What a game!... ?

      Weather- it always seems as though it never cooperates, and today was especially a great example for students of Write On Sports. What was supposed to be a fun day to watch the NJ Jackals turned out to be a day of literally being soaked because of a storm that was blown out of proportion. Besides the wacky weather, WOS still had fun, as well as other camps who were there to watch the "supposed-to-be" game. Also, the writing camp got the opportunity to interview the coaches of the team.
       Ponchos, umbrellas, you name it, everyone who attended got drenched either way. Luckily, WOS squished under a tent the entire time once finished interviewing the coaches. Both the coaches and students got the opportunity to share some information as well as ask a lot of questions. The NJ Jackals have a series of different age groups and cultures, and Kristie Keleshian got to ask if there were any teams a majority of the team is a fan of, but because of the fact that there are so many different people who are not local to the tri-state area, there isn't one, surprisingly. "We've got players from all over," mentioned the pitching coach. This New Jersey team seems to be a big melting pot for not only different cultures, but different ages as well. There are many veterans, as well as a lot of rookies and they all help each other just like a group of students in a classroom, as the pitching coach would compare. 
      All in all, this was a great day, with music old, yet timeless, music that helped make this environment even more fun than it already was. 

NJ JACKALS!

Even though it's been my third year here in Write On Sports, I have always enjoyed going to watch the Jackals game with my friends. Baseball may be the last thing on my mind, but going to this game has always been fun, even though the weather doesn't cooperate... anyway, I hope the new comers enjoy their time on Write On Sports! Especially the game tomorrow!

Wings Were Given to the Redbulls

        The NY Metrostars Redbulls were practicing as usual when the Write on Sports camp came to absorb some general knowledge and history about the team. The camp got to interview two players Luke Sassano,#32 (USA) and Danleigh Borman, #11 (South Africa). The assistant coach Richie Williams was also interviewed as well as assistants to the team itself. Having such a big achievement for the team to leap from last place in the league to second place, was the big talk of the town amongst these youngsters who were interviewing. To Sassano, the achievement seemed to be "Unbelievable" in his opinion, which, of course, is a fact.. that is a great accomplishment! According to the two assistants to the team (Kristine and Kate)what was really a big impact on the team that made it jolt to second place was the fact that their field has changed, making a big difference with practice. 

         So, what about this new name? What about all this diversity on the team? Who was the hardest competitor? Well, as a matter of fact, the new name didn't really cause any effect to the team, 

"We were a little scared that Redbull, was going to sell more cans instead of.. soccer", stated Kristine. Though, the fans viewed it at a different angle. It was not very easy for them to get used to the new change, though it was something for them to deal with.  Diversity on the team- it was something quite unique about the team. In fact, one of the players on the team from New Zealand actually played on the World Cup! 

"It is very interesting, actually. But everyone knows the language of soccer", explained assistant coach, Richie Williams once he was asked how the diversity of the team affected his coaching. Borman was also asked about the hardest competitor for the team to play against. In his opinion, it was actually Barcelona. In the assistant's (Kristine) opinion, the hardest team for the Redbulls to go against was Colombus Crew. Well, if you were to ask ANYBODY on the team, there will be a sea of different opinions.

        It may have been a torturous hot day for the camp to go outside, but it was a great day no matter what! The camp got to know so much about the professional soccer team as well as get their opinions about the World Cup (They all preferred Spain). 

-Kristie Keleshian

A Day of Inspiration

For a group of students willing to participate in a camp all about sports writing, a form of journalism, having both a journalist, AND a sports player come in on the same day was an exciting day of interviewing and note taking. Write on Sports, is a sports writing camp doing their work in Montclair State University with students from West Orange public schools. The two guests coming in today for the students to speak to the students were Jenny Vrentas (a beat writer for the Jets) and Bruce Harper, a former Jets football player. Students, like myself, got to ask questions about the guests' lives and careers.

Having the current media all about the internet and less about print, Vrentas was asked if the new change was to break or make her career.

"It's a little overwhelming, I would admit", answered the new journalist. Sure it is, with all this Twitter, Blogs, and all that jazz. Jenny started as a blogger for The Star Ledger in 2007 and is currently beat writing for the Jets.

Bruce Harper was a big football player in the 70's and 80's for the Jets and the veteran came today to speak to the students as well. I have asked him if there were any other sports he was interested in while in school.

"Track and field", stated Harper,"because I already had some natural speed, but to run, it helped me learn how to run better and build speed." His kind and inspiring quotes are too much to list, though these two guests were greatly inspiring for these young journalists.