How to Write the "Sports" Aspect of a Sports Romance

Ever since I started to market and publish my figure skating romance novel, Skating the Line, the first thing people always say is, "Wow, that's so cool! How many years have you ice skated?"

My answer is always the same: I never have!

It's always nerve-racking watching the confusion flash across their face. But I can't say that I blame them because, c'mon now... how are they supposed to trust the source—the author—when the author has never even touched the sport before?

That also begs the question, what are we as authors supposed to do when we feel called to write a sports romance, but have NO IDEA what the heck is going on?

As someone who has been-there-and-done-that, take it from me. It's easier than you think. Now let me prove it to you.

Step 1: Research

This is my personal opinion, but I love doing the research on my new ideas. If I'm writing a story, I have to go all in. My characters don't just want to look cute on the ice; they want to win the Olympics. They don't want to just be walking down a city street; they want to take down the evil that's slithering through the night clubs in Las Vegas.

I've had a lot of experience in going down deep rabbit holes of research, and I think it's so fun to learn random information about a niche topic. Heaven forbid I hear someone talking about figure skating as we pass on the street because I could definitely hold a conversation about the moves and rulebook.

Speaking of... That's Where We Need to Start: The Rulebook

The nice thing about writing a sport is that as long as it's being based off real life, there's going to be a rulebook about it. Almost every national league you can think of has this available to the public: the USFSA, NHL, NFL, NBA, MLB, NGA... you get the idea.

Depending on the idea you have for your story, you might have to look deeper into certain aspects. What causes penalties? Are certain moves or plays absolutely off-limits?

For STL, I had to do a lot of research on what competitions realistically lead up to Olympic trials. I quickly found out that it wasn't something where my characters could fill out some paperwork and perform for a spot on Team USA. No, there is a rigid, winding road that leads to Nationals, and if you're good enough, then maybe you can start to think about trials.

With that being said, it's those little details that can help add plot points or drama to your story. What if your character did something on the field that created a penalty, or performed an illegal move? Answering those questions will help drive the plot.

And More Research...

This part of researching can before or after sifting through the rulebook, but it's definitely way more fun: sifting through videos.

I need you to watch so many videos that you can see the sport happening in your sleep. Make your eyes dry. Find yourself watching the athlete(s) so closely that you notice what's wrong with their form before the reporter does. Live and breathe the sport for a few hours, days, or weeks.

Especially with the sound on. You'll learn so much from the reporter commenting on what's happening, that soon you'll feel like you could go into the booth and take over their job.

While you're doing this, write down any videos that stand out to you. Maybe a player does something cool that resonates with you, or celebrates with their teammates in a way that inspires you, or they get in an accident and have to be carted off the field. I know, I know... that's terrible for me to say, but let's be real. We're going to be sneaking in a scene where someone gets hurt at some point, right?

Keep this list of videos handy because you're going to need it.

Step 2: Figure Out What Needs to Happen

Whether you're a pantser or a plotter, at some point you should probably have a decent idea of what type of sports drama needs to happen in your story.

For example, let's say I want to write a football YA novel about a varsity cornerback that has been pining after the guarded cheerleader for years. Maybe she's always been on the sidelines cheering on his team, but she can't stand him.

Still with me? Great!

What kind of player is our cornerback? A cocky, all-adrenaline, no brain cells to rub together type of guy? Or is he quiet and watchy, and he sits with the team at lunch to brainstorm crazy plays?

You can plug-and-play the options with your story as needed, but there's a reason why I ask this. This is going to dictate how your athlete reacts in their sport element, their inner monologue, how they play, what they do when the pressure is on, that sort of thing.

This isn't something we readily think of while watching a sports event on TV, but think about it: when you're watching an event live in the stadium, or when you watch player interviews, everyone is an individual, unique person with lives they go back to when they're not playing. Duh, of course—they're human!

Sometimes I thin it's easy to watch a sport like football and think to ourselves, "They're all doing the same thing, and they're all so talented. How am I supposed to write about this and make everyone stand out from each other?"

That brings us to step three.

Step 3: Get In The Mind of Your Athlete

For this step, you'll probably want to refer to your list of videos more often than not until you get comfortable envisioning the sport in your own mind.

Let's bring back the example of my varsity cornerback.

For this example, I am going to be referring to this video from the 2025 Super Bowl where Cooper DeJean intercepted the football. PLEASE NOTE: this is ONLY FOR AN EXAMPLE. I am in no way, shape, or form trying to push my creative liberties or my fictional character's thoughts onto any real professional athlete. I am only referring to the movements of the players here as an example. I am not affiliated with the poster of the video, credit goes to them.

Upon watching that video, a few things happen on a grand scale: Mahomes throws the football. DeJean places himself perfectly in the line of fire to catch it. His teammates push away the other teams players, giving DeJean the perfect opportunity to make it to the end zone and score a touchdown.

Let's zoom in closer.

DeJean acts like he was expecting the mistake. He didn't hesitate once before taking off down the field. The crowd starts to roar. He notes the one guy on the other team coming at him and slightly reroutes so his teammate will block him. He dodges under the last guy, and practically stumbles into the end zone.

Okay, that's all nice and dandy, but let's go in even closer. How do you think DeJean's body was reacting in that moment?

The ball lands solidly in his hands. He tucks it under his arm, and it's probably safe to assume his adrenaline starts to sing. His breath is probably coming out hot and fast. If he's not actively talking to himself ("Holy s***, I've got the ball!"), he's got to be thinking it. Turf is probably flying from under his cleats. Since it's been a long game up until this point, sweat has got to be racing down his face.

That's all based off collective reasoning. I don't need to be a NFL Hall of Famer to know that this is how the human body reacts under pressure like that. Again, that is all just for example sake.

Tying It All Together

Are you able to see how this pipeline flows into each other?

Read the rulebook > Start to understand the game > Watch videos for inspiration > Start to nail down what you want to happen in your story and pick & pull the right rules/moves/penalties that give your story flavor > Build the details from there.

This is exactly what I did for Skating the Line, and I like to believe that the proof is in the pudding. Want to find out for yourself? Keep an eye out for preorder links and give it a read when it comes out!

I hope that this article was helpful, gave you a good starting point, or at the very least, a bit of inspiration. Take what resonates, and run with it... no pun intended. Happy researching!

Isabelle ⛸️