Coach inflated stats — story?

We have a local yokel who devotes his life to "covering" Podunk High. Over time, we've started asking more and more questions. He claims to have gone back to do the research and establish what are all the school records, but each year the football team sets 10-15 new ones. And sometimes the records are changed because someone steps forward and says "Um, I had more wins than that in 1989." Last year, we were always 10 yards or so off from each other on Johnny Runnning Back's total.
This year, he can go fuck a brick because we ain't taking none of his shit. I suggest you do the same.

 

I don't think this is a black and white issue.

If you're a smaller paper like mine (daily covering eight prep football programs), you or a stringer have been to every (or nearly every) game or have talked to the head coach/assistant/stat person after games you don't cover.

We run weekly stat leaders which teams provide.

So at the end of the season you found at Joe Running Back had 500 more yards and eight TDs than what you witnessed/what was turned in, that's a story. Same thing for the kicker (and had he kicked a 56-yarder in Kentucky, his name would be in the record books among the top 10).

We didn't run an area baseball team's stolen bases this season because they would have shattered the state record in a mere 20 games. The team was averaging double-digit steal totals per game according to the skipper. We told him we wouldn't run it unless he could provide proof they were legit (i.e. let us watch a game film and double-check). We didn't pass on his lies/lack of proper stat keeping onto our readers.

However, an All-Area or All-State honor wasn't at hand. If you find out the coach intentionally - that's the issue at hand - padded stats and tried to pull the wool over everyone's eyes (and keep the more deserving kid from the award), then yes, it is a story.

Will a story come out of it? Maybe, maybe not.
But talking to the coach, statkeeper, kicker, an opponent who should have seen one of the kicks, etc., can't hurt.

 

When I was covering preps, had a high school baseball program that added 15 or so points to every batting average -- even though the hits and ABs were right there on the same line.

It was a pain in the ass to do the math and get the real averages to put in the paper each week. Funny thing, though, I never heard anything from the coach or team or parents that my stats were "wrong."

Another school in my area, if someone got fouled in the act of shooting and made at least one of the free throws, would credit the kid who passed him the ball with an assist.

 

from what our guy told us, bogus stats went to the all-state voters. is it really that different?

 

I've only skimmed through this, so my apologies if it's been covered, but could you throw out some numbers. Exactly how inflated are we talking. It's one thing if he said the kid rushed for 1,500 yards and it was really 1,300 or so -- it's pretty common to have both coaches call in a game and have yardage stats vary by a decent degree, so it may just be an honest mistake (with a little conscious padding) -- but if he's adding touchdowns that's a less than honest mistake.

Also, who picks the team? Obviously not everyone picking the team has seen every player play, but I'd assume some have seen this kid play. If something was way out of whack with his numbers I'd think someone on the committee would question his worthiness of a selection.

 

I see now that we're talking about a kicker, which seems like stats that would be a little more difficult to fudge. Did the coach add any FGs or PATs? Or was it just some inflated yardage?

 

Good thread ...

I know a few coaches -- and I mean just a few -- who don't inflate their stats, in fact are downright hard on their players. In both cases I'm thinking of, it's girls softball and the teams are first-rate in terms of state playoffs. The coaches will lean toward giving the other team an error rather than their girls a hit if its a questionable play, etc. They seem to know that college-caliber players will be found if they're good enough to play at that level, regardless of the stat sheets. I always laugh when the fourth place team in the conference seems to have better batting averages than the perennial champs...

 

This may be off-base, but are your sources, ie stringers, well-versed in statistics? I only say this because the difference between the kid's supposed longest kick and your stringers' totals seems to be about the distance you tack on for the hold and the end zone. They might see a kid kick from the 40 and think that's the distance.

 

That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying if you are doing an all-area team, it should be based on a lot more than stats.

 

gold, my bad. after rereading, that is not what you said at all.

my apologies.

 

Re: Coach inflated stats — story?

Coach of a team our paper covered was calling in crazy high rushing stats game after game. We finally sent a stringer to one of their games (team wasn't very good) to see what was going on. The stat kid was counting yardage from where the QB handed the back the ball, usually 6-7 yards behind the line of scrimmage.
"Uh, coach, we noticed..."

 

Re: Coach inflated stats — story?

now that's priceless