Rookie Plus and SportsPress
Rookie Plus is built specifically for SportsPress sites. The theme declares add_theme_support( 'sportspress' ) so that SportsPress's template loader prefers the theme's overrides over the plugin's defaults. The result is that team, player, event, and staff pages render with Rookie Plus's typography, colour scheme, and layout rather than the generic SportsPress styling.
Template overrides
The theme ships with a sportspress/ directory containing five core SportsPress template overrides:
Template file | What it controls |
| The SportsPress archive index template |
| Single event (match, game, round) pages |
| Single player profile pages |
| Single staff profile pages |
| Single team / club pages |
Each override is a normal WordPress template file. SportsPress's SP_Template_Loader checks the active theme for sportspress/ overrides before falling back to the plugin's template directory, so any file present in the theme takes precedence.
Customising templates
To adjust how a SportsPress page renders without forking the theme, copy the template into a child theme:
Create a child theme (see the Customization article).
Copy
sportspress/single-team.php(or whichever file you want to change) from the parent theme'ssportspress/directory into the matching path in the child theme.Edit the copy in the child theme.
The child theme override is loaded ahead of the parent theme's version, which is loaded ahead of the plugin's version.
SportsPress-related theme support
In addition to sportspress, Rookie Plus declares theme support for ThemeBoy's bundled plugins:
mega-slider— Full-width homepage slider with text overlaysnews-widget— Sidebar widget displaying recent posts with thumbnail and excerptsocial-sidebar— Widget area for social media links and feedswoocommerce— Compatible WooCommerce template overrides for shop pages
These declarations enable theme-side styling and layout integration for each plugin without requiring user configuration.
Frontend appearance
When SportsPress is active, Rookie Plus renders:
Team pages — using the theme's typography (
Oswaldfor headings,Latofor body), the primary colour#00a69cfor highlights, and the layout: standard rookie framework two-column layout with optional three-column variants.Event pages — match results, performance tables, and event details rendered through the theme's
single-event.phpoverridePlayer pages — career statistics, current season, and biographical information through
single-player.phpLeague tables — picked up automatically from SportsPress shortcodes; styled via the theme's table CSS rules
Calendars and player lists — rendered via the standard SportsPress shortcodes; styled by the theme's CSS
Demo content
ThemeBoy offers preset demo content for each theme that includes a sample league, season, teams, players, staff, and events. To install:
Activate the One Click Demo Import plugin (prompted by the TGM Plugin Activation notice on first activation).
Go to Appearance → Import Demo Data.
Choose the Rookie Plus demo and click Import Demo Data.
The import populates SportsPress with sample data so you can see the theme in action with realistic content. Replace the sample data with your own once you're comfortable with the theme.