreams” really means.

Some of those young women worked hard in faraway countries, dreaming of getting a chance to go to college and play the game they loved at a high level in the U.S. When I met them, they had already made their dream come true.

After graduating in 2018 and spending one year in the Washington, D.C., area, I got my first real chance in journalism in September 2019. I moved to the very small town of Sidney, Montana, a population of just more than 6,000, where I worked at the Sidney Herald. At the time I received this offer, I had real fears about moving 20 hours from home, but I told myself I needed to do it, not just for myself professionally, but personally as well.

It was not always easy. I was homesick for 10 months. I was stressed. I had days and nights where I wanted to go back home. Fortunately, I had a support system that did not let me give up.

I worked in a small newsroom with some of the nicest, most helpful people, who taught me how to be a better journalist, and with a community — particularly, some high school coaches — that taught me how to be a better man. I went to Montana a shy, entry-level sports reporter. I left Montana a confident, well-rounded journalist, with memories that will last a lifetime.

The experience working as a sports writer and general assignment reporter at The Collegiate at Grand Rapids Community College, the BG News and the Sidney Herald led me to Athens. I was looking for that job that I considered “bigger and better.” That job is right here.

I wanted to be in a state where sports could not be a bigger deal. I wanted to be in a midsize town with great people, good food and warmer weather. I always said I would go wherever the writing takes me, and I am sure glad it’s right here in North Alabama.

See you all on the sidelines.

—The News Courier welcomes Travis Devlin to the newsroom as its sports reporter, covering sports news across Limestone County. Submit news items to newscouriersoundoff@gmail.com.