Journalism in the Classroom
Football
By Christopher Stephenson
Hi, my name is Christopher Stephenson. Today I’m going to be talking about my favorite sport, football. First, let’s talk about why it’s my favorite sport. One reason I like football is because it teaches teamwork, it toughens you up, and it also teaches you how to be responsible. Now you might be asking, how is that possible? Well you must show up to practice on time every day, you must keep your side of the field protected from the defense, and there are so many more reasons that football teaches you responsibility. Football shows all the team members how to work together and how to achieve a certain goal. It also supports, because if you aren’t friends with your teammates, then the team will have poor communication.
Football is a sport that has been around for a long time, it was founded in 1920. It has had large changes made in the league. For example, the helmets didn’t have face masks, making the game so much more dangerous. Football has many, many dangers. It can cause brain damage from the constant colliding and if you get hit too hard, you can get knocked out or even break a bone. Football is a dangerous sport.
Football has many great things about it, as well as many family things. For example, you can get your family together and have a Super Bowl party, or even just go outside and throw the ball around. Football brings you and your family closer; it brings you close to your friends if you go outside and play a full game with them. If you are good at the game, then you may have a future career in football by going to the NFL. Football brings so many opportunities, like the NFL or scholarships out of high school, and depending on your skill level, you can go so much farther with a career in football. For all of these reasons, that’s why football is my favorite sport.
Golf
By Raleigh Moore
When I think of golf I think of patience, persistence, and simply talent. A lot of people think as golf as a game/sport and that it is mainly so that old people can play it. If you think about the sport though, you might start to realize that it’s fun for all ages including you! Personally, I think that I don’t have half that talent or patience that golf players have. For me golf is a game that really lasts like HOURS!!! I mean mainly all you’re doing is just grabbing a metal stick and pushing a ball as far as you can to get it in a hole, then boom either you’ve wasted hours just to not win or either you win and then the game is over and you are sweaty and tired … maybe you are but that’s not the point.
No, not everyone may love this sport and or fantasize about it like others, but if I HAD to play the sport I would try to get a feel for what it is before I claim or assume that it’s a boring and horrible sport. For example, I love cheer and gymnastics; however I wouldn’t make anyone love it, but they can’t say they don’t like it if they’ve never tried it. There was a time in my life when most of my friends liked and played the sport softball or baseball and, well, they still do but, when I noticed that they were playing that and that it was all they were talking about, I became a little left out. That day I went home and decided to tell my parents that I wanted to play a sport and that I wanted to play softball. They bought me the stuff for softball and then my dad and I would practice in the backyard almost every afternoon after school. At the beginning of trying this sport I found it very difficult and wanted to give up until I got better. After I got better, I didn’t dislike it anymore — I started loving it. After a while I got good at it, but I didn’t really want to try out, so I kept the sport to myself and just kind of played it for fun.
What I’m trying to say is that what happened was that I never liked the sport, but I was only assuming that because I had never played it before. After I tried playing the sport, I found interest in it. But never force yourself to like the sport just because your friends are playing it. Do what makes you happy and if you don’t like a sport that your friends like, then it probably won’t be the first difference between all of you. People need to start loving themselves for who they are, whether it’s loving to travel, playing like five sports at a time, or whether it’s taking care of animals. Be yourself and live life to the fullest!
Sports
By Jariah Hawkins
This month’s topic is about golf and other sports so here are some sports that might interest you: basketball, soccer, golf, football, tennis, hockey, baseball, cheer, and more. I’m going to tell you how to play a few sports I listed if’n you’re interested. I’m starting with football so first is the scoring, not scoring over ten yards in four downs, fumbling or dropping the football and the defensive team recovers it, throwing the football to a defensive player for an interception, punting or kicking the football to the defensive team, missing a field goal, and getting tackled in the end zone for a safety. To be a drafted into the NFL, a player must be three years out of high school. That means a player must be at least have a high school diploma before entering the NFL. The NFL also wants players who have a little maturity and experience under their belt and requires players to spend time playing college football. Now that I’ve told you a little bit about football, if this interests you, you probably should practice and then follow your dreams and you might get there.
But now I’m going to tell you how to play basketball and the requirements. So first the player must bounce, or dribble, the ball with one hand while moving both feet, the basketball player can only take one turn at dribbling, the ball must stay in bounds, and the player’s hand must be on top of the ball while dribbling. And now I’m going to tell you the requirements for basketball. First they must have a team-first attitude, they must be able to control the ball, they must have a high basketball IQ, they must know where everyone should be during set plays, and they must have great passing skills. If this sport interests you, you should practice if you don’t know how to play and then try out, and if you don’t make it the first time, try again.
Now I’m going to tell you how to play hockey. First try ice skating, buy hockey skates, practice your skating, purchase a hockey stick (or two), a helmet, and the rest of your protective gear, sign up for hockey lessons, go to “stick and puck” sessions to work on your skills, and then start looking for a league to join. I’m going to tell you the requirements for hockey so first you need a hockey stick — your hockey stick is like your weapon on the battlefield. You need shoes and the type of shoes you should be wearing depends on the type of surface you are going to play on. You also need a mouth guard, shin guards, socks and rash guards, a stick bag, electrical tape, and grip. If you think you could do well at this sport or would want to see if you are good, try out but start small.
A Trip to the Golf Course
By Allison Gibson
It was a sunny day out and I had no school. I was really bored and was wanting to do something fun. My mother came in my room and asked me if I wanted to go to the golf course. I had never been there before and was not sure I wanted to go. I was scared to go to the golf course because I thought someone would hit me with a ball, but I told my parents that I wanted to go anyway just to get out of the house. We loaded up the golf clubs on my dad’s truck and then left. Once we arrived we went to the clubhouse and paid for a round of golf and a cart. The person at the desk was super nice and gave me a few golf tips when I told her I had never played golf before. We left the clubhouse and we played the first hole. It was really fun but I didn’t get the ball close to the hole. We played for an hour and I had no luck, but I still didn’t give up.
We ended up at the clubhouse after the first nine holes and got lunch. I ate a sandwich and some chips and it was good because at that point I was hungry. After lunch we went back to the course to finish up our game. We had nine holes left to go and I didn’t make any on the first or second try. I went up again and YAY! I got it in on the third try on a Par 5! My mom and dad were proud, and I was proud of myself. Even though that was the only time that day that I did that I still did pretty well — it was one of the best days that I can’t forget. I didn’t get hit by a ball and I was over my fear of the golf course.
After that day I signed up for the golf team in my community and learned a lot about golf and came to love the game. I made the high school Golf Team and I played all through high school. I got a scholarship to Florida Southern University for golf. Now I am on the LPGA tour and doing great at it. The thing is if you’re afraid to try new things you might not find what makes you happy. Before golf I was always afraid to play because I let my fears get in the way, but I had a feeling that I should just try it and maybe I will like it. When I was young I never saw myself where I am now, but I’m enjoying life and playing golf for a living. Always follow your dreams and never give up.
