Meet Another Girl Who Digs Sports

Apryl DeLancey is another blogger who writes for Women Love Sports. I stumbled onto her blog last week and after a few e-mail exchanges, I gathered some information about her for an interview.

Here’s a Q&A with Apryl about why she loves sports, what sports she enjoys playing, and how she got involved in writing about sports. Drop by her blog when you get a moment and leave a comment, it’s worth checking out!

How long would you say you’ve been an avid sports fan? Is this something that started in childhood?
I’ve always been an avid sports fan. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t follow sports.

Where do you think this love for sport began?
I generally give my father the credit. I was naturally athletic and full of energy so he threw the football/baseball with me out in front of the house since I can remember. We always had the Dodgers, Lakers, or Rams/Raiders on the television at home as well.

What are your favorite sports to follow?
All of them! I really love all sports and follow just about everything.

What sports have you participated in throughout your life?
When I was in grade school, I played football with the boys. I was involved in track, swimming, and basketball as well. I was also big with all the board sports, roller skates/inline skating, and anything in the water.

What organized sports have you been involved with?
I’ve been involved with football, basketball, track, and swimming. I was an organized scuba instructor’s assistant for quite a while in college also if that counts.

What do you continue to play today? Which are your favorite sports to participate in? Today, I mostly golf but do board sports when I can and skate. I’m also big on just throwing the football or shooting baskets.

How did you become involved in writing about sports?
My sports writing just sort of evolved from some editing work I was doing and other opportunities blossomed from there.

What sites/publications have you/do you write for?
I’ve written sports for two different “social networking” type blogs here and here, and another blog that covers just about everything. Now, I maintain my personal sports blog called “Women Like Sports,” contribute to Bag Chatter on Golf WRX, write high school and localized sports for a South Orange County, CA publication, and do freelance sports coverage for other print and online sources. I’m also the “team journalist” for the Southern California Breakers, a women’s professional football team.

Is sports writing a hobby, a job, or a dream for you?
It would really be all three. It’s the dream hobby that pays for some of the jobs that I do.

What qualifications/education do you have for writing in general?
Interestingly enough, my college degrees are not in the liberal or creative arts at all. I have an undergraduate degree with a double major of chemistry and marine science. I even almost got a minor in math but realized what a dork I was and that I didn’t need to be in college forever. My master’s degree is in biomedical science with a thesis that covered statistics, genetics, biochemistry, and pharmacology. Even so, I’ve entered and won essay contests since my first year of college and have published in scientific journals. I guess you could say that I’m the math/science nerd that can write. I always had a knack for grammar, spelling, and structure.

What is the most challenging thing for you about writing for a sports-themed blog?
The most challenging thing is settling on what to cover. I often refer to myself as having sports ADD.

Do you often experience burnout, writer’s block, or plain lack of motivation?
I never have a block, quite the opposite actually and I’ve got material planned for days (sometimes weeks) in advance. I am sometimes more motivated to go to the driving range or something but always find the desire to write somehow.

What would you tell young people that aspire to become sports writers?
What sort of advice would you give them?
If you aspire then so do it. Make sure you don’t let others dictate what you do. Other than that, a love of sports and writing helps out! I also think it’s important for people not to sell themselves short.