If you’re a high school sports fan and live in Alaska, then you know that covering football games can be challenging. There are not many fans of the sport, so most games don’t have an audience. And with the time zone difference, it’s hard to get viewers from out of town. That said, broadcasting games is an invaluable part of any media outlet’s coverage plan. Getting high school sports news and information out there means more people will know about your team or players when they go off to college or beyond. It also helps increase viewership for your home games. But how? Simple, right? Just follow these few steps and you’ll be reporting in no time!
What are you hoping to achieve with live reporting?
This is a question you should ask yourself before you choose to cover high school sports. The answer will help you determine how best to cover the game. Do you want to cover a game that isn’t getting a lot of attention, but is still important to your school? Do you want to fill in as a backup announcer for a game that can’t be recorded? Do you want to serve as a creative outlet for your school and its football team? Whatever your reasons are, you should think them through. After that, take a look at what your school’s sports information director has to say about the coverage of their games. If you aren’t sure about the level of interest in your team, then a SID can help you determine how much coverage to give the team. For instance, if the team is struggling, you can give more coverage to the story.
More Information:
Check your school’s policy for live streaming rights
Schools often have streaming rights for home football games. This means you can stream the game online and/or on TV. However, be aware that your school may have restrictions on who can access the stream. For instance, some schools block the streaming of games to cell phones. Check with the SID or your school’s athletic director to find out what’s allowed. What’s also important to know is that most schools block any media that is live streaming the game. This means you’ll have to cut the game off at some point. Depending on your SID, they may let you have a couple of minutes at the start of the game to set up your stream, but the rest of the time you’ll have to cut the stream off.
Make a plan with your team and coaches
In addition to the access policy for the school, make sure to have an idea of what you want from the coverage. Put together a list of your team’s goals for the season and the games you want to be part of. Make sure to discuss this with the coaches as well. You may find that some of your goals aren’t in line with the team’s long-term goals. This can be a good conversation to start, but don’t expect a ton of change. Coaches are often tied to their long-term goals, so they may need a bit of time to let you into the discussion.
Find an anchor who will help stream the game
You’ll need someone at the school who is allowed to help you stream the game. This person will be your anchor. Depending on your school’s policy, your anchor may be able to stream the game from a school computer, a class computer, or a university computer. If your anchor isn’t allowed to stream the game, it’s important that this person knows their access policy.
Record the game or have it recorded ahead of time
You have a few options when it comes to recording the game. Most high schools have a recording service that is allowed to record football games. Make sure the person recording the game is aware of the access policy. Another option is to record the game yourself. If you know someone who can help you set up a camera and do the recording, this is an option. There are a few things to keep in mind when recording the game yourself, though. Make sure the audio isn’t too high or too low. Too low and the people watching on TV or online will have trouble hearing the play. Too high and the players won’t be able to hear the play.
Final steps
Once you’ve covered the game, it’s time to put out the story or create content from the game. This means taking the footage from the game and creating a highlight video or recap video. You can then put this out on your website or YouTube channel or send a link to the SID or the athletic director. As the season progresses and you get more experience covering high school sports, you’ll find more and more ways to make it worthwhile. And when the time comes to cover college sports, you’ll be ready.
