For every beat, there are good things and bad things.
As an incoming freshman this past fall, I thought I had everything figured out.
That was probably the worst mistake I have made all year.
To this point, I have covered eight sports at Ohio including: men’s and women’s golf, football, women’s basketball, cross country, track and field, wrestling and baseball.
It’s been a blast. I have interacted and met some interesting athletes. I’ve also ran into my fair share of problems with each beat, mostly struggles I have been able to overcome. There have been certain instances that have stuck out though. Here are some of my top ones for the year.
Men’s and Women’s Golf
I’ve covered men’s golf almost the whole year, and I covered women’s golf for just one tournament. The highlight with golf is how much golf wisdom the men’s coach, Bob Cooley, knows. He remembers golfers from some of the first years of his coaching career. Ohio should honor him in his 30th season of coaching, which will be next year.
The toughest struggle for the sport was learning how to read the scorecards and learning the correct AP Style. I knew the difference between an eagle, birdie and par, but it wasn’t always the easiest to decipher. AP also says that numbers in golf aren’t supposed to be spelled out, including numbers under 10. Which is hard getting used to when one always spells out those numbers.
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Baseball
At one of my first media availability when I started covering the beat more, coach Rob Smith gave me a quiz. And I flunked horribly. I didn’t know the starting weekend rotation or the power hitter for the team.
I would like to say I have made progress on that since that embarrassment. Thanks to coach Smith for being pretty nice to me about it. It could've ended much worse.
Track and Field
Easily the hardest sport I have ever covered. I covered one of Ohio’s three tournaments that it hosts. The sport itself is interesting, the problem is just keeping track of everything.
One minute there could be a 100-meter dash, and then, in the distance a long jump can be occurring. And it was super cold, but that sport itself was awesome. Just make sure to bring a clipboard or folder to keep all the papers organized.
Wrestling
Best sport I covered, and it was because of the people I met and the stories I found. Nothing beats hearing Phil Wellington’s love for skateboarding or Cody Walters’ emotions on graduating and leaving Ohio as a redshirt senior.
Sure, it wasn’t that easy talking tactics with the wrestlers, but you gain experience. That’s when the “juices” start to flow, and everything comes together. I was also lucky enough to cover a team that included five redshirt seniors and sent seven wrestlers to the NCAA Championships.
Overall, it has been a pretty fantastic year. And yeah, I have learned quite a bit.
@Pete_Nakos96
pn997515@ohio.edu
