Philly Soccer Page Info

Help wanted at PSP

The Philly Soccer Page could use a few good volunteers.

Life has been busy for us. Guys have gotten married, had kids, and moved around the globe. Core PSP contributors who lived in or near Philadelphia when they started have now moved to California, Texas, upstate New York, or even Europe.

We need fresh blood closer to home to keep the Philly Soccer Page alive, healthy and part of the Philadelphia soccer community for years to come. That means new volunteers to write about soccer in the Philadelphia area. You may start by writing about one topic, such as the Ocean City Nor’easters, a south Jersey minor league club, but once you show your stuff and become a trusted part of our team, you could find yourself writing about anything from Philadelphia Union to the U.S. national teams.

If you’re interested, please email me at dwalsh@phillysoccerpage.com or contact us through our Contact page. Please send 1-3 writing samples of any kind, tell us a bit about your soccer background, and let us know what you want to write about.

Here is a list of what we could use, which you’ll also find on our Help Wanted page.

Openings

  • Bethlehem Steel FC writer

The writer would contribute to game day coverage of Bethlehem Steel FC by writing game recaps and other pieces about Bethlehem Steel FC, such as potentially a weekly or biweekly column. This is open to candidates who live in the Lehigh Valley and can attend home games, as well as those who would follow the team’s games via live stream on YouTube. (USL games are streamed online.) The writer would obtain press credentials through PSP and therefore have access to the club for interviews and the like. Likely 1 post per week.

  • Bethlehem Steel FC photographer

We could use a photographer to shoot Bethlehem Steel FC home games in South Bethlehem. You would be set up with press credentials so that you could shoot from the sidelines, much as our photographers do at Philadelphia Union games. If interested, please send a sample photo portfolio in place of written clips.

  • Social media support

We’re looking for someone to help with live-tweeting Philadelphia Union games on Twitter, as well as potentially handling other social media for PSP. It can be tough for the writer in the press box to also be live-tweeting while tracking the game for other purposes, so we’d like another set of eyes and hands. If this is something that interests you, let us know. (And yes, this needs to be someone we know and trust to take over our Twitter feed, so this should either be someone who also demonstrates reliability on other PSP volunteer fronts or is personally known to PSP’s contributors for one reason or another.)

  • Ocean City Nor’easters writer

The writer would do a weekly or biweekly report on the USL PDL team in Ocean City, N.J. You have the freedom to determine its layout, or we can design a format for you that will make it easier and quicker to write. Your choice. 1 post per 1-2 weeks, May through July.

  • Reading United writer

The writer would do a weekly or biweekly report on the USL PDL team in Berks County, Pa. You can have the freedom to determine its layout, or I can design a format for you that will make it easier and quicker to write. Your choice. 1 post per 1-2 weeks, May-July.

  • Lehigh Valley United Sonic

The writer would do a weekly or biweekly report on the USL PDL team in Allentown, which made the U.S. Open Cup last year and is moving to the PDL from the NPSL this year. You can have the freedom to determine its layout, or I can design a format for you that will make it easier and quicker to write. Your choice. 1 post per 1-2 weeks, May-July.

  • Harrisburg City Islanders writer

The writer would do a weekly or biweekly report on the USL PDL team in the state capitol. You can have the freedom to determine its layout, or I can design a format for you that will make it easier and quicker to write. Your choice. 1 post per 1-2 weeks, March-September.

  • Fans’ View

As we do every year, PSP wants to get some new voices into our weekly Fans’ View series. In this feature, each writer writes from the perspective of a fan about the fan experience. Maybe it’s about watching the Union, or maybe you’re a fan of one of the local minor league clubs who can give us some unique insights on that experience. 1 post per month.

  • Local soccer scene

The writer would do regular posts on whatever catches his/her interest in the local soccer scene. This could be anything from the local pickup game scene and soccer pubs to an interesting travel soccer team or even something related to the professional game. This is more a general interest feature than something with a specific beat, with the frequency of writing depending upon your availability. 1-4 posts per month.

  • Women’s soccer

Writer(s) wanted to write about local women’s soccer clubs at the college and high school level. This could be one writer covering college soccer and another covering high school, or both topics could be covered by one writer. Coverage would ideally be done in the form of a weekly roundup/report that could take the format of the writer’s choice. Additional posts could be written as desired by the writer. 1 post per week.

  • College soccer

Writer wanted to write about area college soccer, preferably with a weekly or biweekly column on any topic of the writer’s preference regarding the college scene. 1 post every 1-2 weeks.

  • High school soccer

Writer wanted to write about area high school soccer, preferably with a weekly or biweekly column on any topic of the writer’s preference regarding the college scene. 1 post every 1-2 weeks.

  • Local clubs in big tournaments

Writer wanted to follow how local teams do in the U.S. Open Cup (including qualifiers) and other key tournaments. This could be anything from storied local amateur clubs like Phoenix SC and United German Hungarians on up to the semipro and professional teams. Posts as needed.

  • Other topics

PSP generally tries to produce as diverse an array of content as possible. If you have ideas for good content that you think you can offer, please get in touch and let us know your ideas. If it’s related to soccer in the Philadelphia area, whether it’s Philadelphia Union or Philadelphia scholastic soccer, we’re interested.

Note: All PSP contributors are volunteers. No one is paid. However, we can put you in excellent position to build up clips for paying jobs thanks to our broad access to area clubs.

9 Comments

  1. Help Us Please PSP! says:

    Oh, yes. Please find someone to accurately report on what is going on with Bethlehem Steel FC. The only one who reports on them regularly is just plain terrible. Doesn’t know the first thing about soccer and it is pretty obvious from reviewing his match reports that he does not even bother to actually watch the games!

    • A little reminder that we are all volunteers here. So that person covering the Steel games may not be watching the games because they are covering other topics for PSP. Hence why they are asking for someone who can be at the games.

    • Ed Farnsworth says:

      Der Fussballzuschauer, we do not have someone covering Bethlehem (I provide lineup info after a game, as well as links to coverage from other outlets such as the anonymously written Unauthorized Bethlehem Steel FC Blog, and any other BSFC news I come across, in the daily roundup), hence asking if someone would like to volunteer to do so here at PSP. Indeed, we have had only one Bethlehem match report, a very brief recap I wrote after attending the home opener. If you’re referring to coverage at other websites, perhaps you should comment to them. Of, course, you could also volunteer your own time to cover the team yourself with PSP. You’re in the Lehigh Valley, aren’t you?

      • Help Us Please PSP! says:

        I was talking about “der Fussballzuschauer”! …Using an alias, I simply repeated what the overwhelming majority of people here in the Lehigh Valley have already told me – the verdict IS in … I should have made it more clear exactly what reporter I was referring to, so sorry about that … Good luck finding someone who really wants to watch this third division USL stuff. I’ll go through the motions for the rest of the season and then that will be that. I have given it a fair shot – I was writing articles on the Union’s training camp from the BSFC perspective – so I can honestly say nine games into the regular season that it’s clearly just not for me … In all seriousness, best of luck with everything.

      • Ed Farnsworth says:

        No worries at all! Honestly, if you get the writing bug, get in touch.

  2. I wish I could help out with the photography but I work really weird hours that could prevent me from getting to the games 🙁

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