CALL FOR NOMINEES: Best HSAA prep operations

Welcome to the board Mr. Washburn.

 

The Northern Section of the CIF is great about stats and covering events/meetings.

I get a weekly newsletter from the commish and most all of the teams log stats, results and rosters onto Maxpreps.com. The rest of the state is slowly catching on. Unless the coach is a total douche, most of them post some kind of regular stats.

California voted to make the Web site the official stat database and requires coaches to report, at least, game results by the time state playoffs roll around.

I've heard from a buddy at the Contra Costa Times that the North Coast and Oakland sections are a joke, though. And transplanted coaches swear the Southern Section is a nightmare because of its geographical size (from L.A. to Arizona and almost as far northeast as Tahoe).

 

Alabama's is fucking awful.
They sit back and let the volunteers at each individual site run the show. Some of those people are good, others suck.
They pat themselves on the back and do nothing. If it means spending money, they won't do it.


The "media liaison" (a loose term, since he never knows anything) chewed out one of our writers once for us not giving them credit for providing historical data -- previous winners in a sport. The writer's response: Do you give us credit for providing you scores for your website when the coaches and tourney directors don't call in?

 

The SCHSL does a fair job. They're good about media access and things like that, but that's about it. The commissioner (formerly the executive director) is usually easy to deal with.

SCISA (the private schools' association) is terrible.

 

Agreed. Much better than the three other state associations with which I've worked.

Now if they can only rescind their decision to go to four-class basketball.

 

I would say that for a state association to be in the running for No. 1, they should at least compel their state's coaches to utilize maxpreps.com.

 

New York isn't bad, it's not terrible, but it isn't bad. I've never had a problem mostly b/c half the time no one is paying attention.

I've covered football, wrestling, girls basketball, baseball and soccer at the state level and have never had a problem with any sport that was inside an arena.

However, if you're outside at a field, baseball or soccer, specifically you're on your own.

Although one year heading out to cover the baseball finals, I was calling the media liason for an hour on the ride up trying to find out whether or not the game was canceled. It was pouring. He finally called me back an 90 minutes into a 2 1/2 hour drive and told me it was canceled.

 

The scoreboard (http://scoreboard.laser-engraving.com) is the standout feature there --- games updated nightly, stats updated (when the coach provides them) --- but I can also say the KHSAA does a standout job providing plenty of advance information for all its state championship events, rather than just the big ones as some states do. The member school directory lists all the coaches at each school and gives e-mail addresses, as well.

The KHSAA also staffs the hell out of its championship events and the media staff works their asses off ... even when we're all sweating to death like state softball at Owensboro a couple of years ago.

 

The RIIL is horrible. It doesn't help reporters at all, unless you're with the ProJo. When you go to schools to ask for a table to sit at, they look at you like you have two heads.
The PIAA and its schools in the area I worked at were great. Always looking to help out the media.

 

Chances of getting rosters at an MIAA tournament game is a 50-50 proposition and stats are a pipe dream away.

 

I'll throw my two cents worth in for North Carolina. Rick Strunk is pretty much on top of things when it comes to media relations. Michelle Hillison does their Web site (she used to work for iHigh.com) and that's helped them get a better grip on the 21st century (stats, live scoring, etc.). Each of the people there seem to know what they're doing and do it the right way. Some things about them aren't great but, overall, it's a place I always wanted to work before changing my career objective.

End it!