Sports Journalism
By Lars Anderson
In the sports track we tried to replicate the job of the sportswriter—and have fun while doing it! We covered a "game" by staging a bowling tournament at Leland Lanes. After the first round of the tournament, we held a mock press conference with the four finalists; we also had a final press conference with the winner. The students then wrote a story about the tournament.
The next day I reviewed, in detail, several SI cover stories I've written in the past with the students—explaining everything from how the story originated to the reporting methodology to the structure of the writing. We then discussed interviewing techniques, and reviewed good questions to ask when a reporter is interviewing a subject for a profile. The students then put these newly-acquired skills to use by interviewing a classmate and then writing a quick profile. We didn't have time to do much editing on these pieces, but the first drafts revealed that these students have talent!
By Gerica McFolley
Sitting in a hallway outside of a sports journalism class I interviewed Katie Jackson. I expected this interview to be short and sweet but it was far from that.
I started off with my first of 20 questions by asking, “ What do you like to do in your free time?” she excitedly answered, “sleeping, eating, and hanging with her friends.”
Unlike most people her favorite food was fruit. “I like all types of fruit” she responded, “Except raspberries, they are so nasty”.
Katie enjoys living in her middle class home of Auburn, Alabama, but don’t expect this girl to shout “War Eagle!” during football season, Katie is a proud Georgia Fan. “Go Dawgs!”
She proudly told me that she wants to go to University of Georgia after high school. She plans on perusing to becoming a sports broadcaster or an athletic trainer. Katie was born October 20, 1997 in Alabama Medical Center, although she appears to mainly be African-American but she is 1/4th Native American and 3/4ths African-American.
“My great grandmother’s husband is Native American.”
When asked what her pet peeves were she quickly answered, “ When people are rude and they talk smack.” Katie works as a babysitter the most children she’s had to monitor were a total of 6, from ages 3-6. Her parents Veronica and Tony Jackson have been married for 23 years. Her mother Veronica Jackson is a media specialist at Smiths Station High School, which is also where I attend school. Her father Tony Jackson is an eighth grade math teacher. Victoria Jackson, Katie’s older sister a have been very violent towards each other.
“We used to fight a lot, she used to hate me,” Jackson said. “My mom heard her say she hated me so she took all of our clothes and put it in the guest room of our house and made us stay in there with only one bed for a year. ”
Both of her parents were the first people in their families to successfully complete college. “My parents started from nothing,” Katie explained. “They have been through a lot, they are my heroes”.
On Sunday, Nov. 30, 2014, Katie and her family all gathered back into the car for a long, two-hour drive back home after visiting her grandmother Irene Jackson at her home. When Katie was in the car she realized that she forgot to say bye to her 61-year-old grandmother but was relived by the fact that she would be seeing her again next week. On Dec. 2, 2014, Irene Jackson failed to breathe while sleeping and passed away. Throughout the hard times and the good times Katie continues to be a phenomenal ideal of a Christian.
By Jordan Hutchinson
A quiet mind occupies the body of seventeen-year-old Mountain Brook High School student Will Davis. He keeps to himself, many people not knowing the deep voice that follows the occasional word. Anyone who saw Davis would think he was tired or just not interested when, in fact, he is passionate about one thing in particular.
"I love to write because it gives me a place to express myself freely,” Davis said.
Davis is into sports journalism, but his hero is not any athlete.
“My hero is my mom. She is really nice and inspirational,” Davis said with a glint in his eye, as if he loved to talk about the subject to anyone that would listen.
However, Davis does keep some subjects to himself.
“I like to keep my personal stuff personal because there is a difference in what the public should know and what I should know,” Davis said.
Davis doesn’t currently earn trophies for sports as he doesn’t participate in any, but he does win awards for his sports writing. He won first place in the on-site sports writing competition at the ASPA state spring convention.
Davis’ outlook on his life is different from most. Most would say their greatest moment was when they did well at a recital or got the final bucket to win a basketball game.
Davis, however, hesitated as if drawing a blank, then said, “The greatest day will be in the future. I haven’t had the greatest day of my life yet,”— a perfect quote that has probably been brewing in his mind for years, waiting to finally have the chance to surface.
In the sports track we tried to replicate the job of the sportswriter—and have fun while doing it! We covered a "game" by staging a bowling tournament at Leland Lanes. After the first round of the tournament, we held a mock press conference with the four finalists; we also had a final press conference with the winner. The students then wrote a story about the tournament.
The next day I reviewed, in detail, several SI cover stories I've written in the past with the students—explaining everything from how the story originated to the reporting methodology to the structure of the writing. We then discussed interviewing techniques, and reviewed good questions to ask when a reporter is interviewing a subject for a profile. The students then put these newly-acquired skills to use by interviewing a classmate and then writing a quick profile. We didn't have time to do much editing on these pieces, but the first drafts revealed that these students have talent!
By Gerica McFolley
Sitting in a hallway outside of a sports journalism class I interviewed Katie Jackson. I expected this interview to be short and sweet but it was far from that.
I started off with my first of 20 questions by asking, “ What do you like to do in your free time?” she excitedly answered, “sleeping, eating, and hanging with her friends.”
Unlike most people her favorite food was fruit. “I like all types of fruit” she responded, “Except raspberries, they are so nasty”.
Katie enjoys living in her middle class home of Auburn, Alabama, but don’t expect this girl to shout “War Eagle!” during football season, Katie is a proud Georgia Fan. “Go Dawgs!”
She proudly told me that she wants to go to University of Georgia after high school. She plans on perusing to becoming a sports broadcaster or an athletic trainer. Katie was born October 20, 1997 in Alabama Medical Center, although she appears to mainly be African-American but she is 1/4th Native American and 3/4ths African-American.
“My great grandmother’s husband is Native American.”
When asked what her pet peeves were she quickly answered, “ When people are rude and they talk smack.” Katie works as a babysitter the most children she’s had to monitor were a total of 6, from ages 3-6. Her parents Veronica and Tony Jackson have been married for 23 years. Her mother Veronica Jackson is a media specialist at Smiths Station High School, which is also where I attend school. Her father Tony Jackson is an eighth grade math teacher. Victoria Jackson, Katie’s older sister a have been very violent towards each other.
“We used to fight a lot, she used to hate me,” Jackson said. “My mom heard her say she hated me so she took all of our clothes and put it in the guest room of our house and made us stay in there with only one bed for a year. ”
Both of her parents were the first people in their families to successfully complete college. “My parents started from nothing,” Katie explained. “They have been through a lot, they are my heroes”.
On Sunday, Nov. 30, 2014, Katie and her family all gathered back into the car for a long, two-hour drive back home after visiting her grandmother Irene Jackson at her home. When Katie was in the car she realized that she forgot to say bye to her 61-year-old grandmother but was relived by the fact that she would be seeing her again next week. On Dec. 2, 2014, Irene Jackson failed to breathe while sleeping and passed away. Throughout the hard times and the good times Katie continues to be a phenomenal ideal of a Christian.
By Jordan Hutchinson
A quiet mind occupies the body of seventeen-year-old Mountain Brook High School student Will Davis. He keeps to himself, many people not knowing the deep voice that follows the occasional word. Anyone who saw Davis would think he was tired or just not interested when, in fact, he is passionate about one thing in particular.
"I love to write because it gives me a place to express myself freely,” Davis said.
Davis is into sports journalism, but his hero is not any athlete.
“My hero is my mom. She is really nice and inspirational,” Davis said with a glint in his eye, as if he loved to talk about the subject to anyone that would listen.
However, Davis does keep some subjects to himself.
“I like to keep my personal stuff personal because there is a difference in what the public should know and what I should know,” Davis said.
Davis doesn’t currently earn trophies for sports as he doesn’t participate in any, but he does win awards for his sports writing. He won first place in the on-site sports writing competition at the ASPA state spring convention.
Davis’ outlook on his life is different from most. Most would say their greatest moment was when they did well at a recital or got the final bucket to win a basketball game.
Davis, however, hesitated as if drawing a blank, then said, “The greatest day will be in the future. I haven’t had the greatest day of my life yet,”— a perfect quote that has probably been brewing in his mind for years, waiting to finally have the chance to surface.
By Andrew Coleman
Tayla Sims is a fourteen-year-old girl from Birmingham, Alabama. Her parents are Tiffany Sims and Mike McDaniels. Sims also has a grandmother whom she cherishes very much, citing that she pushes her to do better. They work hard to make sure she lives a comfortable, simple life by going to school, being with family and friends and playing sports, especially basketball.
Born an only child and without a pet, Sims made a plethora of friends early in order to socialize and have fun. She met these friends by playing sports at school and joining teams. Like her, they were athletic and shared many of the same interests such as the WNBA. Sims' favorite sports memory is when Candice Parker was drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks.
Sims plans to attend college. As of now, she is deciding between the University of Michigan and Berea University. For a career, she is considering entertainment broadcast, sports journalism or law, all of which she is equally passionate about.
Sims' favorite quote? “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard,” by Kevin Durant. tThis quote is fitting for Sims considering she is one the hardest working athletes I have met.
By Will Davis
Despite being from a small town, her drive is anything but small. Gabi Jolly, from China Grove, North Carolina (population 4,170) is an avid tennis player and an intense competitor. She’s already experienced championship success and is now looking for more.
Jolly, 15, began playing tennis three years ago. She recalls one of the defining moments of her entire life occurring right before her seventh-grade year when she tried out for the middle school tennis team.
“I realized I wanted to play tennis before my seventh-grade year,” Jolly said. “Originally, I was just going to do it to play a sport, and when I tried out for the team the coach told me to stick with it because I had talent.”
Despite being a novice to the sport, Jolly had an immediate impact on the program’s run to the state title that year. Entering the finals of the doubles championship, Carson Middle School, Jolly’s school, needed a victory in one more set to capture the state title. In a highly contested championship match, Jolly made one of the biggest plays in the history of the program to win the match. As the ball found the way to Jolly, she calmly hit it over the net, low onto the other side of the court. The opposing player turned her racket to try and hit it underhand, but the ball aimlessly fell to the ground. Jolly’s team had won the title. She had found her niche.
Since that moment, Jolly has worked to improve her skills and hopes that more championships are in store for her and the teams she plays on.
“I put everything I have into the game, and I always try to work on my weak points to put my team in the best position to win,” Jolly said.
As Jolly spoke, she smiled just like she had just won the match of her life. She can’t wait to get back on the court.
By Tayla Sims
Allow me to introduce you to Andrew Coleman.
Andrew is a half Romanian 16-year-old student from Los Angeles, CA. He is the son of Mark and Rubina Coleman. He was born and raised in Southern California. He moved to South Carolina for two years and moved to Los Angeles last year.
Andrew has a soon to be 21- year-old sister who is an upcoming senior at the University of Alabama and he has a Maltese Terrier named Toby. Andrew Coleman loves to shop, hang out with friends, and to hike. He has a passion for making friends simply because when he lived in South Carolina he lived in an environment to make friends. Coleman lives a modern life in California, which is kind of rare in Los Angeles.
Coleman has major aspirations to either be a journalist, marketer, or a businessman. If he chooses one of these professions, he wants them to be fun and have a lot of travel included with them. Coleman also has a fear of choosing the wrong college. He says if he ever chose a college it would most likely be in Southern Cali, but he is currently considering Alabama too.Andrew doesn’t have any mentors besides his parents but he does look up to Tom Daley (diver).
The greatest moment Coleman recalled in his life was an 8th grade trip to Boston with his classmates. The quote Andrew Coleman lives by is “ Whatever you are be a good one.”
Allow me to introduce you to Andrew Coleman.
Andrew is a half Romanian 16-year-old student from Los Angeles, CA. He is the son of Mark and Rubina Coleman. He was born and raised in Southern California. He moved to South Carolina for two years and moved to Los Angeles last year.
Andrew has a soon to be 21- year-old sister who is an upcoming senior at the University of Alabama and he has a Maltese Terrier named Toby. Andrew Coleman loves to shop, hang out with friends, and to hike. He has a passion for making friends simply because when he lived in South Carolina he lived in an environment to make friends. Coleman lives a modern life in California, which is kind of rare in Los Angeles.
Coleman has major aspirations to either be a journalist, marketer, or a businessman. If he chooses one of these professions, he wants them to be fun and have a lot of travel included with them. Coleman also has a fear of choosing the wrong college. He says if he ever chose a college it would most likely be in Southern Cali, but he is currently considering Alabama too.Andrew doesn’t have any mentors besides his parents but he does look up to Tom Daley (diver).
The greatest moment Coleman recalled in his life was an 8th grade trip to Boston with his classmates. The quote Andrew Coleman lives by is “ Whatever you are be a good one.”
By Katie Jackson
She’s just a small town girl, living in a lonely world. She took the midnight train going anywhere. Gerica McFolley is from a small town called Smiths’s Station in Alabama of roughly 5,000 people.
“I am an only child,” she said. “I used to hate it because it can get lonely, but I’ve grown to love the many benefits such as getting whatever I want.”
She is the product of Jennifer Murphy and George McFolley, who never eloped, but both play a huge part in her life an molding her into the beautiful, yet shy person she is today. T
This is the story about “just Erica with a G,” a young African-American, Christian, middle-class girl who some may describe as a homebody, a TV-holic, or even a text-a-holic really has more to her story. At age 16 she does not believe she can honestly say she has had the best day of her life yet, but she can vividly remember the worst day. The day her grandma, Nora, waved her white flag in the battle to lung cancer after a year of fighting.
“I just want to be successful, I don’t know what I want to do when I grow up, but I want to be able to buy my mom a car."
Her mom, Jennifer Murphy, is her biggest inspiration. Murphy has overcome many obstacles in life and McFolley feels like her mother has sacrificed many things to make a better life for her.
“I had a dog for a day, the day was perfect,” McFolley said. “She was well behaved and potty trained, but when my OCD step-dad found out a dirty white dog was sitting on his white carpet the wraths came down and the dog went back.”