Goodrow named Aurora’s Athlete of the Year

Sport Aurora has formally announced their athlete and coaches of the year for 2021. 

New York Rangers forward, Aurora native, and Stanley Cup champ Barclay Goodrow has taken home top honours as Athlete of the Year.

Jordan Master of the Aurora Community Tennis Club and president of the Aurora-King Baseball Association Shaun McGuire are the two coaches taking home the grand prize. 

Sport Aurora will formally present these awards this Sunday, November 21. 

Goodrow is worthy of being athlete of the year having helped the Tampa Bay Lightning last season win their second consecutive Stanley Cup title. 

The Lightning defeated the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 in game five to secure the cup on home ice.

Goodrow, placed on a line with Yanni Gourde and Blake Coleman, were one of the fastest lines on the team throughout the playoffs. 

In the offseason, Goodrow took his talents to the Big Apple and to Madison Square Garden.

Toronto native and Aurora resident Jordan Master was appointed head tennis professional last year. 

Master is a member of Tennis Professionals Association (TPA) supported by Tennis Canada, a certified Tennis Instructor and a Club/Pro1 coach. 

Master has been involved in the tennis industry north of 15 years. Normally known for an older crowd at the local tennis club, Master helped bring more youth from the community to tennis and throughout the pandemic Master introduced the sport to many citizens. 

AKBA president Shaun McGuire was responsible this past year for coaching and mentoring 15 baseball players that have gone on to sign letters of intent. Those players now are playing college baseball on scholarships in the USA. 

McGuire won a national bronze as a player with East York. He won three tournaments as a head coach with AKBA and brought his Aurora Jays team from A to AAA in two seasons. 

He is also a 16U bench coach with the Team Ontario Astros elite baseball club. 

For more with the three winners, pick up next week's edition of The Auroran. 

By Robert Belardi