Investigative ideas for covering prep sports

This investigative 3-part series by Mizzou grad Ben Hochman and Ryan Casey does a great job.

PART 1: http://www.denverpost.com/preps/ci_19465830

PART 2: http://www.denverpost.com/preps/ci_19471426

PART 3: http://www.denverpost.com/preps/ci_19478018

Again, I'd first look at the money and then chase it. You'll always find something. Even Booster Club budgets should be available for examination depending on your state's open records law for public schools.

 

Are we discussing investigative leads or broad enterprise features?

One good investigation possibility is to figure out transfer patterns, particularly if you're in a city that allows students to switch between any of the in-city high schools without reason or penalty. Take a look at the starting lineups of each football team and where the players actually live. Then, take the next step in finding out why some have transferred. Sometimes, it's obvious. But not always. And it often leads to city high schools having less parity than Major League Baseball.

It's a big issue that, if done properly and particularly if stretched across all sports, would take a lot of time and effort. It's also something coaches hate discussing. But investigative journalism isn't easy.

 

How about when half of a football team gets arrested for rape allegations and the next year the team wins the CIF Invitationals??

 

I think a lot of this depends on the size of your paper and the number of schools you cover.

The compare-and-contrast stories are better when you have more schools.

 

For many high school coaches of future big time college football players, the month or so between the time the player graduates high school and the date that the player can report to their NCAA school terrifies them.

As I understand it, there is a month of limbo between high school and college. Players just don't walk on to the NCAA campus the day after they graduate. This gap of no real supervision terrifies coaches. It would be a lot easier if the NCAA allowed them a safe place to live for that month.

 

Charter schools and other new and alleged institutions that spring up out of the ground like weeds. They seem to have two common threads: an apparent religious element, one lacking in direct affiliation with any established sect of denomination; football and/or basketball powerhouse in waiting.

The really problematic issue for the kids is that they wind up at these places trusting the sage counsel of clueless or nefarious adults, who invariably convince them that transferring to a brand-new "school" fronted by some famous ex-jock is a great career move. In fact, it's an invitation to NCAA scrutiny and possible ineligibility at the next level. Just ask NC State hoops signee Ryan Purvis, whose eligibility is in limbo because he was in the first graduating class of his alleged school. With no track record to these senior year courses, the NCAA doesn't yet know whether to certify them. This is why most public schools have small to negligible senior classes in their first year.

Also, check the background of those who call themselves leaders of these institutions. The CEO of Deion Sanders' Prime Prep Academy in Dallas is not a college graduate. Neither is another member of the five-person supervisory board. And neither is Prime Time himself, who coaches the football team, erroneously claims to have solicited pledges from several major companies and is the undeniable front man of the operation even though he doesn't officially sit on the board or run the place.

 

A side affect of this is some of the bigger names bypass post-season all-star games put on by various community groups and service clubs, for fear of injury.

 

In my state (Georgia), there isn't a bigger debate that public vs. private, especially during football season. Private schools pretty much dominate the lower classification championships. A few summers ago, I did a five-part series on the debate, looking into what were the roots of the debate, why private schools had a supposed advantage, what the state association had/was going to do about it, how neighboring states handled the issue and possible solutions.

While all it really did for the debate was throw gasoline on the fire, it earned me an APSE Top 10 mention for project reporting.

 

High school drug testing. What the costs are/and compared to other entities, why testing is needed, what district/coaches think, what other neighboring districts do, etc.

 

There's only one story I didn't pursue that I kick myself over. My first year covering wrestling (may have been my first meet) there was some guy selling "nutritional supplements" making his rounds in the stands among all the parents. Couldn't get close enough to hear a lot of details, and didn't feel like I had the knowledge or support to really dig into it. But I guarantee there was a story there.