Sports Writing

Brianna Amat was a yearbook editor, homecoming queen, and game-winning field goal kicker at Pinckney High School in Pinckney, Mich., in 2010.

Sadly, the year that Brianna Amat made history was one of the years that we didn't have a school paper. Talk about a missed opportunity. Furthermore, she didn't want an entire spread in the yearbook because she was the editor and was tired of all of the coverage.

For the record, she's brilliant, funny and a team player. It was never about her; she always deflected the attention to her teammates. If you don't know her story, she kicked a 34 yard winning field goal against the team ranked 7th in the state on the night she was crowned homecoming queen.

Now that my eyes have been opened to the importance of having a school newspaper, I'm kind of sad that an event like this was covered by news reporters from around the world but not by her own school. As a yearbook adviser, I worry about getting one story, 10 or more good pictures, and scores for the season. As a newspaper adviser, I realize that daily coverage will have to happen.

I'm beginning to see that the new journalism class and yearbook will need to work hand-in-hand. Interestingly, when I came to the school there was a strong rivalry between the two. They were run by two different "types" of kids: Journalism kids were "trendy" and yearbook kids were "pom girls." Yearbook has become more diverse since then, but I still need to recruit from across the board.

I think it may help yearbook to have daily records of game outcomes. So often students will tell me they can't get scores from coaches, and I have to hold yearbook pages. The other positive is that I might be able to get more males on staff with a "more sports writing" pitch.

It's going to be quite a journey.

Kathryn Burkholder
Pinckney High School
Pinckney, Mich.