Examples of good previews?

[Golazo21]

Hey guys, so I've been doing game previews for the local soccer team for the past five years, and recently, I've started thinking about tweaking the format. Right now, I do the snapshot of each team and keys to the game, and occasionally, I'll do preview with quotes (if I can get to practice that week). But I want to try something different. You guys know this business way better than I do: which writers routinely publish really good/interesting previews?

 

[reformedhack]

What level of soccer team are we talking about here? If by "local" you mean your metro area's MLS team, then you could reasonably plan to do something more thorough than, say, your local high school team, which only really needs a 5-W's type of preview box. Also, what's your competition and what's the attendance like?

Elaborate, and then we'll get back to you.

 

[Hoos3725]

This is a little bit of a thread steal, but when I saw the subject heading, I was hoping the thread would regard season previews for high school sports.

I'm curious what other papers do to preview high school spring sports. At my shop, for each sport, we write a feature story, then do 3-4 sentences on each school highlighting the key players, team strengths and weaknesses. The problem is that sometimes these things tend to be overwritten, and we end up with a 90-inch preview. And that's far too much for girls soccer or softball.

I know some places just do highlights on the whole area -- teams to watch, players to watch, what the casual fan should know -- stuff like that. I'm starting to feel that's the better strategy.

 

[Big Circus]

This is a little bit of a thread steal, but when I saw the subject heading, I was hoping the thread would regard season previews for high school sports.

I'm curious what other papers do to preview high school spring sports. At my shop, for each sport, we write a feature story, then do 3-4 sentences on each school highlighting the key players, team strengths and weaknesses. The problem is that sometimes these things tend to be overwritten, and we end up with a 90-inch preview. And that's far too much for girls soccer or softball.

I know some places just do highlights on the whole area -- teams to watch, players to watch, what the casual fan should know -- stuff like that. I'm starting to feel that's the better strategy.

What you need to do is find some better stringers for those features.

 

[Golazo21]

It's pro soccer -MLS. They average 16k a game. it's for a soccer-specific regional site.

 

[Hoos3725]

What you need to do is find some better stringers for those features.

I'm happy to say they didn't all come in at 90 inches.

 

[awriter]

It's pro soccer -MLS. They average 16k a game. it's for a soccer-specific regional site.

I would say try to get out to practice if you can and approach it like a beat writer. Think big picture. What are the major issues the team is facing? Maybe do a player feature. And if all you're doing is writing is writing a quote-less preview, then my question is: Why bother? Seems like a waste, and an info box would be enough.

 

[Golazo21]

Thank you guys!