By Paige Nash
Shawn White began Under The Radar NWLA in September 2019, covering sports from Class 2A-C along with some minor league local teams such as the Shreveport Mudbugs, Shreveport Mavericks and the Shreveport United.
His motto, “Telling the Untold Stories,” rings true with White giving coverage to smaller and unfortunately more forgotten schools like Gibsland-Coleman, Doyline, Haynesville, Homer and Castor, over the years.
“Helping out with these publications, I saw a need with the small schools,” White said. “They needed coverage. It wasn’t a lack of interest just that there wasn’t enough people around to tell the stories. I saw my website as the outlet for that chance.”
White has written sports since 2014 with various publications in the Shreveport Times, Minden Press-Herald, Bossier Parish Tribune and The Advocare in New Orleans and Shreveport.
It has not come without setbacks though. Over the summer White discovered that his website views were down. Although that is not unusual for summer, he had people reaching out that a “blank screen” would come up whenever they attempted to access his website.
“I believed that a new algorithm had blocked my content on Facebook, my main source of access. Other things happened with other social media, as well,” said White. “I decided that I needed a new avenue to get these stories out without social media.”
White was still writing for other papers and media pages, but his content along with the schools were not getting the attention they deserved.
White almost gave up.
“I sent messages to coaches that I was done and was seriously giving it up. I got the ‘thank you’ text and all, but I decided on one of my night owl sessions on my computer, I looked and found the ‘APPMYSITE’ website,” said White. “This was exactly my way to get around. How cool to have my own app?”
He decided to give it one more shot. Although fall sports were almost lost, on October 11 the Android App launched. A week later the iPhone app was released.
“I gave sneak peaks to some of the coaches and they seemed excited,” White said.
The app is now available on the App Store for iPhones and Google Play for Android.
“I’m very proud of it. It’s been a family affair with the support of my wife to pursue my passions for these schools and my writing,” White said. “The logo and artwork you see is from my neice’s boyfriend, David Gramman, who owns a tattoo shop in Leesville and currently works in Clarksville, Tennessee.”
The sports coverage in the area has grown tremendously over the last few years and White is happy to see that and proud to be a part of.
He said, “If it helps one student athlete get noticed, the app has done its job. Hopefully this makes it more accessible to college and university to find that diamond that may be Under The Radar.”
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