On October 28th I shadowed Assistant Athletics Communications Director Milla Sue Wisecarver at the JMU men’s soccer game versus Georgia State. I arrived 30 minutes prior to the 1 p.m. kickoff to get a gist of how the press box was set-up for the game. Two laptops and an iPad are utilized for keeping track of various sports information needs. The stats laptop is used exclusively by Milla Sue to record game stats in real-time, while the iPad is used to keep track of the Live Stats broadcast on jmusports.com. The stats laptop feeds directly to Live Stats, allowing Milla Sue to continuously monitor the online stats for mistakes or interruptions. The second laptop is used for the student spotter to update the JMU Sports twitter account, as well as watch the Madizone broadcast replays for important moments in the match.
By kickoff, each person on the communications side of the press box has a defined role. While Milla Sue keeps game stats, two student spotters help her keep track of the game happenings. The sideline spotter works on the field to check-in subs for each team and relay the substitute information to the press box. Milla Sue also utilizes the sideline spotter to confirm player stats for goals, assists, and fouls. The press box spotter is responsible for tracking and confirming substitutions relayed from the sideline, as well as diagraming goals scored. The press box spotter must pay careful attention to the play on the field and be able to give a detailed recap of any important moments in the match that Milla Sue might have missed while entering stats. At halftime and the end of the match, the press box spotter runs stats to each teams coach and to the referees.
Postgame, is where all the sports information responsibilities come to life. Milla Sue wraps up the game files so the student spotter can post stats on jmusports.com, ncaa.com, and topdrawersoccer.com. According to Milla Sue, the NCAA and Top Drawer Soccer have specific deadlines for game stats that must be met in order for stats to be accounted for and for players to be eligible for postseason awards. Milla Sue conducts a post-game video interview with the head coach, which is then uploaded to jmusports.com. She uses quotes from this interview in the writing of her game story as well. Within a couple hours of match end, the game story is featured prominently on the home page of JMU Sports with links to the stats, photos and video captured during the game
The job shadowing experience gave an unfiltered view into the sports information process of a game. There was many moving parts that required coordination, focus and knowledge to produce accurate and timely sports information. With the pace of a sport like soccer, it is very difficult for one person alone to be able to give the game their full attention while trying to capture stats, send tweets, track subs, and much more. Producing reliable sports information is very much a team effort that can’t be done from just a press box.
I find the work of a sports information director to be very interesting, but also very difficult. The communications demands required in-game can definitely take away from the enjoyment of the sport. One very exciting aspect of the job is the intimate involvement in the team that gives the SID all access to players and coaches. The sports information director plays an important role in the team’s day-to-day operations and is crucial to the promotion and image management of the team. I would not be suprised if one day I find myself as an SID for a college program during my career in sports public relations.
Post Game Interview with Assistant Men’s Soccer Coach Tom Foley (VIDEO)