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A strange request from a coach...

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by sweetbreads bailey, Oct 11, 2007.

  1. slappy4428

    slappy4428 Active Member

    And when the parents call to complain, tell them exactly why it didn't run.
     
  2. HandsomeHarley

    HandsomeHarley Well-Known Member

    Just write, "All of the players tried really hard. They gave it everything they had and left it all on the floor/court/track."

    End of story.
     
  3. MartinEnigmatica

    MartinEnigmatica Active Member

    A lot of this seems to come down to coaches not recognizing or just simply ignoring what the newspaper is for. It's for reporting what happened with as much information as possible - names, places, times, flow of the race if you choose to cover it. It's not for keeping the lid on their precious state secrets or helping them out.
     
  4. Pilot

    Pilot Well-Known Member

    Na, I honestly had a coach spend 10 minutes talking strategy with me today, and I'm sure he could have gone on much longer.

    He was all worried about the adjustments another coach was likely to make, getting some runners to come out a little faster so they could latch on with a little better clump of runners and get dragged along, and getting some runners to start a little slower so they wouldn't burn out and be easy to pass in the last stretch. When they're competing against another school in particular, the individual runners pay very close attention to where their marks are on the other team and focus on beating that one kid.

    I actually really like to cover cross country. The coaches are just about the nicest I deal with. There aren't any "yelling" coaches that I know, like most football coaches who intimidate to get what they want. Cross country coaches pretty much have to be encouraging, not a-holes, and that atmosphere is nice to be around.

    Their kids are nice too, and eager to talk to me. I like talking to kids after they finish ... unless they really sucked it up, there's a pretty great sense of accomplishment that comes with finishing a race, and the kids are always happy. The parents and the kids always comment on how glad they are that I'm covering them that week, too. Plus, I like getting out and running around a little between the different spots on the course. It never amounts to a crazy workout, but enough to make it feel like it was a step up from sitting in a gym or in a press box eating nachos and pizza.
     
  5. ostentatious

    ostentatious Member

    cross country strategy

    left foot, right foot. repeat.

    if you want to get wacky...right foot, left foot. repeat.

    never ever try and go left foot twice. it will not end well.
     
  6. crusoes

    crusoes Active Member

    What did the coach say to that?

    It's a beautiful comeback, IMO.
     
  7. Flip Wilson

    Flip Wilson Well-Known Member

    When I was an SID, we hosted a cross country meet that featured races for junior high and high school boys and girls and college men and women. First couple of races, the junior highers, go off without a hitch. I get the results entered into the program, printed out and posted. I then start watching the high school racers run by our spot, up a hill and out of sight, with one of our track kids directing traffic. I glance over a few minutes later and our track kid is now directing runners in a DIFFERENT direction, in the same race. Hilarity thus ensued, with parents, runners and coaches all asking me about what happened during the race and why results weren't being posted. I pointed them all in the direction of the coach.


    Edited for a typo.
     
  8. I guess all's well that ends well (or however that phrase goes). I talked with the assistant coach last night and he said the head coach was OK with us running the times after all, acknowledging that the times were all over the Internet anyway (I've seen them in at least 2-3 other places). So, everyone's hunky dory again at this point.

    As for cross country strategy, there is much more than you think. It is a fun sport to cover if you've got good runners and good teams. Lots of chess matches before and during races. Usually, the top runners are good interviews.

    I've found cross country coaches fall into two main categories. Most are gentle, helpful, intelligent types who appreciate any and all coverage they get. The others always have a chip on their shoulders because they don't get coverage anywhere close to the local football team even when the local team is 1-9. Even when you show up, they're bitter...
     
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