Tips for Writing 5 Types of

Sports Stories
Getting a handle on sportswriting can be daunting because there are so many different
kinds of stories that can be done. For the aspiring sportswriter, these are some of the
main types.

The Straight-Lede Game Story

The straight-lede game story is the most basic story in all of sportswriting. It's just what
it sounds like: an article about a game that uses a straight-news type of lede. The lede
summarizes the main points - who won, who lost, the score, and what the star player
did.

Here's an example of this kind of lede:

Quarterback Pete Faust threw thre touchdown passes to lead the Jefferson High School
Eagles to a 21-7 victory over crosstown rival McKinley High.

The rest of the story follows from there, with an account of the big plays and
playmakers, and after-game quotes from coaches and players. Because they often
focus on high school and small-college teams, straight-lede game stories tend to be
fairly tightly written.

Straight-lede game stories are still used for coverage of high school and some college
sports.

But they're used less nowadays for pro sports. Why? Because pro sports are seen on
TV and most fans of a particular team know the score of a game long before they read
about it.
The Feature-Lede Game Story

Feature-lede game stories are common for pro sports. Readers usually already know
the score of pro games as soon as they're done, so when they pick up a sports section
they want stories they offer a different angle on what happened and why.

Here's an example of a game story feature lede:

It had rained all that day in the city of brotherly love, so when the Philadelphia Eagles
took the field the ground was already a soggy mess - much like the game that would
follow.

So it was somehow fitting that the Eagles would lose 31-7 to the Dallas Cowboys in a
contest that was one of the worst of quarterback Donovan McNabb's career. McNabb
threw two interceptions and fumbled the ball three times.

The story starts out with some description, and doesn't get to the final score until the
second paragraph. Again, that's fine: readers will already know the score. It's the writer's
job to give them something more.

Delayed-lede game stories tend to be a bit more in-depth that straight-lede stories, and
as a result are often longer.

Profiles

The sports world is full of colorful characters, so it's no surprise that personality profiles
are a staple of sportswriting. Whether it's a charismatic coach or a young athlete on the
rise, some of the best profiles anywhere are found in sports sections.

Here's an example of a profile lede:

Norman Dale surveys the court as his players practice layups. A pained look crosses
the face of the coach of the McKinley High School basketball team as one player after
another misses the basket.
"Again!" he shouts. "Again! You don't stop! You don't quit! York work 'till you get it right!"
And so they continue, until they start to get it right. Coach Dale wouldn't have it any
other way.

Season Preview and Wrap-up Stories

Season previews and wrap-ups are fixtures of the sportswriter's repertoire. These are
done any time a team and a coach are preparing for the coming season, or when the
season has just ended, either in glory or infamy.

Obviously the focus here isn't a specific game or even individual, but a broad look at the
season - how the coach and players expect things to go, or how they feel once that
season is done.

Here's an example of a lede for this kind of story:

Coach Jenna Johnson has high hopes for the Pennwood High School women's
basketball team this year. After all, the Lions were city champions last year, led by the
play of Juanita Ramirez, who returns to the team this year as a senior. "We expect great
things from her," Coach Johnson says.

Columns

A column is where the sportswriter gets to vent his or her opinions, and the best sports
columnists do just that, fearlessly. Often that means being very tough on coaches,
players or teams who don't meet expectations, particularly at the pro level, where all
concerned are being paid huge salaries to do just one thing - win.

But sports columnists also focus on those they admire, whether it's an inspirational
coach who leads a team of underdogs to a great season, or a mostly unheralded player
who may be short on natural talent but makes up for it with hard work and unselfish play.

Here's an example of how a sports column might begin:

Lamont Wilson certainly isn't the tallest player on the McKinley High School basketball
team. At 5-foot-9, he's hard to spot in the sea of mid 6-footers on the court. But Wilson
is the model of an unselfish team player, the kind of athlete who makes those around
him shine. "I just do whatever I can to help the team," the ever-modest Wilson says.

Everything You Need to Know

to Become a Sportswriter
The sports beat is one of the most exciting in all of journalism. From the thrill of victory to the
agony of defeat, sports stories are all about the all-too human drama of competition and
courage. Here you can learn about the different kinds of sports articles, see how to write a basic
game story, hear what a sports columnist's job is like and try your hand at a sportswriting
exercise.

Different Kinds of Sports Stories

Getting a handle on sportswriting can be daunting because there are so many different
kinds of stories that can be done. For the aspiring sportswriter, these are some of the
main types. The straight-lede game story is the most basic story in all of sportswriting.
It's just what it sounds like: an article about a game that uses a straight-news type of
lede. The lede summarizes the main points - who won, who lost, the score, and what
the star player did. Feature-lede game stories are common for pro sports. Readers
usually already know the score of pro games as soon as they're done, so when they
pick up a sports section they want stories they offer a different angle on what happened
and why.

Writing The Short Game Story

There are lots of different kinds of stories you can write on the sports beat, but probably
the most basic is the short game story. A short game story, usually 500 words or less,
follows a straightforward format that can be applied to any game you cover. The lede of
your story should include the final score and some details about what made the game
interesting. Generally this means focusing on the efforts of an individual player.

Sportswriters Can Avoid

Cliched Quotes by Asking Good
Questions
Any reporter whos ever covered anything from a football game to a golf match or
anyone who has even just watched sports on TV, which means virtually all of us has
heard it.

Its the sound that makes sportswriters want to alternately cringe or upchuck, a sound to
be dreaded like fingernails scraping a chalkboard.

What is it?

The dreaded sports clich. (Cue the horror movie music.)

Yes, weve all heard them, and weve all rolled our eyes when weve heard them. For
some reason, the athletes and coaches of the planet seem to have gotten together and
decided that they must speak in such clichs, no matter how tired, stale or just plain
irritating they are.

Whats worse, many sportscasters, professionals who are paid to talk about sports and
ought to know better, seem to want to reach for the same lazy, dull phrases, the ones
weve all heard, oh, about 10,000 times or so.

For the beginning sportswriter, the lesson is clear: DONT use such clichs in your story.
Try your best in interviews and press conferences to elicit quotes that are not clichs.

How is this done? Try posing questions in different ways. If you ask an athlete why the
team won the game, and he lapses into some cliches about it being a group effort, ask
him to be more specific. Cite the work of some specific athletes or plays that proved to
be pivotal in the game, and get him to talk about those.

Indeed, the more specific you can be, the better. Broad, open-ended queries are likely to
elicit broad, generic responses. Pointed, direct questions are more likely to produce
fresh insights.

This is especially true of coaches, who can be suspicious of - and even hostile toward -
sports reporters who don't know their stuff. So when interviewing a coach, demonstrate
that you're familiar with not just the nuances of the game in general, but with her team in
particular. A coach, like any source, is more likely to trust a reporter who understands
his beat, and a more trusting source is likely to be more open in interviews.

Also, a good reporter really listens to what the interviewee is saying, and follows up with
still more pointed questions. The word "why" is always helpful. If a coach tells you that a
particular player was on fire during a particular game, ask why. Has the athlete been
training harder? Refined his skills? Felt he has something to prove? Such specific
questions are likely to produce interesting answers.

But what do you do if, despite your best efforts, the jock you're interviewing insists on
using sports clichs anyway? Close your eyes, plug your ears and begin to chant, over
and over again, Im not listening to you, I'm not listening to you, I'm not....

You get the idea.

Here, then, are 10 of the worst sports clichs in the business, ones you should never put
in a sports story, along with some suggested sarcastic rejoinders.

1. We need to just play our game.

Oh really? Were you going to play someone elses?

2. He gives 110 percent.

Hmmm. How is that possible, exactly?

3. Defense wins championships.

And what is offense? Chopped liver?

4. She leaves it all out there on the field.

Well, I hope she cleans up after herself.

5. Those teams match up well.

Maybe they should start dating.

6. He takes care of the football.

Good. Those things are expensive.

7. He's their go-to guy.

Going to where, exactly?

8. They have to step up and make plays.

Given that this is a game, I guess that would be a good idea.

9. They're going for back-to-back championships.

Oh really? I thought after winning it all last year they'd strive for a mediocre season this
year.

10. He has his game face on.

Yeah, and its pretty scary.

How to Write the Short Game
Story
There are lots of different kinds of stories you can write on the sports beat, but probably
the most basic is the short game story. A short game story, usually 500 words or less,
follows a straightforward format that can be applied to any game you cover.

Heres the format:

The Lede

The lede of your story should include the final score and some details about what made
the game interesting. Generally this means focusing on the efforts of an individual
player.

Lets say a teams star athlete is injured and a previously unheralded player comes into
the game as a substitute. Not much is expected of this rookie but he defies expectations
and plays a great game, leading the team to victory.

Example:

Second-string quarterback Jay Lindman, who had never played a down for Jefferson
High School, came off the bench after star QB Fred Torville was injured Friday night and
threw three touchdown passes to lead the Gladiators to a 21-14 victory over the
McKinley High School Centurions.

Or maybe the game is a close, seesaw battle between two evenly matched opponents,
and is won in the final seconds by an especially dramatic play.

Example:
Second-string quarterback Jay Lindman threw the game-winning touchdown with just 12
seconds left to lead the Jefferson High School Gladiators to a 21-14 victory over the
McKinley High School Centurions Friday night.

Notice that in both examples we focus on the efforts of an individual athlete. Sports is all
about the human drama of competition, and focusing on a single person gives the game
story a human interest angle that readers will enjoy.

The Body of the Story

The body of your story should basically elaborate on the lede. If your lede was about the
benchwarmer becoming the games star, then the body of the story should go into more
detail about that. Often a simple chronological account works best.

Example:

Torvilles ankle was sprained when he was sacked in the first quarter. Lindman came
into the game with low expectations but threw his first touchdown pass in the second
quarter with a high, floating ball that receiver Mike Ganson snagged in the end zone.

In the third quarter, Lindman was forced to scramble out of the pocket to avoid the rush
but managed to fire a bullet to receiver Desean Washington, who made a diving catch at
the goal line.

The Wrap Up

The wrap up or ending of your story usually centers on quotes from the coach and
players gleaned from post-game interviews or press conferences. Getting great
quotes for sports stories can sometimes be tough coaches and athletes often speak in
clichs but a snappy quote can really be the icing on the cake of your game story.

Example:
I knew Lindman could play but I didnt know he could play like that, said Gladiators
coach Jeff Michaelson. That was one heck of a game by a young guy who showed a lot
of heart.

Washington said Lindman exuded confidence even in the huddle before his very first
snap.

He just said, Lets do this to win, Washington said. And he went out there and did it.
That boy can throw the ball.