I rarely lack local sports events to cover, but this time of year is the slowest. Our summer baseball league finished up a couple weeks ago, and the high schools are several weeks from starting their seasons.
Weeks like this week provide a challenge: fill the sports section with sports news, even though there's little live action going on. It takes a lot of leg work to do so, but this week, at least, I did it.
I did a story about a local college baseball player who transferred to another school last week to increase his chances in the MLB draft, a story on the upcoming season and the realigned district, a story on some local racers, a feature on some football players in preseason practices, and a story on one of the high school golf teams. (Golf is the only high school sport in progress.)
I had good photos for the golf story and the football feature, and I had some file photos of the baseball player. One secret for laying out a newspaper is to use photos wisely.
Next week, the sports schedule is similar. I won't have games (other than golf) to cover, but I'll be busy tracking down the stories I'll need. On top of that, it's time for the county fair (which everyone helps cover), and I'll be working on a special high school sports preview that's due in a few weeks.
I'm in the doldrums of sports news this time of year, but I guess I'm realizing that while doldrums sound boring, they're not. It takes a lot of work to get out of the slow period and back into the current.
Posted by JRC at August 17, 2005 03:49 PM | TrackBack