Michael Crouchley Interview

As a college student, there are many things to look forward to. At Dayton, maybe it's the first Kettering Wrap of the semester. Maybe it's the first home basketball game or the first nice Saturday of the Spring. Regardless of these small celebrations, almost every college student looks forward to getting a good job after graduation in an industry that fascinates them.

Michael Crouchley (who surely had some college-themed celebrations) took up an interest in sports writing and made it his career. The 2020 University of Dayton grad found his calling while working at Flyer News as a sports editor. After searching for a job in the spring of 2020 (perhaps one of the most bizarre couple of months in recent history), Crouchley found a home at The Seneca Journal, a local newspaper located in (you guessed it) Seneca, South Carolina. Covering both high school and Clemson sports, Crouchley turned what was once a hobby, into a career.

​Michael Crouchley via Twitter.com

Crouchley spoke to my sports writing class to share some perspectives about joining the field, and his experience after about 16 months working in the real world.

Having the unique ability to cover both Clemson and high school sports, he has very different ways of approaching athletes and coaches for information. One thing Crouchley has found that helps him is to "go about things like a person that is interested.” This makes sense. If you "keep things as a dialogue" Crouchley adds, "instead of someone who is searching for things" it helps tremendously.

One thing that stands out is how Crouchley had to learn how to be confident and know what he wants. We asked Crouchley what it's like walking through the Clemson campus as a reporter. "Walking around the football facility, you don't really run into Dabo Swinney (head football coach at Clemson University)." Crouchley explains that "you have to make yourself comfortable". There is a lot that goes into getting information. With the popularity of Clemson athletics, there are hundreds, if not thousands of people wanting access or information. Not everyone wants to talk to reporters every second of every day. The key to effective sports reporting, Crouchley explains, is "I don't always want every conversation I have with someone to be digging for information.”

This makes me think of Ted Lasso. If you haven't seen Ted Lasso, steal your friend's AppleTV password and watch it right now. In the show, Ted Lasso is an American football coach who gets hired to coach an English Premier League soccer team. There are multiple scenes when Coach Lasso is in press conferences, and there is even an entire episode devoted to a sports reporter writing a feature story on Lasso. Reporter Trent Crimm, known for writing rather scathing stories, begins by asking typical reporting questions in his typical pitiless delivery. He quickly finds that Lasso is no ordinary coach giving ordinary textbook answers. I won't spoil the show (even though it is criminal to not have seen Ted Lasso yet), but Crimm has to adjust his approach and develop a relationship with Coach Lasso to get everything he needs for a good story.

Trent Crimm and Ted Lasso in season one of AppleTV's Ted Lasso

Of course, we asked Crouchley for the best advice he could give a young student looking to pursue journalism and sports writing. There was one word that kept floating around my head while he was sharing.

Experience

"If you are serious about wanting to be a sports journalist, you should be writing for Flyer News" Crouchley shared. With writing, there is a sense of freedom. As a reporter, it is up to you to figure out how the story will be shared. The more that you can write, the better. Crouchley receives about one assignment a week. "If you're just writing exactly what you are assigned you're only gonna get one story a week, and my editor is gonna get pretty mad at me," Crouchley explained.

If there is anything I can highlight about this conversation, it is this.

Experience matters. Write as much as you can for whatever you can. Start a blog, practice interviewing random people, and get comfortable talking to people. If you want to turn your hobby into your job, go out and do it. Work hard, get experience, get your name out there. You never know who may read your work.

Also, watch Ted Lasso.

A huge special thanks to Michael Crouchley from The Secena Journal for taking time out of his day to share with us.

Make sure you stay tuned for more content soon with more special guests, more sports, and more stories coming to From The Student Section!