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A sports enthusiast's love for the game can include everything from the preparation and anticipation, to watching the actual game, enjoying replays and highlights, and discussing everything about the game afterward—including the teams, the coaches, and their favorite (and not-so-favorite) players.
Sports writing plays a huge role in stirring up expectations and giving fans the information they crave about the people behind their favorite sport.
What Is Sports Writing in Journalism?
Sports writing is a form of creative nonfiction or journalism that covers sports, athletes, or other sports-related issues. A journalist who reports on sports is called a sportswriter.
Glenn Stout, editor of The Best American Sports Writing 2015, describes a good sports story as one that "provides an experience that… takes you from one place you've never been before and by the end leaves you in another place, changed."
In the introduction to the 2012 edition of The Best American Sports Writing, Michael Wilbon says that the best sports stories are those that come from conversations, and not from formal interviews. These people may be reluctant or poor conversationalists, but they often turn out the best stories.
What Are the Elements of Sports Writing?
Sports writing typically covers basic information, such as:
highlights of the game
the names of the teams involved
the type of sport
score or final outcome
when and where the game was played
But in order to write a good sports article, remember to focus on what an athlete does. Because sports revolve around the drama of competition, spotlighting a single person gives your story a human side that your readers can relate to.
5 Types of Sports Stories
The following are the five most common types of sports stories:
1. Straight-Lead Game Story
The most basic form of all sportswriting, the straight-lead (also spelled straight-lede) game story is an article using a straight-news format. The article summarizes the main points of a game: which team won or lost, the final score, and what a star player did.
A straight-lead might look something like this:
Second-string quarterback Robert Jameson threw the game-winning touchdown with just 10 seconds left to lead the Mountain View High School Bears to a 21-14 victory over the Canyon del Oro High School Captains Saturday night.
After that, the story follows by giving an account of big plays, players who contributed tremendously to the final outcome, and after-game insights, quoting both players and coaches.
Many high school and college sports use the straight-lead game story, but sports writers for professional sports events have veered away from this format.
The reason is that TV already shows the entire game and fans usually know the scores and highlights before the article makes it to publication.
2. Feature Game Story
The feature game story is a favorite tool for professional sports writers because it gives fans and readers a different angle from the highlights they have seen on TV.
Here's an example of an actual sports feature lead involving the Queensland Reds and their rugby coach, Tevita Koloi:
It's the start of yet another season. The quiet of the night contrasts with the vibrant group gathered in the upper room of their local church, fervently praying. As the clock ticks closer towards midnight, the spiritual coach of the state's professional rugby team receives an impression from God – "the last placed team he is mentoring will win the entire league this very year."
It is a bold revelation, and he grapples with what to do with this.
After opening with this unique angle, the writer proceeds to describe the prominent rugby coach's background, as well as what was going on at the time he had this unusual experience.
And, as is common trait of feature game stories, he only gets to the scores near the end of the article—which is fine because readers are not looking to read about the score, which they already know.
Instead, the story gives them a different perspective of the game and the people involved.
3. Profiles
Whereas a feature game story spotlights a game, a profile features an individual character. This person might be a rookie athlete rising in the ranks, or perhaps an influential coach.
To show you the difference between a feature game story and a profile, here is an example of a real-life personality profile opening of the same rugby coach Tevita Koloi:
He stood on the bridge, pondering how everything in his life had gone wrong. After several years of depression, disappointment, abuse and separation, he had reached the end of his rope and was ready to end it all. He closed his eyes, readying himself to take this irreversible step. At that very moment, he heard a seemingly innocuous noise from below, "Beep-beep! Beep-beep!" He opened his eyes and reached into his pocket for his phone, intending to read this message before he went forward with his tragic plan. The words he read, sent from an acquaintance he was not even particularly close to, shocked him out of his stupor: "Jesus loves you. He will never leave you. Receive His love."
The story then proceeds to describe his battle with depression and suicide, and how he used the same thing that saved him, text messaging, to help others in the sports world.
4. Season Preview and Wrap-up Stories
Every sportswriter needs season previews and wrap-up stories in their collection. These stories are published while the coaches and their teams are preparing for the upcoming season, or after the season has ended—whether in victory or in defeat.
These stories take a bird's eye view of the season: they normally share the expectations that coaches and players have, or how they feel at the end of a season.
A fictional example of a lead for this kind of story is:
Coach Sandy Miller has high hopes for the Bannerview High School women's volleyball team this year. With the Royals being the county champions last year, led by dynamic team captain Serena Delgado, who continues to lead the team this year as a senior. "We believe she'll bring the team to greater heights this year," Coach Miller says.
