Selecting All-Area team for my beat

I cover preps golf for my paper and have to pick a first- and second-team of five golfers each. The first-team is fairly clear-cut, but the second-team is a little tougher.

Three or four kids are pretty easy to put in there, but there are about 5-7 golfers who I have to pick from to fill out the second-team.

What do I do? Talk to the coach who has three kids on the bubble? That seems wrong and sort of unethical. Do I just go with the best individual score of the season? We're talking five kids with an average from 80-81. Some kids are even tied at 80.8. WTF do I do, SJ?

 

Talk to all the coaches. You can't make decisions in a bubble... just a sort of "if i ask you who the best players in the area are, who comes to mind?" They're out there every day. You're not. They're a resource.

 

I had to do this in the spring. Luckily, we only had one golfer from our area in the state tournament. Easy choice there for golfer of the year. From there, I just picked the ones who advanced the farthest in post season. Maybe the numbers just worked out for me, but I had five first teamers and five second teamers based on how they did in regional and section tournaments.

 

Talk to all your coaches, whether or not they have players in the running.
Ask them whom they would choose from their own team, and who they have seen during their matches/meets this season that they would recommend.

Some will skew your info, worrying too much about not pushing their own players and, in their minds, perhaps costing their kids a shot by recommending others. Other coaches have been around longer or have a much better view of the big picture and could really surprise you by their ability to analyze your dilemma.

But still, call them. As has already been said, the coaches are a resource.

 

and if all else fails and the entire thing is a wash, go with the seniors. the younger players have a shot to make it back onto the team still next year.

 

look atthe handicap... scoring average at a country club and at a dog track make a difference.

 

Yes, take into account the courses they play. An 80.8 average on some courses is better than others.

 

I hate this idea to the point that I don't want to know what year a kid is for these teams.

 

Sorry, jps, but I completely agree with this. I don't want class getting any consideration at all in all-star recognition. It's a non-factor.

 

The only thing similar to this I use is if two kids have nearly identical credentials and it's going to be six here, a half-dozen there type pick, I'll look at the schools. If golfer A's school has three picks and golfer B's school has none, golfer B just made the team.

 

Why not just do an all-star team and then an honorable mention of any golfers with a certain stroke average?

 

Just as bad as relying on an athlete's class.

Give me the best for an all-area team. If that means putting seven players from the same team on an all-area soccer team, so be it.