Youth Sports Reporter

About the role

NJ.com is seeking a self-motivated Youth Sports Reporter to build a first-of-its-kind coverage area for our high school sports team: New Jersey youth and travel sports. In this newly created role, you will expand our reporting beyond high school athletes and into the world of youth sports — covering athletes as young as 6 and up to high school age across every sport and every corner of the state. This is a chance to help make NJ.com one of the only major media organizations in the country with a dedicated youth sports beat, reaching an entirely new audience of parents, coaches, and young athletes.

We're looking for someone who thrives on building something from the ground up: someone who can develop a wide network of contacts across travel programs and tournaments, turn that network into a steady stream of recaps, rankings, and roundups, and spot the bigger stories — injury trends, scandals, tech innovations — shaping youth sports today. Live-streaming opportunities are also a major part of this beat, giving parents access to games they can't find anywhere else online.

Responsibilities

• Cover youth and travel sports athletes (ages 6 to 14) across every sport statewide.
• Recap major tournaments, highlight top performers, and compile rankings on a regular basis.
• Report on the broader youth sports landscape, including injury trends, scandals, and tech innovations.
• Build and maintain a network of contacts across travel programs and tournaments who supply game and tournament roundups.
• Help drive subscriptions by publishing the names and performances of hundreds of youth athletes across the state.
• Identify and pursue live-streaming opportunities for youth sporting events not currently available anywhere else online.
• Work collaboratively with the high school sports team to build out this coverage area from scratch.
• Engage with our audiences, as needed, on social media platforms.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in journalism, communications, or an equivalent combination of education and work experience.
• A minimum of 3 years of relevant experience.
• A self-starter excited to build a brand-new beat from the ground up.
• Strong reporting and writing skills, with the ability to produce both quick-hit recaps and longer features.
• An ability to develop sources and relationships with travel program organizers, coaches, and tournament directors.
• Familiarity with the New Jersey youth and travel sports landscape, or the ability to learn it quickly.
• An ability to work independently under tight deadlines while juggling a wide range of sports and age groups.
• Comfort with live-streaming tools and technology, or a willingness to learn.

This role will require reliable transportation to attend games, tournaments, and events across the state, and will include night and weekend hours.

Pay

The base salary range for this role is $65,000-$75,000 annually.