Does one need a journalism degree to get into sports journalism?

[ColdCat]

got there with an English degree taking no journalism classes at all. My major focused more on English and American Lit and writing courses.
Of course now I'm more worried about what to do with an English degree once you start running out of options in journalism.

 

[Versatile]

A more important question: Why do you do poorly in English classes?

Excellent question. If one is going to be writing every day, then, obviously, command of the language is a must.

You haven't met our writers.

 

[HanSenSE]

A more important question: Why do you do poorly in English classes?

Excellent question. If one is going to be writing every day, then, obviously, command of the language is a must.

You haven't met our writers.

I've met ours. I'm sure there's some crossbreeding.

 

[Stitch]

I honestly haven't written enough in that setting to say whether I love it. I have a desire to see if I enjoy it. I do have plenty of people I can talk to about writing things considering that is what my dad does for a living. I am going to go into this experience with an open mind, if I like it, sweet. If I love it, then maybe I have some thinking to do. If I hate it, well it was worth a shot.

I'm actually going to be covering the Tennessee Titans and Vanderbilt Commodores. That worked out pretty well for me since I would be following them for my own interests anyways. I was kinda floored because I didn't expect to be getting a chance to talk about something I am interested in for a job in a sense.

This actually makes me mad. You haven't done anything really in journalism and yet you get gifted with two great beats that I'm sure many longtime journalists would love to have. Nepotism, folks. The gift that keeps on giving.

Doodah, you can always have the Williston State College beat.

 

[Dougggggg]

The reason I have struggled in English classes can probably simply be because I was a lazy student. It wasn't until I started taking college level math that I started actually caring about school. I did get away with my general lack of effort in many other subjects. I was always at the top of my math and science courses regardless of whether or not I tried. The only English class I have taken in college I did make a B+ in by getting English majors to proof read my papers. Grammar is usually my downfall, though I am working on it. I always get an English major to proof read my papers even for other classes. I think with some honest concentration and effort I can write a lot better than I ever have for school. I just always received poor grades in high school English classes because I was lazy but got fairly good grades in other courses anyway. That doing poorly convinced me that I must just simply suck at English classes. In reality, it was my lack of understanding what putting effort into something actually means.

I'm sorry to have made you mad doodah, this kind of thing happens everywhere it seems though. I do hope your anger is directed towards the way things are and not towards me, I didn't have any control over that whole process whatsoever. Sometimes people get lucky. It's the way of the beast. I couldn't see myself declining this simply because I got lucky. That would be silly. If I am I not good enough at doing journalism then I won't be doing it long anyway.

I should mention while I do not know the ins and outs of being a journalist, I know the game of football on and off the field better than I know myself. I have always been a big fan of the game and was considering going into coaching for a while. In fact, that is still my backup plan if I don't end up continuing to do math. I understand so much of the strategical part of the game. I was obsessed with it for so long and it really is the same kind of thinking as the mathematics that I do these days. This might be arrogance pushed to an unhealthy extreme, but I honestly think, given a lot of effort and an opportunity, I could be a decent head coach at even a FBS level. In my honest opinion, even at the NFL level.

Is there any good places on the web that can give me at least the foundations of being a journalist that one could link me to? If not, I'm sure I could ask my dad for any advice on writing I need since he has been doing it his whole life and is obsessed with his job. I should go ahead and give him more credit than anyone for me getting this chance. It is working with someone he himself used to work with and so really it is his hard work that is paying off even for me.

 

[93Devil]

Get the the math degree. Get the math degree. Did I mention you should get the math degree?

Add on a teaching cert so you can teach high school match and coach football if you would like doing that.

Call up any local paper in town and see if they need stringers for anything. Ask the editor to take you under their wing and teach you the basics of journalism, and read as many sports sports gamers as possible.