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Tips on Covering High School Basketball

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Carvelli3, Dec 29, 2009.

  1. Stitch

    Stitch Active Member

    Don't write in chronological order. Read other game stories (gamers) and see what others do. The good game stories are never just play-by-play. The first couple of games will be tough because you don't want to miss anything. You'll get the hang of it, though, and covering a game will be second nature. Hopefully a vet at the paper you write for will help with specific things you need to work on.
     
  2. PopeDirkBenedict

    PopeDirkBenedict Active Member

    Whenever I wondered how I would write up the game, I imagined getting home after the game and having my dad ask me how the game went. Whatever I would tell him first -- kid hits halfcourt shot to force OT, team would alternate between fast-break and four corners offense, kid was a monster on the boards -- is what I started with.

    Lets say you have a game that is back and forth for four quarters and a kid hits a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer to go to OT. In OT, the best player for Team A fouls out and Team B pulls away for a 70-65 win. If you were talking to a friend who hadn't been there about the game, would you start by telling him that Team A hit 3 straight baskets to start the game?

    Journalism is about context. So put the important plays into context of the game and put the game into the context of the season. If you cover Team B, maybe this is a young team filled with sophomores and juniors and the context is about how this team is progressing and learning how to win for next year. Or maybe Team B is filled with seniors and is a heavy favorite to go to state and Team A is a 3-11 team and the story is about how Team B is playing to the level of its opponent.
     
  3. Hank_Scorpio

    Hank_Scorpio Active Member

    It always helps the story to get the other side perspective, even if it is an out of area team/coach.

    He may have thought the game was lost on one thing, while the home coach may think it was won on another.


    Just gives better balance. Even if it is just one quote from a two-minute interview.
     
  4. PopeDirkBenedict

    PopeDirkBenedict Active Member

    I always try to talk to the other side if I have the time. An out of area coach is much more likely to give you a good quote about the opposing team or player. I want the best and most illuminating quotes in my story and I don't care if the person uttering it isn't in my coverage area.
     
  5. Dan Hickling

    Dan Hickling Member

    That would be the instance when I do go that route ... but otherwise, I don't see it as anything obligatory ...
     
  6. Simon

    Simon Active Member

    How do you guys balance writing a feature game story and still manage to get the important things in there?
     
  7. Den1983

    Den1983 Active Member

    Bingo, bingo, bingo.

    Also, I agree that stay far, far away from play-by-play. Discuss turning points in the game, halftime adjustments, et cetera.
     
  8. Greg Pickel

    Greg Pickel Member

    This seems like good enough reason to me, thanks for the insight!

    Thanks to Stitch and Ace as well for giving your thoughts, it's appreciated!
     
  9. Den1983

    Den1983 Active Member

    I do this when I know for a fact that the opponent is horrific. For example, we have a pretty good team who always plays a non-district contest against a way smaller school. They have a history of blowing them out, so I featured the PG of our local team because no one wants to read a gamer on a 50-point non-district blowout. I found the angle that the PG was following a long line of star 1s and focused on how he did, how he attacked, how he set up teammates, et cetera.

    Went perfectly as planned. Even if he had sucked, I still had a story. Fortunately, he didn't, and as expected, the team won big.
     
  10. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    The honest truth is there aren't that many important things to get in there, Simon.

    John Doe led the team with 16 points.

    Joe Blow had a season-high 12 rebounds.

    It was the first victory over Podunk Central in 13 years.

    The team won despite shooting just 27 percent from the floor.

    All that good stuff still leaves you about 500 words to have at it.
     
  11. murphyc

    murphyc Well-Known Member

    This is what I do pretty much, though I do keep track of shots/rebounds (i.e. 3 no, 14 reb., 10 yes 3). Between talking with the local coach and a couple of players, I'll usually have more than enough for a story especially because we're a weekly with 5-6 game stories plus pics in a given week. We're hyperlocal so I don't talk with the other coach even if the team is the town just across the river from us. I understand the point others made about getting a good perspective from the opposing coach, that's a good idea but just not my preference unless it's two top teams or the playoffs.
    I agree doing pics and story is most difficult with BBall, bar none. Things move so fast plus you have to watch out for flying balls, players, officials backing into you, etc. Add on top of that photography issues (lighting, focusing fast enough, etc.) and it's a tall task.
    One thing I don't believe I saw mentioned in any of the great responses to the thread: take full advantage of timeouts and time between periods. Write down runs, keep tabs on who is having a good/bad night, basically keep working and/or get caught up on notes when action is stopped.
    One other thing: If you're just taking notes (no pics) and the game's a blowout, you can jot down at least a sketch of a story between the 3rd and 4th periods or during fourth period timeouts. Obviously fill in with quotes, but you can at least get going on the nuts and bolts story which is especially helpful if you have a tight deadline.
     
  12. Den1983

    Den1983 Active Member

    I always use a coach's quote. More often than not, players don't care to talk and won't say much, win or lose. I'll definitely use at least one player, sure, but almost always the reader will get a hell of a lot more from what the coach said than the player.
     
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