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Newspaper Steve Sportswriter of the Year
Steve NEWSPAPER
SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR
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by Mark Miller | photo of family by Your Candid Memories (YourCandidMemories.com) & photo of Steve with wife courtesy of Steve Gamel
As much as Steve Gamel has always loved covering and writing about high school sports, it’s the personal connections with players, coaches, parents, and other writers that are most important to him.
They are what has allowed him to tell the best stories over the past 24 years, put smiles on readers’ faces, feel like he’s part of a community, and become better at his craft. They are also a big reason why he is continually honored with writing awards. The most recent one was in March when the Texas Girls Coaches Association named him as their 2020-2021 Division I Sportswriter of the Year for his passionate coverage of girls and boys athletics.
Gamel will be honored at a special ceremony on July 12 in Arlington.
“I didn’t get into this to win awards, but there is validation in it — and it feels really good,” Gamel said. “I’m thankful for the TGCA and honored that so many coaches threw my name in for consideration. It makes you feel like you’re doing a good job.” Affectionately known as Newspaper Steve, Gamel began his writing career with The Lewisville News in 1997 while still in college. He’s gone on to cover sports for several outlets, including the Denton Record-Chronicle. He’s been to state championships in numerous sports and chronicled countless athletes who have gone on to play professionally.
Along the way, he expanded his writing prowess to anything involving the written word. He currently owns his own writing and editing business called Edit This and routinely writes and edits for Murray Media Group and numerous other magazines, newspapers, and smallbusiness owners.
“As much as I love sports writing, I didn’t want to be a one-trick pony. I write blogs, online content, features about businesses, etc. I think that’s made me a better writer,” said Gamel, who has a book for writers coming out this fall. “I’ve written about pretty much everything, and I can’t get enough of it.”
The latest honor from the TGCA was another in a growing list of awards — for sports writing and his other creative works. He’s been recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors and Texas Associated Press Managing Editors. With Edit This, he’s been honored by Best of Denton County voters for the past four years.
