This document provides guidance for writing sports journalism articles. It recommends focusing on individual players and teams rather than game outcomes, which become outdated. Stories should identify players by name, classification, and position. Journalists should keep up with team and individual statistics and records to include in their articles. Articles must remain objective and not act as cheerleaders for the team. The document also provides examples of well-written sports stories and suggests additional story ideas.

1. Sports Journalism
May 25, 2011

2. Write about players and teams,
not about games.
 By the time the newspaper or yearbook comes
out, the info about games is outdated.
 Write about an individual player or group
(offense, defense, offensive line, the
battery, etc.)
 Write about groups of games in one story, but
look for trends…strong
defense, injuries, stars, etc.

3. Identify players in the story.
 Don’t just say “Joe Smith”
 Say “senior tackle Joe Smith”
 Allows identify the person’s classification
and position
 Don’t use numbers to identify grade or
year of graduation.

4. Keep up with team statistics and
use them in your story.
 Find out who keeps the team’s stats and
get to know them.
 If a team breaks or ties a school or local
record, you need to make that a big part
of your story.
 Always know where the team ranks in the
district, region and state. (Chron.com)

5. Keep up with individual statistics
and use them in your stories.
 If a player sets or ties a school or local
record that should be the lead in your
story.

6. Know sports writing styles
 Scores are numerals separated by
hyphens. (12-6 not 12 to 6)
 Records are numerals separated by
hyphens (8-2 not 8 and 2)
 The winning score always comes first.

7. Watch the team (player)
practice and play
 You have to be present to know what
happened…and take notes while you are
watching.
 You can’t write a good sports story from
someone else’s memory.
 You must spend time after
games/matches, to speak to the players.

8. Remember that even in sports writing,
a clear distinction must exist between
reporting and commenting.
 If you are writing an article about how the
team is doing or a profile of an
athlete, you must remain objective.
 If you are writing your own opinion, it’s a
commentary.

9. NEVER be a cheerleader
for your team!
 Don’t write “our” team, write about “the”
team.
 Never congratulate a team on its win in
your story.

10. Example
Tigers use inside game to beat Rangers
By WES SWIFT
The Travis Tigers found the quickest way to a victory was straight to the
hoop.
The Tigers used a bruising inside game in the second half to pull away from
the Clements Rangers for a 62-43 win Tuesday at Wheeler Fieldhouse.
“Every win in district is a good win,” said Travis coach Craig Brownson said.
“This gets us to 4-1 (in district play), which means we‟re in a good spot.
“Every game is a battle because every team is well-coached, so we got to
come ready to play.”

11. Example
Junior 'honored' to lead Lady Panthers
By Michael Sudhalter
Erica Dunson was honored, and then, she brought her „A‟ game.
The Klein Oak High junior missed the first quarter of the game because she
was being sworn into the National Honor Society.
But Dunson scored 14 points – all in the second half – to help lead the Lady
Panthers past Spring, 59-38 Friday night during Parent Appreciation Night
at Klein Oak.
“I went out there and had fun with it,” Dunson said.
Klein Oak (12-17, 4-5) led the Lady Lions (5-22, 0-9), 22-19 at halftime, but
Dunson sparked a 7-0 run that put the team ahead 29-19.

12. Story ideas
 Athletes and health; conditioning during the season, during
off season; prevention and care of injuries
 What it’s like to: warm the bench, lose eligibility, be injured
the whole season, lose in the finals, be scouted
 Recreational and “extreme” sports
 How and why coaches become coaches
 Maintaining the athletic fields, courts, playing
surfaces, scoreboards
 A look in the weight room
 Generations of athletes in the same family, sibling athletes.
 A look at the athletic booster club.
 How athletes make the transition from one sport to the
next.
 How athletes prepare for the final game of their high
school career.
 Coping with sports injuries.
 The college recruiting process.