Lady Rocket head coach Shelby Lightfoot rushes to celebrate with Megan Dunn after connecting on the game-winning, walk-off RBI single in the Class 2A sectional against Huntingdon. (Post Photo by Chris Siers)
Colyn Schillig slides safely into second as the first base runner of the game against Cascade. (Post Photo by Chris Siers)
The Marshall County Tigers kept their historic season rolling, beating Lawrence County 1-0 with the game-winning goal by Henry Velasquez. (Submitted Photo)
I’ve been doing working sports beats for about 15 years now and come September of this year, will mark my 14th year living in Tennessee.
I think it’s safe to say, I’ve seen everything the industry can throw at a work force and seen just about everything on the court or field.
This is a trying job, given the changes the industry has faced over the past 20 years.
It’s hard to really pinpoint why the industry has seen such an erosion over the years and my only realization hascome to the fact there are AI-driven game-recaps through just about every sport out there and there’s an exponentially more amount of cameras taking photos.
Certainly more people capturing images isn’t a bad thing and for a non-professional reference, an AI recap of a game really isn’t, either.
But there’s something about what we do covering local sports that goes beyond all that.
There’s a level of pride I can take in taking a photo of a player sliding safely across home plate and celebrating with his brother on the team, or a coach giving a fist bump to a player as he rounds third after smashing a home run, or talking to a coach after a game and getting the emotions of a win against your backyard ri
Rocket head coach Andy Burkett lets out a roar of emotion after Forrest took a 2-0 lead on a Kason Fuller two RBI single in the third against Stewart County in the Class 2A state sectional. (Post Photo by Chris Siers)
val.
I’m not going to lie, between balancing a full-time job, covering Bedford County schools and Marshall County schools for two separate newspapers—it’s been a lot.
But what keeps me going is at the end of the day, I live for the emotions.
I want to capture the raw emotions of a great play or a celebration. That’s what we do.
And ironically, doing all that and covering so many teams and players at once is really what makes me feel alive on the beat.
Back during the Spring Fling, I think I covered what was arguably the busiest day I’ve ever had on a sports beat.
I picked up my media credential at the SportsCom first thing in the morning, rushed to my apartment to get my camera, made a 30 minute trek to Stewarts Creek for baseball, left there and made another 30 minute trek to the Starplex softball fields to cover two different softball games at once, left there and made a 15 minute trek to the Adams Tennis Complex to cover a player in the state individual tournament, left there and went home to work on those stories, only to leave a few hours later and make a return trip back to Stewarts Creek for more baseball before finally closing the day at the Siegel Soccer Complex for a state championship soccer match.
When I say I was tired—y’all, I was tired.
But as gassed as I was in that moment once I got home, it gave me the rush of what makes this job fun.
When I sat down to write this column, I went back and revisited some of the best images we captured this spring and wanted to connect them all in one spot.
I’m sure as time marches on, we’ll only see more challenges and hurdles in the industry, but one thing is for certain, I’ll be out there ready to meet th
Aden Kirby delivers a pitch against Summertown. (Post Photo by Chris Siers)
em head on.
For now, it’s time to take a step back, catch our breath and focus on the creative side of covering sports.
We’re always on the lookout for feature stories and I’ve got a great list of local features we’ll be pursuing in the coming weeks.
Chris Siers is sports editor of the Marshall County Post. Email him at csiers@bedfordcountypost.com.
