He’s at the 40 ...
Covering Southern California preps never gets old for this reporter
Forty years. That’s a long time covering high school sports in Southern California.
Who knows how many miles I’ve traveled on freeways, or how many football stat sheets I’ve filled out. A lot.
This weekend marks an anniversary of sorts. Since I turned 18 in 1976, my Friday nights each fall have been booked.
I used to report games from the sideline with a notepad, pen and roster, mostly because real press boxes didn’t exist at City Section schools. I’ve gone from sprinting to a phone booth after games to dictate a story (“Yes, I’m calling collect, please accept!”) to wheeling a case that includes computer, video camera, smartphone and notepad.
Every year, no one seems to understand the frustration of a sportswriter who shows up at a game seeking to spell names correctly but finds no roster or is given a printout that is incomplete or inaccurate.
Just last month, a group of City Section assistant coaches sat on a bench giggling and providing no help. And you wonder why parents have decided to transfer their kids to better-organized situations?
Some people think the high school sports reporter is the lowest entry position of a newspaper. It’s true in some aspects. The least experienced person gets told, “Go cover the game.” Then the editor gets to see how dedicated, determined and innovative the reporter truly is, because those are the qualities you need to succeed.
From rosters not existing to disputes with officials not wanting reporters on the sideline to fighting for a seat in a press box filled with boosters munching on crackers, there are obstacles at seemingly every game. Then there are the games that end past deadline. You’re stressed out, doing a little underthe-breath cursing … and, in the end, loving every minute of the challenge.
The good far outweighs the bad. It’s so much more fulfilling than having to write about Kobe Bryant 82 games a year. Where else do you get to see 16-year-old John Elway show off his amazing arm at Granada Hills High, long before he became a Hall of Famer?
Where else do you get to tell the story of a high school quarterback spending nine months conducting a charade, hiding from his mother the fact that he was playing football? Pablo Suarez of West Hills Chaminade is now all grown up, with his own kids playing sports.
Where else do you get to write the story of the only no-hitter at Dodger Stadium in the history of City Section championship baseball, then get to watch the teenager who pitched it, Bret Saberhagen, become the World Series MVP and Cy Young Award winner a few years later?
In football terms, here’s a brief rundown on my last four decades:
The late ’70s were about the rivalry among future NFL quarterbacks Elway, Tom Ramsey (Granada Hills Kennedy) and Jay Schroeder (Palisades). What a time it was for the City Section.
In the 1980s, Santa Clarita Valley football ruled supreme. Harry Welch at Canyon Country Canyon came onto the scene and life was never boring. There were lots of championships, and controversy. Russell White, the running back, led Encino Crespi to a Big Five Conference championship, routing Bellflower St. John Bosco.
The 1990s were filled with top players, such as Justin Fargas (Sherman Oaks Notre Dame) and Kyle Boller (Newhall Hart). Hart went on a run of producing All-CIF quarterbacks. Long Beach Poly and Santa Ana Mater Dei were kings of the big schools in the Southern Section. Carson, San Pedro and Sylmar were winning in the City Section.
The 21st century came and the private schools started taking control — Westlake Village Oaks Christian, Gardena Serra, Los Angeles Loyola. A young coach named Matt Logan developed a no-huddle offense at Corona Centennial and changed the balance of power. Harbor City Narbonne and Crenshaw became tops in the City Section. Steve and Malcolm Smith left a legacy to remember at Woodland Hills Taft.
My pet peeves have not changed: There are too many transfers, too many CIF championship divisions and too many people forgetting the purpose of high school sports.
But I’ll be heading out on another Friday night looking to tell the story of a teenager, coach or team making a difference. That’s what I’ve done for 40 years and will continue to do, as long my computer doesn’t destruct like it did two years ago when a basketball official accidentally spilled a bottle of water on it.