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Having never covered volleyball before...

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by huntsie, Jan 9, 2007.

  1. zeke12

    zeke12 Guest

    I'm a full service motherfucker, Beamon.
     
  2. KYSportsWriter

    KYSportsWriter Well-Known Member

    You're covering HS volleyball in January?
     
  3. Alma

    Alma Well-Known Member

    Women's college volleyball is done.
     
  4. sportschick

    sportschick Active Member

    Is this men's volleyball?

    Anyway, volleyball, like tennis, plays matches made up of games, just so we get the terminology right.
     
  5. huntsie

    huntsie Active Member

    Not in Canada, however. They finish here in March.
     
  6. Mystery_Meat

    Mystery_Meat Guest

    What do they play with, snowballs? </zenophobe>

    When doing a game story, I keep a running tally listing the score and how the point was scored. It looks like this (let's see how badly this gets messed up):

    Tinytown Butte Hole
    13 kill 1
    22 ace 2
    1 15 kill
    Net violation 2

    Caveat emperor when it comes to coach-supplied stats. You'll find many of them don't have a clue how to score or inflate numbers. Kills are the best indicator of dominance. Points is overrated because that just means you were the server when the point was scored. Here's hoping you get a close match with an obvious Pontiac Game-Changing Performance (a block starting a 5-0 run to win the third game for a team that was down 0-2 and moved them on to a five-game victory, something like that).
     
  7. Bruhman

    Bruhman Active Member

    forgive my ignorance, but what's a "camel toe?"
     
  8. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    Definitely get some information on the teams before the match. Don't get bogged down in statistics, especially because as a novice you may not interpret them properly.

    For example, it is not worth printing that the setter led her team in assists. She's supposed to do that. Even saying she had a high total, it is tough to judge unless you really know what you are watching.

    Best thing to do is ask a lot of general questions of the coach and let them push you in the right direction. And hope it's not some jackass who only wants to talk team and refuses to talk about individuals.
     
  9. sportschick

    sportschick Active Member

    I work with a woman who played college volleyball. She gets hostile when anybody tries to use service points as a stat in a story. She says it's about the most useless stat that exists.
     
  10. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    She's right. It is completely useless. Unfortunately, that is the only statistic some high school coaches are capable of handling, especially in the Northeast where the sport just isn't very popular or well developed.
     
  11. micropolitan guy

    micropolitan guy Well-Known Member

    It's like baseball; a hitting percentage of .300 is considered the benchmark of excellence.
     
  12. butchie

    butchie New Member

    Service aces are a big deal however. Also try to learn which players play throughout the rotation, and which players are front row and back row specialists.
     
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