Your Friday night routine

High school sports haven't started yet, so I have no idea what my Friday-night routine will be.

I'm still going to be the deadline copy editor, picking up the football stories as they're filed and getting them into our system. But we're taking box scores online now, so the phones shouldn't be ringing off the hook all night.

Maybe I can go cover an afternoon game in another sport or work on a feature. I'm really not sure what's going to happen in the hours leading up to that last chaotic crush.

 

I try to arrive about 45 minutes before kickoff. Talk to both coaches, get lineups, ask about injuries, etc.

Unlike CI, I'm a pork chop guy. I've graduated from popcorn. At least during football season.

I like to walk the sidelines to keep stats. Only up in the booth if it's raining. Add stats at half.

After the game, I usually talk to the visiting coach since they're likely to leave first. I always try to talk to two players from the winning team. A player from the losing team if they were part of a key play.

I'm already thinking of my lede as I'm walking to the car. Sometimes it jumps out at me; other times I don't think of anything until I'm back at the office.

Once back at my desk I total up my box and type my agate. Then get to work on the story. I'll have an idea of which quotes I want to use so I skip to them on my recorder instead of transcribing everything.

I try to take no longer than 30 minutes to do my story so I can get to work helping on roundups, other boxes, layout, editing other stories, etc. We print in our building and have a fairly late deadline so I usually have between 60 and 90 minutes to help out from the time I get my story done until we send.

 

1. Cover game
2. Help desk finish section.
3. Miss deadline.
4. Curl into fetal position.
5. Shower, rinse and repeat routine for college football Saturdays.

 

I see a lot of people on here saying "adding up stats." Don't you guys use a running stat system?? It makes things a heck of a lot easier and when you only have 30 minutes or so to do a story and a box, having to spend any of that totaling up stats is just a waste.

At the end of of a game, I don't have to add anything up because I update every player's stats after every play -- and while taking photos too. I can tell you at any time throughout the game how many carries Joe Blow has for how many yards.

I thought this was pretty standard and I'm a bit surprised at the number of people on here who have to spend deadline time adding up their final stats. If you've never kept a running tally before, you really should try it. The more time you have to spend on your story --- even if it's just 5 minutes -- the better. Especially because most of us are usually sweating to get a decent story done by deadline.

 

Me and dad had a good long talk about what he was and was not allowed to do in the press box. He seemed to understand. Throughout my childhood when we would go to games dad was never the type to get loud or boo or anything so I was never really worried, but I did make sure to layout some ground rules.

 

I can tell you what every player has after each play, but I need to add individual stats to get the team totals.

 

Man with a plan.

 

Right, this is kind of a bear. I can get individuals off the bat, but its a pain to put together team totals.

 

Get to game 30-45 minutes beforehand. Sometimes earlier if needed.
Most of the time I'm on the sidelines. Last week I was up in the press box and could do stats easier myself.
Get back to office and crank out story. Type up my agate and agate from two to three other games, along with standings and area scores.
Do my story
Layout pages
Half proof the page
Get it in right before deadline

 

1.Night before game, set up spreadsheat for stats (it's easier to just hit autosum).
2.Arrive at gamesite 30 minutes beforehand to set up laptop.
3.Pee.
4.If there is any questions about the away team's star players, I ask the camera guy (almost all of our opponents are from WAY out of town).
5.Save a file for my story, and do box score as needed.
6.Have lead written midway through the third quarter.
7.Have story written with room for quotes by end of game.
8.Write story in car, file from home.

I know this sounds very strange to a lot of you, but I cover maybe one game a year that ISN'T a blowout. It's always the same school too. I drive 6,000 miles away just to have a nervous breakdown. They're Saturday afternoon games too, so I'm not even on deadline.

 

This thread makes me glad I don't do this any more.

I always thought covering a HS football game is one of the toughest things in the business. Ironic that it's where so many people start, before moving on to easier stuff.

 

Truer words have never been spoken. A high school football beat is a GRIND.