Let's not keep it brief

Hopefully, if you have a child, grandchild, friend or loved one playing any of the spring sports in the tri-county area, you will get to read all about their athletic exploits in stories in this sports section.

We would love nothing more than to run colorful photos and write exciting and factual accounts of all the baseball and softball games, tennis and golf matches, and track meets that take place in our coverage area.

But we can't.

It's not that we're not allowed to give full coverage to every one of the 13 schools we cover - we just can't talk about games we receive no information about. That is why in this issue, and in others past and future, you may find a couple sentences or small paragraphs under the heading "Sports Briefs."

While the write-ups placed into sports briefs are the quickest of anything we have to write, they are also our least favorite. It means kids who played hard and gave their all are not getting their due.

On March 2, I sent an e-mail to the athletic directors at all 13 tri-county high schools, included every conceivable way of getting in touch with me, and asked that it be circulated among ALL coaches of spring sports and at every level. I also attached a handy report form that can be used for submitting results from baseball or softball games. The e-mail included what my deadlines are for making the Wednesday and Saturday papers.

And yet there are sports briefs.

Despite having my work phone, cell phone and fax numbers out there, as well as my work e-mail address, there are still sports briefs. I have even physically handed the baseball/softball report form to two different coaches, with my business card attached, and zilch - nothing.

Every player, every school and every sport are important. I'm a parent, I get it. I also know how much I enjoyed seeing my kids names in the papers and seeing their accomplishments recognized. That's why I don't understand why there is not a better return on information, especially when the opposing teams can submit their statistics online on time. It's disheartening.

I realize the weather has caused some cancellations and postponements, and the overlap with the winter sports playoffs has affected some games, but I also know games have been held where nothing is made available to us, not even a score.

I wish the sports briefs only included info about upcoming events - when it comes to actual games, let's not keep it brief.

Craig Purcell is sports editor of Tri-County Newspapers. Contact him at 824-1036 or cpurcell@tcnpress.com.