Staff report
Nick Beggs has joined the sports staff at The Pee Dee Post and PeeDeePost.com as a part-time sports clerk. That makes his department staff total … one.
The online startup that launched April 28 brought on the Richmond Senior High School sophomore last week. He was recommended as a potential candidate by Cathy Keys, RSHS journalism teacher. Beggs’ first assignment was interviewing finishers on the Farmers Day 5K on Saturday in Ellerbe.
Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com
Nick Beggs interviews former Raider and current Miami Dolphins linebacker Dannell Ellerbe on Wednesday in Rockingham.
On Wednesday, the 15-year-old Rockingham — whose favorite sport is football — interviewed Dannell Ellerbe of the Miami Dolphins. Ellerbe is in town for the week to celebrate Thanksgiving and his Nov. 29 birthday with family. Ellerbe took time out Wednesday to fund and help distribute 85 meals to senior residents.
Beggs will be taught how to cover and report on area sporting events, likely beginning at the middle school or rec league levels.
“At those levels, the pace of the game moves much slower,” said Kevin Spradlin, Post managing editor. “This will help him learn how to keep game statistics in a low-pressure environment. And since he handled the interview with Dannell Ellerbe pretty easily, I’m not worried about him performing under pressure.”
Beggs said his first two attempts at post-event interviews have “definitely been more fun than I had expected. The difference between interviewing Dannell and the 5K winners Saturday in Ellerbe was that when I was interviewing Dannell, I could feel more pressure. It wasn’t too much pressure or anything, but you definitely don’t want to make a starting linebacker in the NFL mad.”
Beggs is a fan of the game but roots for the Pittsburgh Steelers. His favorite player is Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
“My best friend and I picked them to follow when we were 6 years old,” Beggs explained. “I always stuck with them.”
In basketball, he prefers the L.A. Lakers with Kobe Bryant and in baseball the Washington Nationals with pitcher Stephen Strasburg. Beggs aspires to be an NFL analyst someday.
“Sports writing,” Beggs said, “is definitely in the path of that.”
Beggs also will learn about writing on deadline and producing not just written reports but, as time passes, photos and video highlights as well.
“The Post was able to cover middle school football this season better than Richmond County fans have seen the recent history,” Spradlin said, “but we were lacking in other middle school sports and varsity sports coverage. If Nick sticks with it, by the time the 2015 fall sports season begins, we should be able to do much, much better.”
The Pee Dee Post is a free digital newspaper available at PeeDeePost.com. The online news and sports information site serves Richmond County and the surrounding areas and draws an average of 46,496 unique visitors each month.
