This week I read an article from the New York Times written by Meghan Moravick Walbert. Titled, “Odds Are, Your Sport-Playing Child Isn’t Going Pro. Now What?”, this article explains that 26% of parents of student athletes are depending on their child to go professional with their career, even though only less than 1% of players really make it.
High school sports of all kinds are known to require loads of time, commitment, and hard work. The number of people who say the work is not worth it for those who do not make it big is surprising.
As far as the front page of a paper or the nightly news broadcast goes, this story is not necessarily “newsworthy.” On the other hand, anyone who is, has been, or knows a hard-working, student athlete will be able to connect to this story and the point it is trying to prove.
The lead to this story is informational without giving away too much, and makes the reader want to continue by hinting at answers that will be provided within the text. The article itself is not something that is relevant to everyone, but is of much interest to the projected audience.
The breaking down of the tiny percentages of young athletes who get athletic scholarships, end up playing a sport professionally, and eventually make it big time is a harsh realization to face. The amount of time, work, and sweat that is put into the sport seems worth it when working towards said scholarship or dream of playing professionally; however, is it still worth it after accepting the reality of statistics and just playing for fun? Especially when that money, work, and time has the opportunity to be invested in something else.
link to original article: http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/09/08/odds-are-your-sport-playing-child-isnt-going-pro-now-what/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=U.S.&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs®ion=Body
I do like the lead. It provides the main finding–parental dreams of sports fame are
misguided–which allows me to be informed even if I stop reading.
This is a good example of reporting statistical information in a way that will make
sense. The numbers are clear without being overwhelming. One thing that doesn’t
work here is audience. The story notes that it is mostly less educated parents who
have the greatest hopes for their children. Those people need this information,
but are not likely to be NYT readers.
In your news comments, Courtney, give more emphasis to discussing the news
article and a bit less to the situation that led to the story.