EDITOR’S NOTE: In a trend that will look to continue more in the near future, this is yet another guest post on WSOTP. This time it features to aspiring journalists detailing their experience of their first time in a professional grade press box. You can find out more about the authors at the end of the post.

Hi there: we’re India Kirssin and Charlie Mackenzie, two young journalists for the Mason High School student newspaper The Chronicle. And on April 2nd, we had the opportunity to attend the FC Cincinnati home opener as members of the media.

The press box at Nippert Stadium was like nothing we had ever seen before. It was beautiful, with the ceiling to floor windows overlooking the field leaving us in awe. We wandered around before the game in an effort to see everything and couldn’t stop saying, “This is awesome.”

Being able to see the press box and watch other journalism professionals working was an amazing way for us to get real world experience in sports media and game day coverage. As student-journalists we are still trying to find our way through the ever changing world of journalism, broadcasting and communications, we are appreciative of every opportunity that presents itself to us. The press box was fast paced and professional and we were just as impressed by the kind, dedicated people working behind us as the exciting game being played out in front of us.

FC Cincinnati is full of extremely talented players, all with high hopes for this team and this city. Watching the game from a bird’s eye view was incredible — it allowed us to take in the action in a completely new way. The first goal, a magnificent scissor kick by Ugo Okoli, was absolutely incredible. We were able to see it perfectly and it was just as impressive to a soccer player like India who has been to many professional soccer games as it was for a tennis player like Charlie at his first pro game. It was the perfect first goal for Nippert and for the season.

Seeing the fans turn out in impressive numbers and watching their excitement from above was also exhilarating and really helped us see the huge impact FC Cincinnati will have on our community. The press box — as we learned after the first goal — is a no-cheer zone because of its working environment, and while this was hard for us to adjust to, it amplified the cheers from the audience and showcased the spirit of soccer fans in our city. Considering Cincinnati’s past history with professional soccer, this is a positive sign for those of us who want to bring pro soccer back into Cincinnati’s sporting culture.

As high school journalists, we are often looked down upon by authorities when trying to cover large scale events. That wasn’t the case on April 2nd. We felt very welcome covering the FC Cincinnati game and we look forward to any other opportunities to cover the team in the future.

And we both would like to thank the entire communications staff, especially Fumi Kimura and DJ Switzer, for allowing two bright-eyed, eager high school journalists to have an incredible experience.

India Kirssin & Charlie Mackenzie  Both juniors at Mason High School in Northern Cincinnati, India and Charlie are both on staff of the school paper, The Chronicle. India is a long-time soccer player and has been featured in the Cincinnati Enquirer and will be one of editors of The Chronicle in her senior year. Charlie is a tennis player and features regularly in the sports section of the paper.