Its always been my dream

I’m an aspiring sports writer; I’m a senior in high school and all I have ever wanted to do is to write about the sports that I love. I would appreciate it if any of you could just give me some info that really helped you out on your road to where you are today. Thanks for the help.

 

Spell check. Go back and do it now before the jackals arrive.

 

My thought exactly, dixie.

 

Thanks I was in a hurry,

 

Just a question ... why do you want to be a sports writer?

 

Keep the hounds at bay...for a while.

 

This is important, kiddo, because if you love sports more than you love writing, you need to find a different dream.

 

Ask yourself this: Do you love sports or do you love to write? You better love both. The novelty of covering games and talking with the participants can wear off if you want to do it for the wrong reasons i.e. "fanboy" reasons. If you're curious about the way sports operate - not just on the field, but the politics of league and conference structures, contract negotiations, recruiting, NCAA bylaws, etc., then this can be fulfilling. If you just want to shake T.O.'s hand or tell your friends you asked Coach K. a question in a press conference, not so much.

 

Run far, far away.

 

as a former sports writer now in law school my advice is one word: read.

to be specific, you need to be reading good sports writing. get old copies of best american sports writing. go on line and read several sports sections a day. you'll see what's good and what isn't and you'll develop some favorites who will be must reads. it should go without saying that if you stick to reading espn, si and the other majors you'll be doing yourself a huge disservice. a lot of talented writers work at newspapers and everyone is now on line.

 

I'm in the same situation as the poster of this thread. I'm a high school senior with tons of experience, but not sure what the next step should be. The major question right now is what college to go to. I'm applying to all the major journalism schools, but it is really that much more beneficial to be coming out of a Syracuse or Missouri as opposed to a smaller journalism school? I'm an East Coast guy with a lot of great schools in my area, but if it truly is beneficial to come out of big-time school, I'm not afraid to go to a Missouri or a Northwestern.

As for some questions posed above, yes I know that this is the business for me. I've always loved sports, but I also love writing about them. I've at this point written a little bit about everything, ranging from high school cross country to college basketball to the NFL. Any advice anyone can share on the best colleges to go to, the best ways to land internships, or just some facts on the business, would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks