Dooley "rewards" reporters with access to scrimmage

In college, ACCESS, doesn't mean just going to sit through practice -- that is rare.

It may mean access to talk to the coach outside of a teleconference and a press conference.

It may mean access to talk to players outside of postgame interviews or a Monday press conference.

It may mean ability to talk to assistants at all.

For most major-college football writers, going to "practice" means the ability to talk to players/coaches for a few minutes as they are leaving the field.

 

Ace is correct; merely talking to players has turned into a big privilege.

 

To expand on what Ace said. Going to practice isn't necessarily about news breaking out at practice, though lineup changes, injury information (who's practicing and how much or how limited they are) are certainly valid items. But more than that, watching practice gives you as a beat writer a better idea of what a team is doing, or more important, what it wants to do, so you can better report it when it happens (or doesn't happen) in a game. You can see if the coaches are paying special attention to working on a certain aspect of a player's game or if a player is dogging it or any number of things that could become a story with a little more reporting.

It's also a chance to schmooze with the GM hanging around on the sidelines, or the strength coach or the trainers or the equipment guys or scouts, not to mention the kicker, punter and long snapper. you could get the germ of a story idea from a conversation, or build a relationship (source) that pays off down the road. And grab a player or coach for a quick interview as he's coming off the field.

Yes, news still manages to be gathered when practice is closed, but the coverage isn't the same.

 

I've been fortunate to work with a lot of reasonable coaches. And I've rarely worked in situations where there's a media horde that needs to be managed. However, my thought is that coaches who are smart and doing things the right way should welcome a good amount of access. Many problems and misunderstandings come from a lack of access and incomplete information. A coach who runs a good practice and is confident of his plan should welcome a reasonable amount of media observation.

 

Did Dooley teach the favored reporters shower discipline? http://bit.ly/cAVxMZ