Let's Communicate - It's Easy

It happens so often. In fact, numerous times a year. And here we go again - emails and telephone calls.

Readers of the Toronto Star and our website want to know why a certain high school score is not posted online or in the paper? Some are curious, some are very upset - likely because their team won a game or an athlete did something unusual.

This might sound like I'm bragging. Yup, then again, I am. The Toronto Star has done an excellent job over the years highlighting school sports. And there are far more people than just me, who someway are involved in making sure that high school sports information gets to you.

Here's the problem. We can't be everywhere all the time.

And so, we rely on schools, coaches, teachers, athletes, managers and more to provide us with daily and accurate information. It has been like that for years and hope the message has been understood. I know many schools do a great job, many don't.

We can't give you what we don't have and so the onus is on the various athletic associations to get the message out. Believe me, they have tried. It's that group I mentioned earlier that need to do their share of communicating - win, lose or tie.

And I have heard it far too many times, ready..."my team lost so I don't want anyone to know" or "I'm just to busy" and there are more. I guess that's why there are team captains, managers and assistants. It takes seconds to call or e-mail - especially with technology being what it is and everyone I know has a cell phone.

We want to know what's happening in sports in Greater Toronto Area schools. Yes, boys and girls - junior and senior. E-mail me at dgrossm@thestar.ca or telephone toll free at 1-866-249-1387 or locally at 416-869-4394.

I really am a nice guy.

The numbers appear daily in the paper, on our website and now here - where I know coaches read this. Help us promote student athletes.

Comments

[Joseph]

Mind boggling on how so many coaches like to complain that the media does little for school sports and yet they are so damn lazy and ignorant by not doing there share. Wake up coaches.

[J. Downing]

Nice to see that a newspaper like the Star still feels it is important to devote space for amateur sport. Ever since I was in university, the Star has been wonderful with high school coverage. It would be a real shame to see it end because schools aren't aggressive and thinking about their clientele.

[Louis]

As a former student I remember having my name in the Toronto Star on a regular basis and it was a great feeling. It lifted our spirits.

[Andy M.]

Give up David because teachers just don't get it. They don't understand that you once had full pages of stories and results and pictures. Then it sagged over the week. Now with a smaller section and more yahoos interested in sniffing the Blue Jays, Argos, Raptors and now the future Stanley Cup Maple Leafs, less and less school sports unless its the website. Coaches need to be more firm and aggressive and call the scores to the media who care - and that's only the Star.

[Pepper]

Real shame that students lose again.

[Kennedy]

Amazing. First schools chop physical education programs and kids are obese. Now they lack what it takes to boast school varsity sports. No wonder so few major media in Toronto don't care about our amateur athletes and we have to listen to more about our wonderful professional teams.

[Byron K]

I still have the newspaper story about me in a frame on my wall and I am sure many teachers were happy when they were students in sports getting newspaper articles in the paper. Why have the obnoxious ones taken over from all those great coaches. If you can't stand the heat then get out of the fire.

[Peel Fan]

Does anyone find it interesting that, in a post asking teachers to try and send in as many scores as possible, some posters believe that the best response is to trash the very teachers who volunteer their time to coach the students?

The amount of hatred for teachers in some of the responses after each blog post is truly disturbing. Why those who obviously have a hate on for the people that help make high school athletics happen bother to read this blog is beyond me.

Much childish name calling to follow...

[Ottawa High School Coach]

Peel Fan....I couldn't agree with you more...I've been really thinking about not following this blog anymore due to the sheer sarcasm and animosity of the majority of posters and the columnist towards teachers and volunteers. One of the big problems is the extra dilligence teachers now have to go through to get these "student" athletes and their classmates to hand in a damn assignment. When I started teaching I could simply give these tardy kids a big fat "ZERO" and move on with my day. Now I spend a large chunk of my day calling parents when 3/4 of a class (and that's for 3 classes) doesn't bother to meet a deadline....which apparently is no longer a big deal as there is virtually no such thing as a "ZERO" or late marks anymore. Imagine if you had an employee who never got reports/work/analysis to you on time but you couldn't fire them? Think about what that does to your job...oh right...you bitch about that in this very article....why don't you write an article on how these "deserving of sports" student athletes could go about helping their coaches so they have more time? Worrying about whether a score is printed in the paper after I have spent most of my time chasing students and coaching these kids is really the last thing on my mind. It WILL get reported withing the next day or 2 but it may not make it by "press time". BTW, I am NOT a coach in the Star reporting area but sympathize greatly with the coaches and teachers subjected to these rants.

[Angry Parent]

I can't believe what I am reading after seeing the last two posters and this person from Ottawa should stay in Ottawa. Am I supposed to bow to teachers or maybe get some tissue to ease with the sobbing? No one forced them to teach. Don't like the job, get out. My son plays sports at a school. I can't even coach him. The least I should expect is for the coach, who is a teacher, to help recognize this player and all the other players by contacting the media. If its too difficult then tell me and I will volunteer my time. Good gosh. Gorw up posters. Those who are teachers and feeling this way are spoiling it for the majority of teachers and coaches who care about students and do a great job.

[KJ]

Somebody is angry in Ottawa because the truth has been stated by a few people and why pick on the guy wgho wrote this. He is entitled to his opinion. My oh my are you ever bitter.
I teach and coach students in Mississauga and I am also a parent. I don't have any of the problems that you are reacting about. I take the time to make sure my athletes get recognized in the Mississauga News and the Toronto Star and we are thrilled that they want to print our information.

[Glenn]

I have differences with Grossman on some items. Not this one. I agree with him. Reporters are not going to waste their time writing any stories about coaches who can't work with their athletes.

[Bart Phillips]

I am getting fed up with the comments by some people. I am a coach and do a great job bragging about my players. Our school welcomes the media coverage and appreciate what the Toronto Star newspaper does for us so to the others who want to try spoil it - DON'T!!!
You guys complain a great deal when there is no media coverage but you are also very pompous in not getting off your ass to give these youngsters the attention they deserve.

[Ottawa High School Coach]

Wow. Wow. Wow. Unbelievable. I am actually NOT bitter at all. I am simply saying that at some point something has to give, and if that is not calling in score (win or lose) by an exact time then so be it). I make sure every game the next day is announced within their school with all of their peers listening...that is VERY important to most athletes.
To Glenn: I spend LOTS of time coaching my athletes...that is NOT the issue here at all. To Angry Parent: Why can't you coach your son? Is it because you have a job? I guess I must not have one and that is why I can coach so much...LOL. As to your comment about staying in Ottawa, I am more than happy to. If you possibly remember the work to rule in about 2000 that virtually shut down ALL HS sports in Toronto, the Ottawa region had the largest participation of coaches and teams in the province...including myself who coached 2 sports at the same time despite what some of my peers may have thought, so that the athletes would continue to be able to excel in something they love. I bet you wouldn't have been too angry at me then...:)

[Edward Fong]

From what I make of this, people can communicate their feelings and opinions and there are some wild ones here. I am a student in grade 12, play sports and plan to go to U of T next year. I am offended that there are some coaches who appear to think that contacting the press doesn't mean much. It has helped me thanks to my great coach. I think that guy Bart Phillips has it absolutely right. Schools should value the media attention they get to help athletes. It tends to be the ones who, like this Ottawa coach, spill their anger and don't want anything until he has a ringer on the team or a championship down the pipe. Everyone has different opinion, like I said, but I would rather have Bart as my coach than that person in Ottawa.

[Morris Simpson]

That's the problem with our Ontario school system and the fact that they take anyone who wants to coach. People push the volunteer thing all the time and OFSAA does it so much that I am ready to throw up. Sometimes volunteers are great. Sometimes volunteers with a chip on their shoulder are better off not coaching.

[JuanBigJuan]

Personally, I think that David Grossman does a great job promoting high school sports. Many of his articles about the plight of athletes are quite interesting and informative. Having stated the positive side of his writing, he has also written stories about, what some coaches would deem, "negative". I remember reading stories about teams getting blown out in high school basketball...I believe it happened to Northview and Danforth Tech in girl's basketball and many coaches were upset with that negative reporting; or the time Denham Brown scored over 100 points. Canadian attitudes are different than American. In the States, no one would look twice or even make a negative remark about such stories. Here in Canada, where we aspire to "mediocracy", people take offence to such writings. Some teams just happen to be "stacked" and are going to decimate an opponent. David should not be blamed or attacked for reporting it. It's his job....that's what he does for living. What needs to be examined are the structures that are in place. People are still getting around transfer policies. High school athletes are still congregating at certain schools for certain sports.....and getting a chance to play. Recruiting of athletes now starts in elementary schools and also in the club systems. It can never be a even playing field in high school athletics. The coaches who run these "high level" programs always promote their kids. That does not necessarily mean they are good coaches. The majority of coaches do not fall into this category...but having said that, many of us do have " diamonds in the rough" on our teams with interesting stories. This is why we should be promoting them ....and calling in results with names, beit a good score for one's team or bad. It should always be about the kids and not ourselves. We had our time in the spotlight years ago. It's time our student athletes had theirs.

[PF]

Coaches who can't take the heat need to get out of the kitchen, the house and coaching. Plain and simple. Sports is not all publicity and personal ego building. The media have a job to do, like Grossman. I don't see many coaches saying nice things when stories arewritten about them. Ya don't like some controversay, too bad. I had problems at my school in Toronto. It was all in the paper and the story actually helped turn things around for the better with the the players and the image of the school. While many coaches do a great job, there are some who need to start looking at reality and stop spoiling it for everyone else.