In the beginning of pitching ideas for my enterprise story, I knew I wanted my story to be centered around athletics because that is where much of my knowledge and passion are found. I knew it would be easier to invest myself in a topic that I knew a lot about or had the motivation to learn more about, so I decided to write about UYSA. Growing up in Utah Youth Soccer was beneficial in teaching me life skills and in helping me learn to deal with adversity.
Upon gathering information for my story from previous coaches and the Utah Youth Soccer website, I was able to get in touch with individuals from the admin side of UYSA, and then eventually able to go to the new UYSA headquarters and interview a few different people. I reconnected with a previous soccer trainer who had coached girls and worked on the administrative side of UYSA.
I started my interviews asking each person their job title and how they had gotten to their current position. I asked about previous jobs and positions, and about their families. I went further into depth on the benefits of sports for adolescence. After the interviews, I reviewed my notes and was able to create a story. The best source for my story ended up being the man who had trained my team and other girls teams, and who also worked in administration for UYSA.
The struggles I faced were mostly in getting interviews and keeping my story to the word limit. How could I include the details I wanted and the details I needed, while also identifying the material I needed to take out? All while telling a story, intriguing readers, and fitting within the word limit.
I chose the focus of my story when I listened to my interviews and decided what would be interesting to readers of all types, and what wouldn’t be interesting. I also really wanted to tell a good story, so I had to find a point of view where I could story tell, while still being able to keep inline with my story topic. The writing process was lengthy, and the story ended up extensively exceeding the word limit. I then had to delete any parts that were not necessary, or that did not point back to the story pitch. It was a process of writing a story that would be both interesting and informative to readers, while at the same time telling a story well. I learned that I am much more of a story writer than a news writer but that it is beneficial to add brevity to whatever I’m writing.
Looking back, I am very surprised with where my story ended up going. It ended up being a feature story about a specific person and an organization. I learned much about UYSA through my interview with Bruce but also about Bruce as a person. I was able to attain life wisdom as well as coaching wisdom for young athletes and the parents of athletes.
For my story click here.
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