The dreaded ‘End of Season’ story

In high school sports writing I typically have an end of season story for many of our local teams. Needless to say, these stories are not fun to write. They are not fun to interview coaches about.

When a coach just had to console a couple of seniors about their final game being played it’s awkward to come in and ask questions about how the team lost the sectional or regional contest. The tone of the interview shifts from the setting of a loud sporting event to something better suited for a funeral home.

Some of my end of season videos have been some of my best. In 2019, I covered the Lutheran Saints in the Class A title game at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Saints lost the game in the final minute but the video I had with reaction of their coach praising his team for the season they had blew up on social media.

This past June, Shakamak baseball fell in the title game at Victory Field in a game with few highlights for Laker fans. Yet, the tone of the video I had was positive. The Lakers knew that just playing on Victory Field meant something.

Writing about a team finishing its season will never go away. How a season finishes can define a team or a year. That might not be fair to a team but it is the truth.

Television shows are in the same boat. A show could be great but if the finale is a clunker, it ruins the reputation of the whole show.

A year ago, I interviewed Linton Football Coach Brian Oliver on my camera after Linton just lost to Evansville Mater Dei in the sectional final. As the interview was wrapping up, I had a moment of panic as I realized I never hit the record button. I recorded only a quarter of the interview. Had it been a normal game I might have asked Oliver if I could do the interview over again. Given the fact he just got done talking to his team after a heartbreaking defeat, I just ran with what I had.

This season, I made the switch to interviewing the players on camera after games and Oliver on my recording app on my phone. The debacle with my camera after the season ending game last year is a big reason why.

In a way, that is what end of season stories are for. You learn what a team (or in my case, sports editor) did wrong and what they hope to do to improve on it for next year.

Either in victory or in defeat, seeking improvement is the name of the game in sports and sports media.

Nathan is the Sports Editor for the Greene County Daily World and can be reached at npacegcdw@gmail.com. His Low Budget Sports Shows airs weekly on Facebook Live.