Tips for reporting on high school athletics

Learn stat rules. If you have a local college the SID should be able to help you out. Some of the rules are different - such as penalties. If not go on the web and google it, or call the National Federation - they have a booklet that has all the rules for every sport.

 

Here are some things not already mentioned (or not driven home hard enough)

1) Keep stocked up on equipment. In my laptop bag, I always have at least three extra pens, two extra notebooks, a $1 calculator from Walmart, a $5 mini-fold-up umbrella, a couple of $1 emergency ponchos, a cheap pair of fold-up binoculars and - I find this extremely important after having to shake hands with some sweaty kids and coaches - travel-size hand sanitizer. There's also a computer in there somewhere. At one time or another I have been thankful I thought to pack each of these things.

2) I suppose everyone has already touched on getting rosters but, man, getting accurate rosters can be the bane of a prep writer's existence, especially if you cover lots of schools. Make sure you start looking for one a few days early, bring a couple bucks for a program with rosters in it or make sure to bring a small digital camera to take a picture of the announcer's roster with so you can at least look at it on your laptop later. I have a small, cheap digital camera someone found in the back of a rental car and the rental place refused to take it back and I can't tell you how many times that thing has saved me when I couldn't get a roster any place else.

3) Think long and hard about how you want to keep your stats and notes. It can take a while, but you'll develop your own stat- and note-taking systems. Some people like to use printed stat forms, others, like me, have found convenient ways to break up notebook pages. Either way, you need to develop something you can read quickly and accurately without ever wondering, "What the hell happened here?"

4) I usually leave the first page of my notebook blank when I start taking play-by-play and game notes so that, at the end of the game when I'm headed down to the field, I can just list the names and numbers of the players I want to talk to as well as the names of the head coaches on it. This can save you a the hassle of repeatedly pulling out a roster if and spare you a few awkward moments if you're not familiar with the team or need to talk to more than two or three people. And having the names and numbers right there on the first page means it's in the single most convenient spot for making sure you've found the right kid and checking their name off a list. It also helps because a lot of high school players don't have their names on their jerseys, so you're left trying to remember a series of numbers from the visiting team you've never seen before.

5) If you're going to a stadium without a press box, one too small to hold the media or one only large enough for the hangers-on, get there earlier than usual and scout out a good place. Unless you want to prowl the sidelines, which is cool too, but it can sometimes be hard to see yard lines or players at the bottom of a pile. And if you plan on sitting in the stands, find an isolated corner or you'll end up being annoyed and distracted by the idiots singing and dancing in front of you all night.

6) Pay enough attention that you're confident in your own stats. It's kind of a joke in my brain that two seconds after I write down in my notes that RB #32 ran for 4 yards to the 39, the announcer says, "Jimmy Joe, No. 30, runs up the middle for a 5-yard gain to the 40." I would trust the accuracy of about 10 percent of the high school stadium announcers I have heard. I don't blame them for making quick reads or rounding up, but I'm trying to keep accurate stats and it seems even the best get it wrong a few times a game.

7) Be quick to get quotes. Because so many teams are out of the county with 10 minutes of the final whistle, know who you need to talk to, know what you're going to ask and be efficient about it. If you're waiting outside a locker room, you don't hear a coach yelling and it just feels like you've been standing there a little too long, look for a the locker room's back door and then the team's bus because that's where they probably are.

8) If you happen to meet a parent or fan who asks you what college you're a scout for, just tell them the NCAA forbids you to talk about it. If you tell them you're actually from the local newspaper, they'll just tell you about how they didn't get their paper two days ago, didn't agree with the treatment of the 1994 mayoral elections and how someone there misspelled their granddaughter's name in her birth announcement in 1991. Then they'll start in on suggesting stories. See the "Dear dimwit on the phone" thread for more on that topic.

 

Am I the only one who has had to board a visiting team's bus in order to track down a coach?

 

I guess I'm one of the few who enjoys talking with parents. While a lot will give you grief over stuff like "Oh, you root for Podunk High!" some can be kind of helpful. Odds are, some of the teammates have been playing together or at least going to school together for quite some time. I've struck up conversations with parents before the game who will tell me stuff like they're dedicating the season to a player's brother, who was in a tragic farming accident over the summer, or that the star linebacker came here a couple years ago from another country and has mastered English in a short time. It doesn't happen often, but some parents can be sympathetic, especially if you look fresh out of school yourself. I like talking with people around the game, not just players and the head coach.

 

Yes, because I beat the visiting coach to the bus.

 

About 10 percent of parents are reasonable and extremely helpful, so it you're right, it is better to talk to them than pretend you're a scout.

 

Hard to do during football (because there isn't one), but doublecheck the scorebook to make sure the names & numbers are correct (and what JV players have been called up).

 

I'd peg it higher than 10. To be honest, most don't give a damn, really, but the complainy ones are just so good at what they do they tend to screw up reality in one's mind. I think of the other day when one was going on and on about how a story about her kid should have been bigger because he's a hero to the kids, eats all his vegetables, ect. ... followed by two or three kidball team moms wondering if they can call or e-mail in results from out of town regionals, the guy who sends in results for the racetrack at the fairgrounds with a couple of tips, and the publicists for the firm that handles the boxers at the Indian casino wanting to set up a conference call. Most readers who are involved in sports know you can't be everywhere and want to help vs. those who expect us to be at every game!

 

Here's the bottom line. If parents are complaining, they're reading.

And you can usually learn something from them -- a story idea, a tidbit, a different take -- it you really listen.

That is as long as they are complaining about something other than their kids play hard why don't they get more ink or the coach is unfair because he doesn't play little Johnny enough.

 

I'm willing to concede it might be as high as 15 percent helpful, 60 percent indifferent and 25 percent angry at you for your paper's policy on running little league stats.

 

One of the teams in our coverage area has its stadium separate from the rest of the high school (actually relatively common in our area where stadiums are built right into compact city blocks right next to the old high school building which is no longer in use/torn down and the new building is off somewhere else).

The difference here was that there were no facilities at the stadium. No locker rooms, nothing. They were all up at the high school. So, desperate and with deadline looming, I once talked to a visiting coach at this school on the bus as they rode back to the high school, then sprinted a half mile back to my car so I could get to a McDonald's to file.

 

If you're physically able, why not?
Please don't misunderstand what I'm suggesting here. You shouldn't show up to practice with your glove and eye black on and say, "Put me in, coach!" And, as always, it depends on the temperament of the coach and the team.
What I'm suggesting, basically, is go out to a practice. Hang around a while, get comfortable with the team. One of our locals usually had one day a week where they just had a real laid-back BP session. They'd go through the lineup and hit a bucket of balls apiece. After talking a while with coaches and players (I wasn't working on anything that day) I got bored and jokingly suggested I should get my glove. The coach said go for it, so I got it out of the trunk of my car (always keep it there) and shagged fly balls for 30 or 40 minutes. All the while I was talking to some of the players in the outfield who were shooting the shit while chasing baseballs.
A few other times -- all during these informal days, mind you -- I asked to take a few hacks in the cage or before they really got going with BP. If the coach is cool with it, and you can do it, it really can help the kids relax around you. Especially since I've almost always done this in khakis and dress shoes. I think the most I've done it in any season is twice. In my experience, baseball is the most laid-back of the three major high school sports (football, basketball, baseball). If you're on good terms with a coach, it's not difficult to sneak in there once or twice a season just for fun.

Shooting hoops is the same thing. A lot of schools have an activity period near the end of the day, or some basketball players will set up their schedule so they have a study hall or gym class then. So if school ends at 3 p.m., there's almost always three or four basketball players hanging around the gym between 2 and 3. It's a good time to catch them for interviews, but also a good time to schmooze. Bored basketball players grab a ball and shoot. Once you get to know them a bit, you can chat them up while you grab rebounds and occasionally throw one back up.
Never be a ballhog, and keep in mind that you're probably in khakis and dress shoes -- which can scuff a floor and seriously piss off a coach. If you're not in rubber-soled shoes, tread lightly -- literally.

Bottom line, this is all done informally. You're not getting out there in the meat of practice and stealing reps from kids, nor should you inject yourself into a high-octane situation. All you're trying to do is relate to the kids in their element. You might even pick up on something that you can use later, like a team having shooting difficulties because the rims in their gym are tight, or the reason the left fielder lost track of the ball was because the sun shines a certain way at a certain time of day and it's hard to pick up off the bat.