I have been doing a little more than just making bottles, feeding the baby, and changing diapers. In fact, I’ve been out working the past two Saturdays. Each week I covered a soccer game, first a sectional final and then a regional final, both times covering the same team.
They won each time (apparently the curse of me covering a team and them losing has lifted) so it was fun to follow them, start to see patterns in their play, and have a better idea of how to frame my story the second week. In fact, my editor said the story I wrote this past week was probably the best I’ve written for him. It was also fun for the coach to recognize me and thank me for coming out the second week.
I’m headed out again this Saturday to follow the same team as they play in semi-state, which is the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 of Indiana high school soccer. They will not be favored in their first game, but should they pull the upset, I’ll get to watch them play twice on Saturday. Fortunately, this time the games are only about 10 minutes from my house, rather than the hour I’ve had to drive the past two weeks.
It looks like I’ll continue to get some Saturday assignments in the next few weeks, as long as teams from Johnson County continue to advance in the fall sports playoffs. And my editor has already asked if I’m up for being a regular basketball writer when that season rolls around. So, slowly but surely, I’m becoming a more regular sports writer.