Krista Ramsey

http://enquirer.com/columns/ramsey/1997/03/032997_kr.html
This column is about a young girls basketball team that is unbelievably great at basketball and they are receiving many great opportunities.
A line I think was greatly written is "There's something about 15 basketballs being thumped against a wooden gym floor that sounds exactly like fireworks. The little explosions run into each other, interrupt each other, reverberate. A listener can't help being carried away by the noise and motion of it all." I like this line because it is very well written. It uses a lot of detail and it is also the beginning of the column so it kind of gives the reader a heads up about what they are about to read. This line is written formal and uses a bunch of concrete diction and abstract diction. This line  uses a lot of connotation and denotation. This line includes a lot of use of hyperbole.
Questions:
Based off the story, how do you choose to write your columns?
What was it like going to school for column writing?
How do you get your ideas?