Spring is coming.
Monday marked the official start of the 2024 RIIL spring sports season. We're still in the midst of the “spring of deception” season, which according to the meme will be followed by a “third winter,” but that won't be long until the sun shines brightly. Everyone wears shorts, and ordering an iced coffee no longer makes you sound like a lunatic.
This was the most excited spring day of my tenure at the Journal, and not just because my seasonal depression was at an all-time high this winter (thank you Patriots).
Why are we excited? Of course, it's not because my youngest son is playing three sports this spring.
The reason is obvious. The addition of Jake Rousseau has changed the way we cover sports. #NoDaysOffSZN was still happening during the winter playoffs, but Jake's presence made it a lot easier. He's younger than me and has more energy than I do, so he doesn't feel bad about taking time off when I have to take the kids to practice or school events.
With college basketball season almost over and the GOAT himself, Bill Koch, joining the mix, the Journal will have three writers dedicated to bringing you the best stories the state has to offer.
It starts next week when preview season begins. In addition to our usual list of 10 athletes to watch, we will be delivering special features on each sport.
Once you unpack these, the fun begins.
We will be covering games in every sport in every division throughout the spring. How do we choose them? Sometimes it's an interesting matchup, sometimes we're looking for an interesting story, and sometimes – especially in my case – it's a match that works very well with our personal schedules.
Embarrassingly IMO we can't attend every event in the state at once because technology still can't clone us, but we still want to know what's going on every day. I am.
Coaches, this is where we need you. Reporting your scores has never been easier. All you need to do is email us at pjsports@providencejournal.com to let us know what you'd like to know.
What we want is for the home team's coach to email us information about the game after every game. What information do you need?
Baseball and softball, that's easy. You need a score and who helped you achieve it. Don't forget to add the names and stats of a few hard hitters, possibly pitchers from the winning team, and the names and information of players who performed well in losses. If you had a game-clinching hit or game-clinching moment, let us know in your email.
Lacrosse is even easier. Coaches, all we need is the final score, the top three on the winning team and his one score on the losing team. If you want to emphasize a defensive player, throw him in there. Don't forget to add important details that will help tell the story, such as the game-winning goal or the player who went awry in the first half.
For tennis, a simple photo of the score sheet is effective. If it's a close game, I might make a note about who scored his decisive fourth goal.
Volleyball might be the easiest. Necessary statistics to highlight the match score and the players who were key to the victory.
We want to get better results on the track, so here's what we need. It's the final score and multiple winners of the dual competition. Simple and easy.
This information is important for many reasons, but primarily because it informs the community and shines a light on the state's high school athletes.
But beyond that, it helps us in our work throughout the year. We're in the middle of nowhere, so we read the briefs that come in from our desks every day to understand who's doing what. When it comes time for playoffs and postseason awards, these briefs will help you keep track of the who's who in RI high school athletics.
We also want to further enhance our Player of the Week features for various sports. It's a fun way for the community to stay involved in high school athletics, and the web hits it gets are an added bonus. Softball and baseball still have this feature, and volleyball's reporting rates make it seem like it could be done there as well. If lacrosse coaches could get together and report on a high percentage of games, it might work there as well.
In addition to match coverage and player of the week, weekly rankings for various team sports will also return. It was fun to put together. It's no longer available exclusively on Sundays (which may save your marriage), but you can watch it online at the beginning of each week once the season starts.
There will be more. There is always. When you attend a game, you'll find features, trending articles, and other little things that have made the Providence Journal a trendsetter in high school sports coverage. Adding new members to the team will only make things even better and we can't wait to get started.