Humanities › Issues

Tips for Writing 5 Types of Sports Stories

From Simple Game Stories to Columns
 Share
 Flipboard
 Email

Jupiterimages/Photolibrary/Getty Images

by Tony Rogers

Updated August 08, 2017

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 three 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 storyfeature 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.

Learn Something New Every Day

Discover surprising insights and little-known facts about politics, literature, science, and the
marvels of the natural world.

ONE-TAP SIGN UP
 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.

List
How to Become a Sportswriter


 Article
Here's a Guide to Writing a Short Game Story in Sports




List
What's the History of Sports?


 Article
Learn to Write Great Ledes for Feature Stories

Article
How Do You Write a Snappy and Succinct News Lede?


 List
Everything You Need to Know to Write Feature Stories


List
Swimmers Sports Psychology: Tips for Swimming

Article
Sports Writing as a Form of Creative Nonfiction


 Article
What is a Walk-On in College Basketball

Article
6 Tips for Writing About Live Events


 Article
Money Management For Sports Bettors

Article
How to Find Attention Grabbing Stories for Your School
Newspaper


 Article
Why You Should Understand Totals if You're Betting on Sports

List
Classic poems on themes of sports, athletics and competition


 List
5 Valuable Tips For Youth Football Coaches

Article
The Different Types of Fantasy Baseball