Media Day
When I started working at Gardiner Area High School there was a lack of engagement and involvement in the athletics at the school, especially coming out of COVID. I started a sports photography club which exploded and led to many different things. One of these things was offering our athletes the opportunity to have a college-style media day each sports season. Most of these athletes won’t continue playing after high school so this is was their only opportunity for something like this.
A lot goes into media day…
I start each one by planning and prepping what the shoots are going to look like. I would try to plan an engaging day for each athlete with multiple stations to keep them busy. This includes: Headshots, Full Body Shots, Interviews, and something additional (voting for superlatives, signing their names, slo-mo shots, etc.)
I contact each coach individually and schedule and organize their media day time. I oversee my students as they take photos and interact with coaches and athletes, while making sure everything runs smoothly.
I would then edit the photos and put together videos (meet the team, question of the day, etc). Social media stories and posts were crafted to engage the community throughout the season. We receive incredible feedback from the athletes and their families every season and I strive to try something new and get better with each one.
Sports Review
In a Sports Media class, students attended various fall sporting events to photograph events, they helped run the fall sports media day, and interviewed coaches and athletes to write articles covering the season.