Covering

Sports
News Writing
What do you need to know
about writing
SPORTS?
Sports writers must know …
● the rules and basics of playing and scoring
the sport they are covering

● who are the key players on the team(star

seniors, up-and-coming underclassmen, returning individual
winners from last year, etc.)

● how the team did last year

● what statistics are typically kept for this sport

and what they mean
Sports writers must know …
● the schedules for the teams they cover
(update with results throughout the season)

● when is the perfect time to reach players and

coaches for features

● the coaches

● what other resources are available: stats,

videos, other info online?
In school sports
● winning isn’t everything

● players = stories

● non-players = stories
and sometimes coaches = stories, too

● losing = tasteful stories

Types of sports news stories

● advance or preview
● game coverage

● briefs

● news features

Most of the stories you write will NOT be

game stories … why?
Why game stories aren’t so great

Timeliness: The outcome of the game

is known, so it’s not news because it’s
not that interesting anymore.

Another game might have already

happened, changing stats reported in a
previous game story.
Why game stories are helpful

On the other hand, there is nothing like

reporting on a significant game to
sharpen your sports writing skills.

Beginners, particularly, can learn a lot

from covering a game. It’s GREAT
practice — and awesome for keeping
websites up to date.
Covering games
Plan and prepare before the game.
● Talk to the coach and let him/her know you’ll be
covering a game. Ask what to expect, who to
watch, any trends developing.
● Get a team roster with player names and
jersey numbers.
● Know the stats and find out who will be the
statistician for the game. Make arrangements
ahead to get the end-of-game stats when the game
ends.
● Use email or social media to contact the coach of
the opposing team to get a roster.
Covering games
During the game ...
● Watch carefully. Note the big plays and scores.
● Tweet results or big plays as they happen, using
players’ names (you have the roster with you!).
● Observe the opposing team, too. You should
know who their key players are, and have the
roster of that team as well.
● Do not express your opinion in tweets or
coverage. You are acting as an outside observer,
not a fan.
Covering games
After the game ...
● Get the end-of-game stats from the statistician and
get to the locker room to gather quotes from the
players while the emotion is still running high.
● Use your notes and your tweets to help you
organize a chronology of the game.
● Take a deep breath. What was the most important
thing that happened? After you have your notes
and quotes, stop and think about what the lead is.
● Write quickly. Your goal should be to have the
game story online within 12 to 24 hours of the
game ending.
What’s (often) better than sports
game stories
● If something extraordinary happened in a
game that everyone is talking about, such
as an injury or an unexpected rout of a
favored team, write the most up-to-date
information — looking forward, not back.

● Write about an individual player or group

(offense, defense, offensive line, etc).
Better than game stories
● Look for trends across several games. A
strong offense, challenges on the defense,
injuries, stars or outstanding players,
recurrent problems or issues?

● Find out who keeps the team’s stats and

get to know that person. The statistician is
your new best friend.

● Always know where the team ranks in the

district, region and state.
Know the stats
● Keep up with team statistics and use them in
your stories. This is especially important in
game stories, but you need it for all sports
stories.

● If a player or team breaks or ties a school or

local record, you need to make that a big part
of your story. It’s probably your lead.

● If a player or team makes it to regional or

state competition, that’s a news story too.
Watch the team practice, play

● You cannot write a good sports story from

someone else’s memory.
● You must be present to know what
happened. Take notes and make photos
while you are watching.
● Spend time after games to speak to the
players and coaches. It’s best to get them
while they are still thinking about the
game.
Worth saying again

You cannot write a good

sports story from someone
else’s memory.

You have to be there.

Identify players in the story
● Don’t just say “Joe Smith”
Say “tackle Joe Smith”
● Identify the player’s position. In captions,
use the jersey number, too.
● Don’t use numbers for grade or year of
graduation — sports have plenty of other
numbers already.
● Make every attempt to identify the other
team’s players, too.
Use AP Style for scores

● 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,

even if your school didn’t win.
Do not editorialize
● Even in sports writing, a clear distinction
must exist between reporting the news and
expressing an opinion.

● 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 what you think about the

team, the players, the sport or the game,
that’s a commentary, not news.
Do not be a cheerleader

● Don’t write “our” team, write about “the”

team.

● Never congratulate a team on its win in

your story, or say it was a good try if the
team lost.

● What’s the word for this?

editorializing
Story ideas
● athletes and health (conditioning during the
season or 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
● non-school sports students play, such as
equestrian, water skiing, bicycle racing,figure
skating
● how and why coaches become coaches
Story ideas
● how much it costs to play a sport
● how much it costs the school to run the
athletic programs
● what happens in the weight room
● generations of athletes in the same family
● athletic booster club
● multiple-sport athletes; students who play
school sports in all three seasons
● students who play club sports during their
sport’s off-season
Story ideas
● maintaining the athletic fields, courts, playing
surfaces, scoreboards
● how athletes prepare for the final game of their
high school career
● coping with sports injuries
● the college recruiting process
● alumni who are playing sports in college on
scholarship
Assignment 1: story ideas

● Working with a partner, brainstorm five

sports story ideas for your newspaper or
yearbook. Use specific examples:
• sport
• athlete
• angle
● Turn in your ideas by the end of class.
Assignment 1 extension

Write your story

● Using the list of ideas you brainstormed

with a partner, choose one idea that you
can write.
● Use the Story Prep Worksheet to plan
your story.
Assignment 2: sports coverage
● Using other student media, previous issues of
your publication, or prep sports coverage from
local professionals, find a well-written school
sports news story.

● Summarize the story. Be sure to include:

- headline
- byline
- date published
- name of publication
- the 5W’s and H
Assignment, continued ...
Next, write a half-page reaction to the story.
Discuss the following:
• the way the story was written and reported;
what the reporter had to do to get this story
• why this story is news (news values)
• why you are sure this is news, not opinion
• what was not included and could or should
have been in the story
• how a similar story might be written for your
publication
• other thoughts, opinions, insights or
reactions