Covering sports like a pro Kansas Journalism Institute June.2011 Rod Satterthwaite.Dexter High School.

Ten tips 1. Don’t cover old news 2. Don’t use cliched quotes 3. Use 3-5 meaningful quotes per article 4. Avoid pro/college sports stories without a local angle 5. Don’t just cover games

Tips continued Expand your definition of sports 7. Don’t bore your reader 8. Don’t be a cheerleader 9. Make your leads count 10. Make your ledes count

Out with the old Don’t cover old news. Concentrate on the future angle or develop the feature angle to old news.

Get rid of the coach-speak Don’t use cliche quotes. (“He gave a 110 percent.” “We played hard, the other team just wanted it more.” “We didn’t win a lot, but we had fun trying.” “We have some very good athletes, and if everybody works hard, then we could win a lot of games.”) Look at these examples: Don't use quotes like thisDon't use quotes like this

Every story needs quotes 3. Try to use 3-5 meaningful quotes per article.

Leave the pros to the pros 3. Cover your school. Avoid pro/college stories unless they have a local angle.

Think before and after Cover practices, locker rooms and post-game activities to get the full flavor for the story.

Expand your coverage Go beyond the obvious (club sports, hobby sports, extreme sports, overlooked players, those who work hard in practice, trainers, etc.)

Don’t bore your reader 7. Rosters are not newsworthy

Leave the cheering to the cheerleaders to the cheerleaders 8. Not every player or team is outstanding

Ledes matter Don’t lead with the date.

Ledes matter, part II Don’t lead with the name of the town, the name of the school or the name of the team.

Some story ideas... adapted from Bobby Hawthorne’s The Radical Write(used with permission) 1. Weird things you find in lockers 2. Cheapest things to do after a game 3. Practice war stories 4. The teammate from Hell 5. Creative ways to make fun of your coach Team trips Strange superstitions Things coaches hate to hear from teenagers Things teenagers hate to hear from coaches Useless things coaches say to players White lies players tell their coaches Characterisics of effective coaches A horrible game Things coaches to do embarrass their players Things players do to embarrass their coaches

More column ideas Team trips 7. Strange superstitions 8. Things coaches hate to hear from teenagers 9. Things teenagers hate to hear from coaches 10. Useless things coaches say to players 11. White lies players tell their coaches Characterisics of effective coaches A horrible game Things coaches to do embarrass their players Things players do to embarrass their coaches

And some more ideas Characteristics of effective coaches 13. A horrible game 14. Things coaches to do embarrass their players 15. Things players do to embarrass their coaches

Some examples Tell me what you think of this story: "It doesn't get any tougher than this" by Rick Reilly "It doesn't get any tougher than this" by Rick Reilly"It doesn't get any tougher than this" by Rick Reilly

One more example... What about this: "Her left foot gone, cheerleader cheers on" by Mitch Albom "Her left foot gone, cheerleader cheers on" by Mitch Albom"Her left foot gone, cheerleader cheers on" by Mitch Albom

Thanks and contact info. Rod Satterthwaite, Dexter High School x. 7407