Question about the whole calling things in thing

[SkiptomyLou]

I'm a college freshman and I hear you guys talking all the time on here about coaches who have a bad habit of calling things in. Maybe it's my naivity, but aren't the writers at the game supposed to keep track of stats? Or is it a thing of the sports department isn't big enough to cover every game so they rely on some coaches to call in but not others? If they call it in, how do you write a story for it without quotes? Just wondering.

 

[Stitch]

Newspapers can't cover every game.

Sometimes the coach only calls in so the paper has info for the box score. Other times, a coach calls in to get a short story in on a game and quotes will appear. Those stories usually don't have a byline (at least at any paper worth its salt).

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

I'm a college freshman and I hear you guys talking all the time on here about coaches who have a bad habit of calling things in. Maybe it's my naivity, but aren't the writers at the game supposed to keep track of stats? Or is it a thing of the sports department isn't big enough to cover every game so they rely on some coaches to call in but not others? If they call it in, how do you write a story for it without quotes? Just wondering.

You can't cover every game every night. Results have to be called in.

 

[flexmaster33]

Yes, most weeklies or multi-weeklies are lucky to have a staff of 2 or 3 writers/freelancers...many are one-person shops. And in most areas we're covering anywhere from 5 to 30 high schools. We get to the big games each week, and have an extensive recap section where every school has a chance to get their results into the paper, but it's on the teams to find a way to send us those details.

 

[Ace]

Even a small paper that covers only one high school would have a conflict with a soccer team playing away and a volleyball team playing at home, for example.

 

[HanSenSE]

I'm a college freshman and I hear you guys talking all the time on here about coaches who have a bad habit of calling things in. Maybe it's my naivity, but aren't the writers at the game supposed to keep track of stats? Or is it a thing of the sports department isn't big enough to cover every game so they rely on some coaches to call in but not others? If they call it in, how do you write a story for it without quotes? Just wondering.

On Tuesday, we had five volleyball, three water polo and a couple of tennis matches going on at the same time, and there's only two people in my department, counting me. We'll have the same thing today, except all the teams are out of town. Any tennis/water polo/volleyball mom that thinks we're going to everything needs a reality check, stat! Coaches also have people (usually JV kids) who can chart some secondary stats we just can't, like digs and assists in volleyball.

Technology helps too. In addition to emails (cuts down on the typos in names), I encourage coaches to use the notify service on Maxpreps. The mom of one of our softball coaches is also their scorekeeper and she transfers everything on to an iPad after the game and within a couple of hours after the last out, we've got a full recap. The swim coaches also send us a copy of the agate generated by the automatic timing system, so I don't have to sit through a two-hour meet!

 

[SkiptomyLou]

Okay, thanks. I'm not trying to sound stupid, by the way. What is agate??? *ducks head to avoid having stuff thrown at him for what might be a stupid question*

 

[Stitch]

Okay, thanks. I'm not trying to sound stupid, by the way. What is agate??? *ducks head to avoid having stuff thrown at him for what might be a stupid question*

Agate is the stuff you see in small type such as box scores, polls and other results.

(Friendly note to Skiptomylou: Hopefully you use another email address for your real correspondence instead of the one listed).

 

[flexmaster33]

Yes, supplied stats help a ton...I've got a soccer coach on some such system (new to me) this year. So he doesn't have to bother calling in results, I can get his team online shortly after their matches. If something big happens, I give him a call.

Same with cross country/swimming and such...you can check through the results and cover a meet with a 10-minute phone call instead of putting in 2-3 hours at an event. Of course, we still cover the big meets in person.

Same goes for football/basketball, etc. I'll often keep some form of stats, but it's difficult when you have a camera to your face. I've given up on volleyball, and now pretty much all the coaches expect me to find them afterward to get their team leaders for the night. And they're tracking stuff on I-pad gadgets and such, so it's quick and easy for all involved.

 

[SkiptomyLou]

How on earth do you keep track of volleyball stats? My college does it for the writers. I couldnt imagine trying to keep track of digs, kills, blocks, errors and the such by myself

 

[Stitch]

How on earth do you keep track of volleyball stats? My college does it for the writers. I couldnt imagine trying to keep track of digs, kills, blocks, errors and the such by myself

You don't track everything by yourself, especially if you have to take your own photos.

 

[SF_Express]

How on earth do you keep track of volleyball stats? My college does it for the writers. I couldnt imagine trying to keep track of digs, kills, blocks, errors and the such by myself

Just like football stats, basketball stats, whatever, people learn how to do it.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

I can't believe you guys are falling for this one.

 

[HanSenSE]

How on earth do you keep track of volleyball stats? My college does it for the writers. I couldnt imagine trying to keep track of digs, kills, blocks, errors and the such by myself

This is where I rely on and trust the coaches. Sports I've watched my whole life, like baseball, football and basketball, I can keep the basics, but volleyball just goes too quick to keep everything, and there's a lot of stats I'm not familar with, so I concentrate on the action but, like in anything else, I'm looking for story angles.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

Crossed Sock Puppets of Death.

 

[Stitch]

I'm new to the business and wondering how I can write for ESPN.com. I hate writing and talking to people, but think getting into games for free would be cool, plus I can bring a date. (It beats paying for dinner and a movie).

I just graduated from DeVry with an associates in computer repair, but think Sports Writing is better than working at Best Buy. What are my chances? I have a blog and am a contributor at Bleacher Report with five articles already in only a year.

By the way, when people ask for clips, do you mean paper clips? I have plenty of those. By the way, how do I make a PDF.

Anyway, I'm free to work for anyone. Of course, I won't work for anything less than $75,000 a year.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

What's a newspaper?

 

[21]

Crossed Sock Puppets of Death.

I don't think this the same Lou.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

Most college freshmen use the phrase "Skip to My Lou." It's trending on Twitter.

 

[beanpole]

What are these "subscribers" of which you speak?