Weldon Bradshaw is celebrating 50 years covering high school sports in the Richmond (Va.) area.

In a column reflecting on his career, he offers many excellent/observations. Some highlights:

Do your best, regardless of space, time constraints, fatigue at the end of a long workday or the relative importance of the event in the day’s news cycle. Sometimes, the words flow easily. Often, you grind them out. Regardless, do your best.

Stay calm and present. Think clearly. Creating lucid, coherent prose on a tight deadline is the writer’s ultimate adrenaline rush. Embrace the challenge.

Question tactfully. Listen attentively. Report precisely. Everyone — famous, oft-quoted, or obscure — has a story to tell. That story is important, compelling and unique. Do it justice.

Write about life, not just sports. Games begin. Games end. The backstories — those of sportsmanship, humility, resilience, grace under pressure, defiance of odds, refusal to quit, dignity in defeat — are salient and enduring.

Let the effort, not the byline, be your reward.