Lack of help frustratescoverage

A grandmother took the LVN to task last week for not including captions under championship youth basketball photos.

We don’t blame her or the others who have called inquiring about the lack of youth sports coverage.

The LVN should have never printed the three photos without captions, but those who send us material to be published are also tone deaf when we ask them for additional information. Case in point: The elementary school principal who sent us the three photos was asked to submit names, yet he didn’t have time to follow up.

Likewise, every year we continually make contact with either the middle school or athletic director to send us results of both the boys and girls middle-school basketball games ... and for that matter ... the other sports. And like ever year, our sports editor is frustrated because we receive very little information unless a parent works with us.

It works with honor rolls, and during the last quarter, every elementary school except for one — Lahontan — sent us the information.

Teachers wonder how they can submit stories to us even though each and every school year — including this one — we approach the school district to talk with the principals so that they will inform their staffs that we want to publish their youth activities news and photographs. We don’t think the information sheet was read before the three basketball photos were emailed to us.

Now, we are seriously wondering if the news tips worksheet that was handed out to the principals was lost between them and their teachers?

We listen to feedback and we read the daily metrics. Based on the daily website numbers for the past three years, our sports fans prefer — in this order — major varsity Greenwave athletics, Wolf Pack football and basketball, columnists, youth sports (also includes Sierra Youth and Pop Warner football, swimming, etc.) and community sports such as auto racing and rodeo.

Youth wrestling had a major meet on Sunday, yet their coaches did not contact the LVN for any coverage, photos, and follow-up story ... nothing. When my children lived at home and played sports, we always saved newspapers and sent some to the grandparents.

For years now, we continually ask junior varsity and freshmen coaches for their game results, but most coaches do not send us information. Sometimes a coach will do so, but it is only for wins and not losses. Youth baseball and softball programs present difficulty in sharing information, signups, championship games, etc.

We can’t be at every athletic or activities event, but all we ask for is a little help from the schools and coaches to either send us scores and other information or to invite us to an event to take photos.

Editorials written by the LVN Editorial Board appear on Wednesdays.