Applications Open! Enroll for Summer 2027 at 2026 Tuition Pricing Until Sept 30
Write and film sports reports and highlights in this 3-week media program for high school students on UT Austin’s campus.
Rated 4.6 out of 5 for course experience by students surveyed across the broader program in 2026.
Instructor:
Course Description
A strong sports report does more than recap a result. It identifies the story, writes for the ear, and uses delivery and images to hold an audience’s attention. Students study the role of sports media before practicing the writing, speaking, listening, and production skills involved in anchoring and reporting.
Writing workshops focus on attention-grabbing scripts and clear highlights. Students create mock live shots and filmed reports, then review how verbal and nonverbal cues affect credibility and likability. The course also emphasizes inclusive coverage across sports, cultures, genders, levels, and abilities, asking students to consider which stories receive attention and how they are framed.
A reporting experience at Dell Diamond moves the work into a live sports setting. Guest speakers and professional feedback help students evaluate scripts, on-camera presence, and editorial choices. Repeated filmed assignments give them material to revise and a clearer understanding of the preparation behind broadcast performance. The finished reports and highlights demonstrate both written storytelling and on-camera execution.
This three-week course takes place at UT Austin. The course is available to residential and commuter students. Beyond class, students connect focused academic work with campus life, growing independence, and clearer direction about what students may want to study or pursue next. The program is developed by the University of Texas at Austin and offered in partnership with Summer Discovery.
What Will You Do?
• Analyze the role, responsibilities, and storytelling choices of sports media
• Write attention-grabbing broadcast scripts and highlight copy
• Film mock live shots, reports, and sports-highlight segments
• Evaluate verbal and nonverbal cues that shape credibility
• Report from Dell Diamond and apply professional newsroom expectations
• Revise filmed work using feedback from an industry professional
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Write concise sports-broadcast scripts with a clear angle and audience focus
• Produce and deliver mock live reports and highlight segments
• Evaluate how editorial, verbal, visual, and nonverbal choices affect credibility
Students will leave with filmed reports and highlights, stronger broadcast-writing and presentation skills, and clearer direction for further study or careers in journalism, media, and production.
Students receive a University of Texas branded certificate of completion at the end of the program.
Why Sports Media Skills Matter
Sports media combines journalism, performance, and production. A reporter must identify the most useful angle, verify details, write concise language, and deliver it naturally under time constraints. Watching a recording reveals how pacing, emphasis, body language, and framing affect whether the audience trusts and follows the story.
Feedback makes these skills improve. Students learn to separate a useful editorial note from personal preference and revise both script and delivery. Inclusive story selection adds another layer by asking whose experiences are represented. These habits support journalism, communications, media production, marketing, public relations, and any role where accurate information must become an engaging public message.
Who Should Attend?
This course is for high school students who have completed 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade and are interested in sports, journalism, broadcasting, storytelling, video, or on-camera communication. It suits students who want to understand the work behind a sports segment and practice both writing and delivery.
Participants should be ready to write frequently, speak on camera, listen closely, film assignments, accept direct feedback, and revise scripts or performance choices. A computer or laptop is required for notes and submitting assignments. Applicants must also complete the program application.
Why UT Austin?
Studying on UT Austin’s Forty Acres campus gives high-school students a substantive introduction to academic life in Austin, Texas. Courses draw from popular undergraduate fields and Austin specialties. Full-day academies offer concentrated study, while classes across the program take place in campus classrooms and laboratories and may include guest speakers and fieldwork around Austin.
The experience extends beyond class for both residential and commuting students. Residential students live in Jester Hall, eat at J2, a popular campus dining hall, and take part in activities that may range from a star party at PMA to time at Gregory Gym, Zilker Park, South Congress, or an Austin FC match. Students gain independence, meet peers, and leave with a clearer view of college life, possible directions for future study, and what it can feel like to be a Longhorn.
UT Austin Certificate of Completion
After successfully finishing this course, you will be awarded a certification completion for your accomplishment.
*This is a preview, not what you will receive