Once a Viking always a Viking, (not that the Vikings were ever any good at playing sports). My high school alma mater is the Vikings, a team with great spirit, but lacking in points on the scoreboard or marks in the win column. Oh, we had our moments of glory, still do, but they are outnumbered by our defeats.
But when it comes to the failings of my high school alma mater’s athlete prowess, I put my rose colored glasses on. I did it when I was in high school as I stood on the sidelines in my cheerleader uniform. I still do it today as I sit at home reading the coverage in my local newspaper.
Sports Readers Become News Readers
I believe the coverage a community paper gives the local high school sports can boost circulation, advertising and sales. What happens in high school stays with you forever. For years after graduating, adults have been known to identify themselves with their high school team and mascot.
Eleven years after graduating, my husband still loves to gloat that the Bobcats beat the Vikings hands down every time. But what does that have to do with community journalism? Everything.
High school sports gives your paper a chance to let Viking and Bobcat alumni continue to bask in the glory. Alums can find out about friends and neighbors even when living miles away. It’s a big deal, which means your coverage should be a big deal.
If you take a photo at a high school sports game and print it in the paper, the family of the kids pictured will buy lots of copies. They will need some to save and some to send to dear Aunt Edna in Nebraska and Uncle John in Florida. High school sports can sell papers.
While a new reader may start reading your paper to follow the coverage of their son’s football team, they often stay readers long after their son has graduated.
Students First, Athletes Second
There will be teams with very loyal fans despite dismal scores. No matter how badly the team plays, the reporter needs to remember the players are high school students not professional athletes.
Unlike the goal behind some professional programs, the purpose behind high school sports is to build up self esteem, pride, a sense of accomplishment and teamwork. School sports give the kids a sense of belonging. Make sure your reporting doesn’t undermine those lessons.
Sports writing should be fun and exciting to read. Giving players nicknames and describing plays and moves with flair are all part of improving your sports coverage.
Sports writing has never been known to be completely free of opinion, but you need to make sure your article about a game doesn’t become an editorial about a team. It’s OK to lavish praise of even doll out some criticism as long as it is about the game and not aimed at one particular student.
Learn from Someone Else’s Mistake
So what is my point? Recently, a story about a homecoming football team ran in my local newspaper where the reporter started editorializing rather than reporting. Parents and school officials were outraged.
What did the reporter write that was so bad? Here’s a few excerpts:
Said the girls’ basketball team, which always plays to its max, could march onto the field and beat the boys’ football team.
Said a “normally intelligent” player “had a sudden brain tick.”
Said, “No, the Trojans aren’t coached by Homer Simpson. They just play like it sometimes.”
This reporter had good intentions. He was frustrated the whole team didn’t have the drive to win like the coaches and the seniors. He felt a lot of the team’s members gave up too early. Some of his comments that invoked the most wrath were intended to be humorous.
In response, one parent said, “Please write about the games and leave your sarcasm and cruelty out.”
The reporter who wrote the comments above, apologized in print. He accepted full blame for letting his frustrations as a fan creep into his writing as a journalist.
SOUND OFF
Do you disagree with me? Great! Let me hear from you. I’m surprised about my viewpoint on this topic myself. My journalistic background bristles. But when I think of the high school kid with the momentary brain tick reading this article, I cringe. Or the parents. High school is hard enough for teens that we don’t need to make it harder. The article I refer to didn’t name the teen, but do you really think there is anyone in the high school that doesn’t know who it was?
