Quickest way to do HS football stats

I keep my own stats during the game on a legal pad and take notes in my smaller, reporter's notebook. You make the columns, write down the players' numbers next to the categories for passing, rushing and receiving. I also keep track of punts and turnovers, but don't try to do running stats on punt and kick return or tackles. Gotta draw the line somewhere, lest ye get overwhelmed.
You jot down notes between plays. During halftime, add up the stats you have and write down a subtotal.
That's how I've been doing it for 15 years and it works for me.

 

I always kept two.

A stat sheet with divided boxes for rushes/passes and totals. That made it easy to add up those with names. The sheet also had a slot for punts, fumbles, penalties, etc. I just kept tic marks for 1st downs.

On another notebook, I kept play by play.

 

That's fairly similar to what I used to do. You draw a slash in the box, with the play total on the top and the running total on the bottom, so 2/2, 3/5, -1/4, 22/26, etc. Label the boxes and you don't have to count the number of rushes, receptions, etc.

Incidentally, it's been probably seven years since I covered a game and I can still add things like 18 and 27 very quickly. You almost learn the relationship between the numbers, rather than doing the actual adding in your head. But that will take time.

If you want practice, you can always chart stats while watching a game on TV. Try to ignore the down and distance info on the screen, and ALWAYS ignore it when watching a high school game. There are far too many scoreboard operators out there who'll go from 1st-and-10 at the 32 to 2nd-and-6 at the 37 and 3rd-and-3 at the 40.

 

Posted this in a similar thread ... I've created an Excel spreadsheet that you can either print off (on 8x14 paper) or use on your laptop for running totals on rushing, passing, receiving, etc ... anyone who wants a copy to try out can send me a PM with your email address ...

 

I reserve one page of my notebook for scoring summary info (that way it's there and easy to transfer) and use another page to keep track of drives for each team. Basic notations (Jersey #, yards, run/pass) circle it if it resulted in a first down...star it if it was a potential game-changing play. etc.

For stats, I make friends with the stat guys for each school and have everything sitting in my email by the end of the night. In our area, those guys are super reliable, and most used I-Pad programs that make it easy to send a quick email after the game.

 

At my last paper, the SE had a play by play stats sheet and a running stats total sheet. Very easy way to keep track, and takes just a couple of minutes to add everything up. Had a place for fist downs, fumbles and penalties as well. DM me and I can email you a copy.

 

Get your high school to use HS Game Center. Provides real time stats on your
phone.

http://www.hsgamecenter.com/football/boys/game/1497013

 

I have a spreadsheet that automatically adds up all the totals you need in a box as you insert them. It was a great help, because I could half all my stats at any point and time as long as you've been keeping up. PM me if you want me to email you a copy.

 

I converted to stats by computer one year. Worked great for a couple games, then third game software/computer froze. That was no fun. If I knew that it would never freeze I'd use computer all the time for tracking.

 

I tried keeping stats on my computer one time, and it crashed and I lost everything. Fortunately it was a Cowboys game so I had everything available I needed. A cheap lesson learned.

A high school game? Forget it. (One of our writers learned the same lesson the hard way a couple of weeks ago when he had a crash.)

I've developed my own shorthand where I can keep the first half on one sheet of letter-size paper and the second half on the other (most of the time; sometimes in a high-scoring game I have some overflow). I keep individual totals in the margin and at the end of the game, it's easy to add the two halves.

 

I have an iPad and I use the iScore app. It was a one-time purchase of $9.99 and I've been using it for a couple of seasons now. I like it because I get real-time stats on the app and it computes all the long yardage plays in an instant.

Only pain about it is having to input rosters before the game. If you cover just one or two teams, it's OK. But if you have 15-20 teams that you cover, it is frustrating.

 

I use a laptop, just a simple spreadsheet in OpenOffice. Three-page file: one page for play-by-play, one page for each team's stats.