tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7344579064725733088.post4227255255625602067..comments2013-06-05T13:37:20.187-07:00Comments on Kzoo Narrative: 75 years of pressureAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682133113272367148noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7344579064725733088.post-38534402573812902592013-06-05T13:37:20.187-07:002013-06-05T13:37:20.187-07:00It's a very comprehensive and well-researched ...It's a very comprehensive and well-researched profile. I was especially impressed with your use of historical facts in addition to outside media. It's refreshing to see a purely sports-based profile, not only because it hasn't really been done in the class, but because you manage to intertwine the technical and psychological struggles of the team. I agree with Brian in that you should attempt to get some quotes from Mark Riley, and maybe some from a broader sample of the team, but this is a great framework.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04132454276081442309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7344579064725733088.post-32550425442132879442013-06-05T12:28:04.642-07:002013-06-05T12:28:04.642-07:00I thought that did a great job of really cementing...I thought that did a great job of really cementing how important this streak is. The way that you captured quotations from the players and gave historical context (like the Fred Perry reference) help the reader to realize what an accomplishment this really is. I also really appreciated the way that you moved on from talking about just the streak, to talking about recent NCAA struggles, especially for a program that has been historically excellent in national competition. <br /><br />With all that being said, I thought that you could do a few things to strengthen the piece. Getting quotations from Mark Riley would be incredibly helpful, as he was a former player here when they had national success, and as current coach. I'm not sure how you could do this, but getting quotations from former players would also help to give the reader a little context into what the mentality was like back in those days for the tennis program. Finally, finding out what lead to the program slipping from national relevance would help to explain how the program may try to do the things that you mentioned in order to become relevant (nationally) once again. Overall, I think that this is a really interesting piece and that you have a really solid framework to go from. I'm glad that someone finally did a sports piece as I'm super interested in this kind of thing. Nice job dude! Brian Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09724633455247311674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7344579064725733088.post-58412718500833914992013-06-05T11:29:21.142-07:002013-06-05T11:29:21.142-07:00Danny,
I know NOTHING about our sports teams here...Danny,<br /><br />I know NOTHING about our sports teams here (or anywhere else for that matter) and I usually do not read sports articles. But this was fantastic! I really enjoyed learning about our tennis team and its immense legacy. I remember hearing snippets of how we needed Hope to win, and your article helped me to understand why that win was so crucial.<br /><br />I'm telling you, I'm not much of a sports person so it's pretty impressive that your article kept my attention. I think you presented the information in an informative and clear way-- a way that non sports fans could follow and not feel overwhelmed or confused. I also think you did a good job showing how unappreciated the tennis team is--poor guys. I hope they all eventually get to read your article because it shows how much pressure they have to be winners, but with little recognition from the student body.<br /><br />My main critique of this profile is that I feel like the story-telling aspect is missing from it. I think if you included comments on what the pressure feels like for the students and the coaches, or if there's any resentment from the tennis players toward their dismissive classmates, or how hollow that bus ride back from Calvin was, it could draw the readers in even more.<br /><br /><br />Great work and I'm excited to see what you do with it!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00790505716228767947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7344579064725733088.post-44188201736003088052013-06-05T09:45:08.528-07:002013-06-05T09:45:08.528-07:00Danny,
It’s clear you did a really great job repo...Danny,<br /><br />It’s clear you did a really great job reporting. The article was very informative and connected the history of the tennis program to its current state/situation. Skippy and Peter gave you really good quotes, and going off one of Peter’s - “Do people here know about it [the streak]? I don’t even know who knows about it.” -- I would be interested to see what students on campus actually know about the tennis team and their successful history. It might be worth following up on.<br /><br />I thought including the DIII tennis guy quote was a good move, and also a good discovery in terms of reporting. It kind of left me wanting to know more -- maybe one more comment that he made about the team. Also, I think it may be interesting to get a little bit of the coach’s perspective in all of this -- maybe about recruiting, but you could also get his reaction from the blog comments.<br /><br />I think you lede work as is, but it may be interesting to open in scene. I was thinking maybe starting with the car ride home from their Calvin loss -- maybe get some more details from Peter and Skippy or go back through your notes and try to re-create that car ride with all of the disappointment and fear that coincides with breaking the streak. Overall, you did an excellent job. Really good first draft!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03518700240665674405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7344579064725733088.post-67120747392673787552013-06-04T17:25:32.743-07:002013-06-04T17:25:32.743-07:00Daniel,
So if I'm being honest, I was sort o...Daniel, <br /><br />So if I'm being honest, I was sort of unfazed when you pitched your story in class. I felt like I've heard so much about tennis at K. But I was so wrong. I was blown away by your story. I still have shivers from this quote: “The streak began when they were still using wooden rackets,” said Rothstein. “This was before World War 2.” [!!!!!!!!!!!] That's insane. I cannot believe how little the school acknowledges the team's achievements! But I also can because of my lame initial reaction. <br /><br />I think you did an extremely strong job grounding the reader in the immensity of the streak and the lack of recognition. I learned a lot from your piece. But I think bumping up the more narrative aspects (what do the players look like? can we see them playing in action?) would really enhance the piece. Thanks for teaching me about our tennis team!Hannah Dalyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11529895698511253097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7344579064725733088.post-40023676443780058932013-06-04T17:24:05.032-07:002013-06-04T17:24:05.032-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Hannah Dalyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11529895698511253097noreply@blogger.com