I want to cover the footballs, the basketballs. I want to cover the popular sports, the ones that make the headlines on ESPN.
But it's quite amazing what you may find when you decide to step out of your comfort zone and cover something that you may not have wanted to initially. I've found both of those in softball and women's tennis.
Women's sports did not get that much coverage in The Pendulum at the beginning of this semester. And for that, I feel bad. If my goal is to give you guys the best in Phoenix sports, I feel that means to cover all of them. Have we done a poor job of it? You tell me.
One thing that I was really excited about was our softball season preview. Assistant sports editor Adam Lawson did a great job, writing stories on the O'Shea sisters, new head coach Kathy Bocock and the incoming freshmen as well as a season preview. I hope whoever follows in my stead continues to do that and find great stories like Adam did.
Something that we've found a way to work in, especially late this semester, are stories on the women's tennis team. We did a story near the beginning of the season on sophomore doubles duo Frida Jansaker and Jordan Johnston, but mostly had briefs about the team.
Then I did a story on head coach Elizabeth Anderson, who scored her 100th career win when the Phoenix blanked Wofford 7-0 April 1. In talking to the players about their coach, I saw a light in their eyes about their coach that I don't know if I conveyed in the article. The players LOVE Anderson. Then in talking to Anderson, I saw a genuine humility in her words and her tone that was nice to see. In a sports world where athletes often have an "above it all" attitude, Anderson was refreshing.
Elon athletes seems to have a way to be humble. I've seen it in sophomore men's basketball guard Jack Isenbarger. When he was named to the all-Southern Conference second team, he said, "“It feels good, but it’s a result of hard work. It goes to show that the coaches have really helped improve my game individually and the other players.” I've seen it in football linebackers coach Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay, who, in my interview with him a few days after he got hired, had a very "glad to be here, humbled by it" attitude. He hadn't even cracked open game plans for opponents yet. Soccer senior midfielder Drew Gardner and head coach Darren Powell had high praise for the maturity and lead-by-example attitude displayed by senior midfielder James Carroll.
It's quite cool to see it in the softball arena too. I interviewed junior infielder Ali Ford after last weekend's series against Appalachian State University. When she was told she was going to be interviewed about softball, she seemed shocked and asked, "Me?"
It's awesome to find these great people in a world like sports where things are often very different. That's why I love my job and thank God for the great opportunities He's blessed me with. Is it stressful at times? Sure. But if it wasn't, what good would the experience be?