The SNO Report: Covering Sports On Your Site

As the calendar flips to October, fall sports season is hitting its stride. That means every game has higher stakes and the postseason is right around the corner, if not already here for some.

So, there’s a lot to cover. What could you be doing?

Previews and gamers

Some teams play so frequently — volleyball, for example — that it’s hard to keep up with previewing upcoming games and writing recaps afterward.

Other sports — football — setup perfectly for you to schedule coverage around its one game each week — and football can be quite a readership draw. Preview the upcoming football game every week to offer readers a perspective on what’s happened earlier this season and what’s coming. With postseason play coming up, do this with other sports, too.

Then, get out and cover those things. Take notes of important plays and game trends, interview the coaches and players afterward and write up a recap.

Being at the games helps you improve your coverage and allows you to find extra coverage you wouldn’t otherwise.

Weekly athlete features

Here’s a piece of new content, produce weekly, that you can count on — and that your readers can count on. It may also be a good chance to use the Side-by-Side story page template, too.

Photo galleries

Send someone with a camera to as many sporting events as possible and have them produce a gallery from the game, whether it’s standing on its own or as a part of a story package.

Live blogging

Here’s an idea. It’s so easy to update your articles, so create the shell of one for, “Live updates from (insert game here)” and have a reporter updating it throughout an event with a play-by-play or occasional observations.

You could end up with something like this.

Tweeting

Live tweeting updates from a game is about the same as a live blog. Reporters should have Twitter accounts or access to an official publication Twitter account to send out updates from a game.

Also, use Twitter on your site that displays a feed where readers can find your live tweets. It’s popular to display your own, but when you have a sports page, why not use the school’s athletic account to maximize the information your readers can get there?

Live videos and recaps

Use video to recap games, especially if you have a broadcast program, but you may also use video to be a resource for your readers who can’t be at the game. Help by streaming the games live.

Scores and schedules

Use our Sports Center add-on to publish schedules for the season, update them with the final scores as the season progresses, and even list the rosters for your teams.

Even if you don’t have the add-on, use the SNO Sports Score Scroller widget to add and display a ticker of recent sports results for your school.