LLWS 2010

Read a story about a regional semi. The losing coach explained that he should have kept his son in to pitch instead of trying to "save him" for the final if they won. The guy went on to say his team just couldn't handle the pressure and "it made him sick."

I realize a lot of these stories are written by freelancers who mostly just have the coach as a contact point and often have to get the stories out quickly on deadline - and they may not have access to the kids - especially after a loss.

But do you owe it to the coach to try and keep him from coming off as an a-hole? Do you push him to focus on the positive? Leave out stuff that makes him sound like the douche that he probably is? Back in the day I remember having to wait 10 minutes for a coach to finish holding forth on his "coaching philosophy" before forcing some quotes out of him to save him from himself. And save me a few hundred angry phone calls.

 

Kidding, right?

A PR person might "Push him to focus on the positive... protect the coach...owe [something] to the coach," but those are the LAST things a trained journalist would consider.

The interview was on the record. The coach is an adult. He was being honest.

It's not for you to judge whether he's a douche. Let the readers do that.

 

But do you owe it to the coach to try and keep him from coming off as an a-hole?

Fuck to the no. These are assholes. Coaches. Parents.

A parent from the Halfway, MD All Star team got into a fist fight with the manager this year at the state tournament. Lets see what was involved:

Alcohol? Check
Idiot parents second-guessing coaching decisions? Check


This event brings out the worst in everybody involved. I wish it would go away.

 

Let me re-word it.

These are some of the most horrible people on the planet.

 

What you should do is just make up quotes from the coach that paint all the kids as hunky-dory, if-you're-happy-and-you-know-it-clap-your-hands players. And if they actually lose a game, just make up that they won. Everyone will love it!

 

Nope. The district, sectional and state tournaments are just as bad, and those don't have all the TV cameras around.

 

They put too many games on TV now, yet this upcoming 30 for 30 film looks interesting:

http://30for30.espn.com/film/little-big-men.html

 

I don't know. Do you really treat Little League coaches like everyone else you cover? I always saw Little League coverage as something that maybe 100 people care about, but they care about it a lot (if their kids are on the team).
If a coach calls out a player, there is no point in quoting him saying Jimmy pitched like crap when it is obvious Jimmy pitched like crap.
The coaches are volunteers, likely don't have much experience with the press, especially after a big loss.
I'm not talking about making stuff up or covering for a coach who goes Vic Morrow - I'm talking about whether you cut a coach/and player some slack who may or may not understand how bad his quotes will sound in a paper.
I'd liken the situation more to a player who didn't grow up speaking English or "cleaning up" a quote - not to make the player look good, but to aid in the readers understanding of what they meant and not to distract from the overall story.
I thought this might be an interesting jumping off point. I last covered Little League long ago, pre-ESPN showing the LLWS regional coverage and every LLWS game. I figure 90 percent of the print coverage is done by people in their first few years in the business. I was curious to find out their attitudes. I honestly don't think it's worth the headache.
Maybe the interest has grown and people now expect it to be covered like actual sports rather than just something to keep people busy and put some local copy on the front until two-a-days start - and to get parents off the SE's (and probably the editor's and publisher's) back.

Call me wrong if you will, but I'm not going to assist a guy who may or may not realize how bad Jimmy might feel when you type "Jimmy cost us the game," said Coach A-hole.
Everybody who really cares about it knows it. It will be evident in the story. No need to pour gas on the fire.

 

Actually, they do -- rather than JUST afflict us with the LLWS itself, ESPN was showing REGIONAL-round games this year. Next will come state tournaments.

It should be fucking illegal to show a sports competition featuring players younger than high school age on any TV outlet larger than local cable.

Unless you have a direct relative or neighborhood acquaintance in action, not only is there no particular reason any adult should care, there are plenty of good reasons why they should NOT care.