The conference room fell silent today as Bill Beck finished interviewing marathon runner Justin Gillette. He had opened the floor to the campers – young journalists about to give their first interviews – and it took a moment of staring at one another and leafing through their prepared questions.
Then a hand shot up.
“David Rodriguez,” the camper said, announcing himself, “Write on Sports.”
Rodriguez directed a question to Gillette about how he prepares for running. Another student soon followed with a question to Gillette about his inspirations.
Gillette was quick with his responses. This is his third time at Write on Sports. He’s been interviewed at the camp every year since it started in 2013.
It was evident he was enjoying himself. Despite having to bring his two-year old daughter to the interview, Gillette stayed over an hour, feeding campers packets of high-calorie marathon gel and demonstrating his stretching routine.
“I like people,” he said, “I like to talk.”
A third question was directed to Bill Beck, veteran sports reporter for the Elkhart Truth and member of the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame. Beck shared the “Do’s” (know your audience) and “Don’ts” (don’t be afraid to ask a tough question) with the students, along with details about deadlines.
While Beck typically has less than an hour two turn out a game report, the students took two hours to prepare their first spot stories. As the camp progresses, the deadlines will shorten.
Check out the campers’ first posts on the Student Blog 2015.