About ten days ago, my son, Will heard that the West Point, MS newspaper needed a sports reporter. Last Monday, he called the editor of the newspaper and set an interview. The next day, he drove to West Point and interviewed with the editor of the
Daily Times Leader (DTL), telling him of his desire to cover high school sports for the newspaper. Not having a portfolio, the editor of the paper told Will that he would give him a trial run and pay him a certain amount per game.
This past Friday, Will arrived in Columbus at Victory Christian Academy to cover the Victory Christian - Hebron Christian School eight man football game. He approached the gate with his camera and notepad, turned to the person in the ticket booth and said, "Will Nations, Daily Times Leader, here to cover the game" and in he went.
The field though small and dimly lit was home to a fairly high scoring event. Will reported that the fans and parents were very friendly and that they were very happy and surprised to have a reporter at an away game. While much different from the 6A and 5A MHSAA, 11 man football that he is used to, Will reported that the teams played hard and that he gained great respect for 8 man football.
He is having fun with this and we pray that he is able to continue. Being that this was his first story for the
DTL, he really didn't know what to expect. He emailed in his story and photos to the editor and waited to see what was published. When the paper came out, he called excitedly and let his parents know that the story had been printed along with the above photo of the coach and player standing side by side. He said that everything looked good but the paper had kind of messed up the headline. The headline he had turned in was something like, "Eagles Soar Over Victory". The headline that was printed in the newspaper just below the photo of the coach and player and just above his story read as follows: "
Jameson To Wed Hannah"!!
Friday night will be here soon and the lights on football fields across Mississippi will shine down onto the green grass and turf. Fans will fill the stands, cheerleaders will jump about, the band will play the school fight song and somewhere out there in the Clay County area, Reporter, Will Nations will cover the game.
