statewide prep sports positions

A few things about Coaches Aid... I was fortunate enough to land a content coordinator position and I've been working my tail off since to gather content for my state while I wait for the higher ups to do their thing. And it's my understanding that the budgets for each state have been calculated, but that they will be unveiled perhaps next week at the company meeting in Oklahoma City. In the meantime I'm gathering resumes and letting folks know that they're not going to have an answer right away. If that's a problem for them, sorry. While a majority of the people on this board probably have no small business experience, I'm sure even fewer know what it must be like to branch your business out from three to fifty states over the course of a few months. There will be hiccups, there will be straggles and there will be a lot of learning along the way as well. But good content is good content, and if you've got it, people will read it.

Finally, about the sales and marketing side of the job, newsflash folks, journalism is changing, and in the words of Ace Ventura, "I'm sure you already knew that." As a photog friend of mine told me a while back, what do you think reporters do everyday? They're selling people on the idea that writing a story about them is a good idea. In today's journalism, the business side is just as important as the writing and reporting side. It's good to be well-versed and efficient at all three. If not, well, best of luck. Coaches Aid is a great site and there's a need for what they provide. Sure it'll be rocky at the beginning, but that's business. Coaches Aid has been dynamite in Oklahoma and in no time, it'll be dynamite across the country. And don't forget to check out Coaches Aid Missouri while you're at it - that's right, I'm getting a plug in too.

 

Dude,
I understand you're getting attacked, maybe somewhat unfairly from some. But getting defensive probably isn't going to help your cause.
There are obviously a lot of people here who bought into what CoachesAid was even though their state was not Oklahoma, Arkansas or Texas. However, most of the posts here have had a similar ring to them: guys sent Coaches Aid stuff (or was contacted) -- said person then waited for reply.

You want to get on here and make assumptions about what people's history is. But again, what good does that do you? Instead of getting snarky, why not simply explain that the higher ups are working out the kinks of this crazy expansion (did we ever get a final count on number of new states, by the way?) and that it's been a hard process?

Best of luck with the site.

 

And because I forgot to say it the first time: Please, please, please feel free to come back and give us all updates. Most of us have not heard back from our respective coordinators and would love to hear how things are going and are interested to see the site's development.

 

I think Matrix may actually be the guy who told me he would call me back on a Tuesday.
...seriously.

 

I think most of the attacks on here are not aimed at the site but at the way people (myself included) have been treated by the coaches aid folks. Telling someone you'll call them next week and then vanishing off the face of the earth never to be heard from ever again is not the best way to bring people on board with your business.

I understand how swamped they must be in going through such a huge expansion in such a short amount of time. But how long does it take to send a mass email to all the potential writers you've been tugging around and say "Okay guys here's the situation ...." It might take a whopping 43 seconds and I don't think that's too much to ask.

I don't think there's much debate about the quality of the site (impressive) or the potential of the business (high). But when you flake out on people like this it does not reflect well on your company, hence all the bad publicity on this thread. When you tell someone you'll be in touch next week, then get in touch next week. It's that simple. Follow through with what you say. They keep saying things and then not carrying them out. That irritates people. The only times I've ever gotten any updates about this job is when I've taken the initiative to call, leave a message, email, call again, and email again before finally getting a response. You need to keep people in the know and keep people informed of what's going on. Flaking out on people won't get you very far.

 

Couple things, I can't speak for how everybody was interviewed here or what they were told, I know that the individual responsible for interviewing and hiring me was straight forward and honest about everything throughout. As far as the business and writing angle, the business side isn't for everyone, but it was one of the aspects of the job that intrigued me in addition to the writing and reporting.

And with Sid, if we spoke and I didn't get back to you when I said I would, that's my fault. I get what everyone is saying here, and believe me, I wasn't trying to lash out at folks on this board. I appreciate what this board is about and the purpose it serves. It's a trying time in journalism right now and every little nugget helps. As I said, this has been a very interesting experience thus far with Coaches Aid and I've only been a part of the company for the last month.

 

I understand that all the state coordinators are headed to Oklahoma for some meetings and training and such next week. Somebody already said this but I'll say it again: will the coordinators who are on here PLEASE take a minute when you get back to put a post on here about any updates, movements, happenings, etc? I think there's a ton of people on here that would really appreciate that. It's all we've really been looking for this entire summer.

 

It looks like some of the states have launched on the new site. Nothing earth shattering, but solid.

 

Yep, it looks like all 50 states are adding copy today. Should be VERY promising as it gets going!

rb

 

The lack of communication is EXTREMELY troubling for a site that is supposedly in the communication business. The Coaches Aid people can make all the excuses they want, but that really is the bottom line.

 

Dummy copy, one blank page after another and the chance to search for the non-existent "Regoin" 6 scores? VERY impressive.