Editors' Note: Former and current editors, columnists and reporters of The Dartmouth Sports section from the Class of 2009 were asked to reflect on their experience with Dartmouth sports during the last four years.
This probably sounds really corny to most people, but I can distinctly remember the rush I got when I wrote my very first article for The Dartmouth. It was an 800-word recap of a men's golf tournament at Yale in New Haven, Conn. I wanted more than anything to make sure that I didn't screw up anything in the article, especially the writing style (yes, The Dartmouth has its own writing style).
But the prospect of conducting interviews with the players and coaches was the thing that got me most tense. Heck, I was just a lowly freshman calling up people I'd never met and peppering them with questions about why they lost a varsity golf match.
So I nervously called up a couple of the players and the head coach. I was expecting to get a few quotes on the team not playing up to its potential, wishing the guys had made fewer mistakes on the day.
But it was better than that. Instead I endured a lengthier conversation with the coach about a scoring mishap that resulted in the disqualification of one of the Dartmouth competitors. The coach wasn't happy, and I could tell. Needless to say, it made for some good color material in the article.
"Man," I thought to myself that night in 2005, "This whole sports writing gig might not be so bad after all."
Since then, being a member of The Dartmouth's Sports section as a writer and editor has given me a great vantage point to experience Dartmouth's sports scene. I've been able to follow almost every varsity program, and have had the the opportunity to learn more about the eclectic mix of club and intramural sports that pervade the campus. I've interviewed countless students athletes, coaches and administrators (I even got to interview Houston Astros catcher Brad Ausmus '91 my freshman fall but that's another story). I got to improve my writing and reporting skills, and these things have come in handy both inside and outside of school.
I can't really point to one Dartmouth sports moment as the thing' that defined my time with The Dartmouth. What I'm really going to remember is the personal interactions. I got to talk to countless numbers of people, and each story is different. Just meeting a varsity athlete and talking to him or her for a few minutes goes a long way toward understanding what he or she does and how that (usually) differs from a lot of the preconceived notions attached to the term varsity athlete.'
The Dartmouth has been an integral part of my Dartmouth experience. At times it was awesome other times it was frustrating. But I'm glad I stuck with it.
