West Orange Student Sports Writers Meet Eric LeGrand At Summer Camp

WEST ORANGE, NJ — West Orange student writers got a chance to practice what they love last month during the annual “Write On Sports” Oranges summer journalism camp for middle school students.

The annual event, which aims to “facilitate literacy and love of writing,” was held from July 5 to 15 at Montclair State University, and included West Orange students from Edison, Liberty and Roosevelt Middle Schools.

According to school administrators, 34 students participated in the 2016 camp, which was founded in 2005 by Byron Yake, a West Orange resident and former Associated Press News Bureau Chief.

Since the program’s inception, more than 900 students have completed the camp, school administrators said.

In addition to the Oranges and Newark camps for New Jersey students, the program operates at WoS Rhode Island, WoS Goshen (IN), WoS Bridgeport (CT), WoS Monmouth University and WoS Roselle Catholic.

Here’s how the program works, according to organizers:

“In the course of two weeks, students hone their writing skills by penning sports stories. A guest journalist and guest athlete visit the camp and model an interview. Then, the students get the opportunity to ask their own questions and create a blog post based on the responses they get.”

This year’s event featured former Rutgers football player and current analyst Eric LeGrand, who discussed how everyday tasks have changed for him since he was paralyzed.

“Whatever I’m doing, broadcast or therapy, as long I lay my head my pillow knowing I’ve given it the best that I’ve got, I’m happy,” noted LeGrand.

Other guests during the two-week program included Duane Morgan, a former West Orange High School basketball player who played in Argentina last season, and Lance Wigfall, the head track coach at East Orange Campus High School.

Participating students also attended a New Jersey Jackals game at Yogi Berra Stadium and interviewed three Jackals pitchers before the game started, school administrators stated.

Photos: Cynthia Cumming / Evan Easterling

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