School has started and students are distance learning or in the classroom. Events are canceled or going virtual. What about sports? Team photos and action shots of students playing sports have historically made up a big part of the yearbook story in our pre-pandemic world.
Whether you’re on the team or not, school sports are a big part of our culture. Joining your friends under the Friday night lights to watch your school’s football team. Dancing with the cheerleaders as they amp up your team and spectators. Listening to the band play your school’s favorite fight songs. Watching athletes push themselves is inspirational to everyone, and a big part of everyone’s school experience, at least it was prior to COVID-19.
Though these typical experiences might not happen this year, it’s still important to cover our teams and what their experience looks like this year. We’ve gathered 3 unique sports spread ideas to get your (yearbook) team fired up.
Meet the Athletes
Instead of the typical action shots, create athlete profiles and ask them how they are staying in shape. You could create individual player cards with their position, and where they hope to play someday in college. Interview each player and find out how they are staying in shape, and what practices look like this year? Find out if they are being recruited, if so, how?
Connect with the Coaches
Any good athlete will tell you it takes more than a whistle to be a great coach. A great coach not only trains their team, but is a trustworthy mentor who guides them to be their very best. Create a profile for each teams coach(es). Find out what challenges they experienced with their teams this year and how they overcame it.
Calling All Sports Fans
How are sports fans supporting their team during this pandemic? If schools are having games, but no one is allowed to attend, find out if people are tuning in virtually to watch and chat with their friends online. How are the die-hard fans and cheerleaders still keeping the team spirit alive? You could even consider running a contest. Call on your sports fans to send in photos of how they are supporting your team this year.
Whether it’s photos of empty stands, or students cheering from home, don’t miss the opportunity to capture what sports looked like this year, and how your players, coaches, and fans made it work. They never give up, we shouldn’t either.
We hope this helps fuel your spirit for your 20-21 yearbook sports spreads. If you’re looking for more coverage ideas, check out this article on How to Capture 20-21 in the Yearbook.
