Stats

[fishwrapper]

If there is, it's an improvised one. I've got my own system, and I'm sure everyone's got theirs.

You guys need to move to Texas.

Then, we would live in Texas, right?

 

[mattyb]

thanks for everyone's advice. I tried keeping up with the stats in the sideline, it was a bad move. Press box is easier for me. I can see the whole field. But it sounds like everyone has their way. I'm using the different color pens and grids. it works ok for right now. just hard keeping up with totals as i go along.

Anyone got any advice on how to cover 13 schools when you are the only sports writer and manage the sports department for a 7-day/week paper in south mississippi? This sucks. I'm not even the editor.

 

[wickedwritah]

Thirteen schools and one writer? Are you serious?

 

[buckweaver]

Anyone got any advice on how to cover 13 schools when you are the only sports writer and manage the sports department for a 7-day/week paper in south mississippi? This sucks. I'm not even the editor.

www.journalismjobs.com

 

[mike311gd]

thanks for everyone's advice. I tried keeping up with the stats in the sideline, it was a bad move. Press box is easier for me. I can see the whole field. But it sounds like everyone has their way. I'm using the different color pens and grids. it works ok for right now. just hard keeping up with totals as i go along.

Anyone got any advice on how to cover 13 schools when you are the only sports writer and manage the sports department for a 7-day/week paper in south mississippi? This sucks. I'm not even the editor.

That's a ****ing bum job, dude. Is there an opening in news?

 

[Write-brained]

thanks for everyone's advice. I tried keeping up with the stats in the sideline, it was a bad move. Press box is easier for me. I can see the whole field. But it sounds like everyone has their way. I'm using the different color pens and grids. it works ok for right now. just hard keeping up with totals as i go along.

Anyone got any advice on how to cover 13 schools when you are the only sports writer and manage the sports department for a 7-day/week paper in south mississippi? This sucks. I'm not even the editor.

That's a ****ing bum job, dude. Is there an opening in news at Sears until you can find another job?

 

[Batman]

Getting back to the topic for a moment...
I like to use a big, Five-Star notebook. Draw a line down the middle of the page and do a play-by-play that goes like this (for example purposes, our teams will be Podunk High and Smalltown High)

1st Quarter
-------------
-#8 Ret KO to PH 30 (22)
PH Ball at PH 30
1. #22 runs to PH 32 (2)
2. #12 Fumb snap
-- #12 Recov to PH 30 (-2)
3. #12 Pass to #80 to PH 42 (12)
1. #12 runs to 50 (8)
2. #22 runs to SH 45 (5).
1. #12 PASS TO #84 FOR TD (45)
--#6 PAT Good
PH 7
SH 0
------------------------------------
SH Ball at SH 20
1. #6 Inc.
2. #44 runs
-- PEN, Hold, on SH, to SH 10 (-10)
2. #6 Pass to #16 to SH 18 (8)
3. #6 Inc.
4. #15 Punts to #8 to PH 45
PH Ball at SH 48

The stuff in parentheses is the yardage. The rest is pretty self-explanatory. This gives you a nice, easy-to-read play-by-play, the yardage, attempts and passing are all easy to add up, and for high school games one quarter fits nicely on one page. Stats take me about 10 minutes to add up at halftime, and afterward maybe another 5 to total up what I need for the story.
Now if you're on a tight deadline this might not be ideal. But I've found it to work well.

 

[mattyb]

Yes I'm serious and remember I'm new to journalism. I'm not sure if what I'm doing is right or not. Just doing it.

 

[buckweaver]

Yes I'm serious and remember I'm new to journalism. I'm not sure if what I'm doing is right or not. Just doing it.

Keep asking questions. To anyone who will answer.

Then sort through the bull****, and pick out the best answers.

 

[mike311gd]

Just remember your first season will be the hardest. You might stumble through football season this year, but after it's done, sit back and reflect upon what worked and what didn't. Next year, you'll have a better idea of how to attack the beast. The same goes with every sport.

Aside from soccer with its low scoring, baseball is probably the easiest -- only because a self-explanatory scoring format is created for you (providing you've scored baseball before, like many little-leaguers learn to do).

But there are different tricks to the trade, and everyone has his or her own "right" way. Just get comfortable, and you'll pick up a good rhythm and increase your speed and productivity.

Then you just need to worry about writing well on deadline, and that's a whole different animal.

 

[FileNotFound]

If a high school football program provided stats after the game, would you use yours or theirs?

 

[wickedwritah]

If a high school football program provided stats after the game, would you use yours or theirs?

I never trust high school stats.

Often they are done by fanboys/parents whose only job is to make the high school team look good.

They don't know the difference between the pro rules (e.g. deducting sack yardage from passing yards) and college rules (deducting sack yardage from rushing yards) and other idiosyncrasies. Many of us do this twice each week all season long.

OK, there is one area where I'll take stats: defensive stats. A tackle is a tackle is a tackle.

 

[Write-brained]

I've been tempted to string a game for my newspaper for some time ... sounds fun.

 

[pressboxer]

It would also help to have a copy of the NCAA Football Statistics Manual. You can download a pdf from www.ncaa.org. I live in Texas, which uses NCAA rules with some modifications (12-minute quarters, width of goal post, etc.), but even in a state that plays Federation rules, the stats manual will give you an idea of what to keep an eye out for.

I recently had a game with an intentional grounding penalty that somehow wound up being exactly 15 yards. The radio guys came around to ask me when grounding became a 15-yard penalty and I had to explain that it's really a penalty for 0 yards. The play goes as a sack and lost rushing yardage for the passer, no pass attempt and a loss of down, which is the real penalty. I don't think they ever quite got it right because they had the quarterback with 15 yards more rushing than I had.

 

[GreenSunglasses]

I described my way in the other thread, but I made a PDF of one of my stat sheets. I should probably just buy one pre-made, though.

http://www.mediafire.com/?0ignxdvelmt

All name boxes are six-wide. First, I write out 20-30 up top as that will be the basis for rushes/receptions/completions.

I make eight lines for RBs (with two extra below), three two-line boxes for QBs (I split the first line for name/number and interceptions while using the second line for pass attempts, though I guess that first line could be 4-2... and leave room for a fourth QB if necessary) and eight lines for WRs (same format as rushers).

I use the bottom for punts and first downs and the right side of the same lines for fumbles/fumbles lost.

I keep my scoring summary on one Word file, my game notes (drive times, plays, other notes) on another while I leave a third open for my story. As always -- save early, save often.

 

[Angola!]

I was just thinking, what stats are you guys required to keep?

These are ours
Rushing
Receiving
Passing
Interceptions and returns
Fumbles and returns
Sacks
Kickoff returns
Punt returns
Punts
Penalties-yards
Fumbles-lost
First downs

Does anyone else do this much? Are people keeping track of even more, like tackles?

 

[Barsuk]

We do a full-on box score, like AP does, including first downs broken down by run-pass-penalty, time of possession, third- and fourth-down conversions and complete individual offensive stats.

We don't do defensive stats, though I usually note fumble recoveries and sacks (can't quite keep up with tackles; it's just too much.)

 

[GreenSunglasses]

I was just thinking, what stats are you guys required to keep?

These are ours
Rushing
Receiving
Passing
Interceptions and returns
Fumbles and returns
Sacks
Kickoff returns
Punt returns
Punts
Penalties-yards
Fumbles-lost
First downs

Does anyone else do this much? Are people keeping track of even more, like tackles?

Right now, we take rushing, receiving, passing, first downs, punts with total/average, fumbles/lost, penalties/yards, interceptors and INT TD (if necessary). Throw it into a system and it complies. I'm pretty sure we're going back to return yards sometime this season. The defensive stats are sent in by coaches.