Letters to a Young Baller: Exploring Epistolary Criticism

This article explores the possibilities of epistolary criticism within the realm of sport studies and aspires to encourage scholars to consider the use of non-traditional sport memorabilia and source materials when telling emotive stories about sport and sport practices. The use of letters and the letter-writing format to tell a personal narrative of recruitment and to examine larger issues within athletic recruitment allows readers to intimately engage with the varied feelings and emotions that are a part of the athletic recruiting process. By using personal recruiting letters as source material and to structure the paper, readers examine recruiting on an intimate level and are called into the text in unique and unfamiliar ways.