When your season has come to a close, a memory book will make a great gift for all your teammates. Here are a few tips to help get you started.

Gathering Your Material:

1.Photographs: Ask all your teammates for any photos that they or their family members may have taken throughout the season. These can include action shots, posed team photos, candid shots on the bus or van, or anything that is worthy of inclusion. You could also start planning your book early and take as many photos as you can throughout the year. Try to make your photos as high resolution as possible and encourage your fellow contributors to do the same. Printing requires a higher resolution than a computer screen does, so for your photos to really pop in your book, the quality should be high.

2.Clippings: Gather all the press stories throughout the year, including the local and school newspapers. You don’t necessarily want to use all of the stories in their entirety, but you may want to use some of the headlines, stat boxes, photographs, etc. Either scan the stories and headlines, or use screen shots of the online versions. If necessary, get permission to use these item, and when you do, explain that what you are doing is a small project that is just intended for team members and not a commercial or fundraising venture. Contacting the photographer may net you more usable photos as well.

3.Memories: You will also want to include some words from team members, coaches, and perhaps fans and family members too. One great way to do this is to conduct a few interviews with them and ask specific questions such as: what the favorite memory of this season was, the funniest thing the coach said, the most important moment in the biggest game, the turning point of the season, etc. If you have some writerly types on the team, you can ask them to create an essay or poem that ties the season all together.

Putting It Together:

Putting your book together in chronological order from the first practice sessions to the very last game is a logical way to go about it. Depending on the size of your team, you may also want to let each player have his or her own personal page of photos and memories. Whatever you decide to do, you will want to make sure that everyone on the team is represented in some way, and especially that there is a photograph of each player in the book.

If you can work with layout programs such as InDesign, or know someone who can, that’s would be the best scenario. If not, MS Word should suffice.

Printing and Binding:

Use the best digital color printing that you are able to. And when it comes to binding, see what machines your school has to offer. Your library might have a thermal binding machine (used to create hardcover books) that you can borrow. If not, these machines can be had for less that a hindred dollars online and are great for a multitude of projects such as photo books, cookbooks, and many, many others.

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Category: Arts and Crafts
Keywords: memory book,sports team,team members,team photos,usable photos,book together,posed team photos