Working for InCrowd

Welcome to this introduction of myself to the InCrowdSports team. Covering live sport has been a passion I’ve realised since the age of barely 10 years old, when I reported on matches I watched on terrestrial television. That has turned in to a long career in a range of sports.

After seeing your advert for a Freelance Editor: UEFA, I have put the following notes together.

So why am I here?

I have recently left my full-time role as editor of Love Rugby League, a website I set up at the age of 17 and ran for nearly 18 years. It was told to Planet Sport in 2017 and I have been employed by them since. Throughout all those years, I have worked on a range of other projects, including running the official Carling Cup website (including doing live text commentary on match nights), managing media for several professional clubs (including live tweeting, match reporting and more) and digital strategies for brands.

My passion for sport meant I always wanted to be a sports journalist, and while the landscape has changed significantly from when I was growing up, my life remains revolved around sport.

Stat Attack

Over the years, I have attended more than 1,500 games – many of which in a working capacity – across nine different sports at more than 200 different venues. Top:

Football 492
Rugby league 769
Basketball 109
Ice Hockey 120

And of course many more watched on TV or online!

Football, football, football

I am fascinated by all levels of football. I have a blog covering football in Menorca (menorcafootball.com) and took in the first weekend of the season in Portugal, where I saw newly promoted SC Farense lose to Casa Pia (Farense will do well to stay up!). Naturally, I follow the Premier League and English teams exploits in Europe, but I have always had a soft spot for Serie A having grown up in the Football Italia era.

This is EXACTLY what I was after. I have to say I’m pleasantly surprised as the last time I tried a writer I didn’t know I had a few “issues” with them but you clearly got the brief here.Oliver Brett

I pride myself on my professionalism – one supporter of a club I covered once described me as “fan first, expert second, professional always” – one of my favourite compliments.

For more than 10 years, I have been running the media and marketing operation of my local club, Warrington Town FC, including covering all games home and away on social media, match reports and live audio commentary.

Getting the story

I have vast experience of covering live events in a professional, entertaining and resourceful way.

Here’s a highlight:

The clip got picked up and featured on Soccer AM.

When your shot is so bad that it breaks someone's window 🙃🙃🙃 pic.twitter.com/M6lFm4g3mf

— Soccer AM (@SoccerAM) October 17, 2018

A big story that came from me last year was about Warrington goalkeeper Tony Thompson, sent off after confronting a fan who urinated in his water bottle.

I was the only reporter at the game, the story originated from my live tweets and my post-match interviews; and it meant I got a front page spread in Non League Paper and it was picked up by a range of national outlets – including BBC, Daily Mail, SportBible and The Sun.

See the article on BBC.

Some of the publications I have covered football for:

Teamtalk
Planet Football
Carling Cup
Non League Paper
Warrington Guardian
Liverpool Echo

James has exceptional knowledge of the sports and media landscape.Simon Howes

Backing myself

Experience of working in digital content
Familiarity with covering live events
An excellent standard of written English
An excellent knowledge of European football
Computer literacy, with including thorough particular confidence with Windows OS
Meticulous attention to detail and good judgement
Capacity to take on instructions
Ability to work in a high-pressure, live in-game environment
Creativity, flexibility and self-motivation
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
Exceptional time-management
Enthusiasm for social media platforms

We can trust that they will deliver quality content, on time, meaning a seamless experience for our audience.Anthony Jepson

Twitter love

I am most active on Twitter, @jdgsport, where I enjoy the interaction with football and rugby league fans particularly – even if some of the recent changes by Elon are less enjoyable!